JRC publishes report on soil research in the EU
On 4 December 2023, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) published a report on ‘Forty years of soil research funded by the European Commission: Trends and future. A systematic review of research projects’. The review was carried out by scientists of the EU Soil Observatory (EUSO) team at the JRC.
According to the review, the EU has made enormous efforts to support soil research in the past and in the near future. It has disbursed around one billion euro for more than a thousand soil-related research projects over the last 40 years. Nearly as much funding is earmarked for the next seven years under the Soil Mission in Horizon Europe. The analysis shows that the EU has invested significantly in developing integrated knowledge about the relationships between soil functions and ecosystem services and how human-induced pressures affect soil health. It adds useful information on EU funding and policies related to protecting, sustainably managing and restoring soil health.