We are launching a new SOLO campaign to introduce the chapters compiling the overarching SOLO Roadmap: Outlook 2025 Soil Health R&I Knowledge Gaps, beginning with a focus on the outlook on the gaps in our knowledge about soil structure.

Healthy soil is essential for growing nutritious food, keeping water clean, and capturing carbon to mitigate climate change. The way soil particles clump together, which is its structure, forms the foundation for all these benefits. When soil has a healthy structure, it creates an ideal balance of spaces for air and water to move freely, allowing plant roots to grow and underground life to thrive.

However, soil structure across Europe is facing significant threats from human activity. Heavy farming machinery and intensive land management can easily cause the ground to pack tightly and erode. This structural damage makes it much harder for the land to hold water during droughts or absorb it during heavy rains, reducing overall productivity and harming the environment.

To tackle these challenges, the SOLO project has introduced a new guide highlighting the main areas where more research is needed to protect and improve soil structure. This publication focuses on gathering the missing information required to help everyone from landowners to policymakers adopt better management practices and protect European land for the future.

More details can be found in the official publication: https://journal.soils4europe.eu/article/149386