The project has established a strong scientific, technical and operational foundation for soil health assessment across Europe. Activities have progressed from conceptual development and stakeholder alignment to field soil sampling, data harmonisation, digital tool development, spatial modelling and policy support. Together, these efforts have delivered an integrated framework for soil health assessment that combines scientific robustness, practical validation and relevance for EU policy implementation. The main achievements to date are summarised below.
Science-policy engagement and stakeholder alignment
The project strengthened the science-policy interface and ensured that technical developments were aligned with stakeholder needs and emerging EU policy frameworks. Stakeholder engagement activities helped refine user and policy requirements for soil health monitoring and assessment, directly informing the Soil Health Indicator Selection Framework. This work also supported alignment with the implementation needs of the Soil Monitoring and Resilience Law and contributed to the refinement of project priorities through dialogue with relevant institu-tional actors.
Soil health indicators and modelling
The project developed a robust Soil Health Indicator Selection Framework based on policy priorities, stakeholder needs, expert consultation, and the synthesis of existing indicators from the scientific literature and available databases. Building on this, it advanced the testing, comparison and integration of soil health indicators and modelling approaches, including AI-based, hybrid and physics-informed methods. Particular progress was made in strengthening the assessment of key soil descriptors, including carbon, salinity and biodiversity, thereby improving the basis for harmonised and operational soil health assessment.
In-situ tools and observations
Significant progress was achieved in the development and harmonisation of in-situ tools and observations for soil health assessment. Harmonised protocols for sampling, data handling and data accessibility were established to support comparable data collection across countries and pilot sites. A range of sensors and methods was selected, tested and implemented, including spectroscopy, DNA-based analyses, soil carbon turnover measurements, macrofauna observations, rapid enzymatic activity measurements, soil temperature, moisture and salinity penetrometers, water infiltration methods, and app-based approaches for aggregate stability assessment. These activities contributed to the development of a sensor-fusion-based toolbox integrating spectroscopy, genomics, in-situ measurements and ancillary data.
Soil Health Data Cube
The project advanced the compilation, harmonisation and integration of soil health data across Europe into a common spatial framework. This supported the development of the Soil Health Data Cube for Europe, which combines maps representing or supporting soil health indicators within a harmonised, high-resolution system. The data cube provides an operational basis for soil health assessment, spatial analysis and trend monitoring at the pan-European scale. In parallel, new soil maps and related spatial products were developed to support indicator assessment, benchmarking approaches and the upscaling of local knowledge to the European level.
Pilot sites
Multi-actor pilot sites were established across a wide range of European pedoclimatic conditions. These sites supported coordinated stakeholder engagement, the implementation of harmonised field campaigns, and the collection of validation data for indicators, models and tools. They also enabled access to national datasets, sampling resources and laboratory facilities, while providing practical feedback from diverse regional contexts. This work therefore played a central role in linking scientific and technical developments with field validation and real-world application.
Soil literacy, communication and capacity building
The project supported the uptake and usability of its results by strengthening outreach, training and capacity-building activities. This helped connect scientific and technical outputs with policymakers, practitioners, industry, SMEs and other relevant user groups, thereby facilitating awareness, accessibility and future implementation of the soil health indicators, tools and assessment approaches developed by the project.
