EU Soil Observatory (EUSO)

Observed/Typical (OT) Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) index classes and associated pedo-climate zones across the EU and UK are presented in two GeoTiff files at 100 m resolution. These maps from Feeney et al. (2024) illustrate the O/T SOC index classes, derived from LUCAS 2009-18 observations, to stratify the landscape into areas suitable for benchmarking SOC concentrations. O/T SOC is less sensitive to soil texture, land-use and climate than SOC/clay, and is sensitive to changing SOC under land management over years and decades.

This project is an international collaboration between Aarhus University and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). The general objective of the PhD will be Peatland mapping at national and European scales. During the PhD, the candidate will develop a methodology to identify peatlands using remote sensing and develop a semi-empirical model to predict carbon dioxide and methane emissions. Application deadline for the PhD vacancy: 15 March 2025

Soil-related citizen science projects have gained significant interest driven by the prominence of soil within public policy agendas. This includes the EU Soil Strategy for 2030, which contributes to the objectives of the EU Green Deal and proposes specific actions to increase citizen engagement with soils, and the EU Mission: A Soil Deal for Europe. The new report reviewed over 60 citizen science projects from around the world, all focused on soil health.

In this call, HEIs/universities can apply to partner up with the JRC on one of 25 Collaboration Topics. Successful HEIs/universities will then proceed to jointly design, host, and supervise PhD projects with the JRC. Successful applicants will have the opportunity to define a PhD project in collaboration with the JRC. The application deadline for this call is 18 March 2025. Please apply to Topic 12 (of 25): Improving soil health to increase water quality and reduce eutrophication.

The newly developed ‘EU Soil Strategy Actions Tracker’ is a tool which tracks the progress of concrete actions since the adoption of the EU Soil Strategy in 2021. Currently, 62 out of 90 actions (69%) are marked as completed, 24 actions (27%) are in progress, and 4 actions (4%) have been withdrawn. With almost 70% of completed actions, the tracker shows that the Commission is well on track to conclude most of the actions included in the EU Soil Strategy.

EUROSOIL is the official meeting of the European Confederation of Soil Science Societies (ECSSS), it is among Europe’s most important Soil Sciences events and offers a fantastic opportunity for knowledge transfer among the Soil Sciences community.

A platform for a broad range of stakeholders who together can exchange experiences and identify new transformational pathways towards a sustainable society within the planetary boundaries.TERRAVISION promotes the exchange of scientific research, solutions from industry and insights from policy for interdisciplinary collaboration and networking.

fEs organizes a hybrid conference that brings together diverse stakeholders to share knowledge, ideas, and strategies for utilizing fire as a tool for sustainability.