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A new Cover-management (C-factor) for arable lands
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An update of the C-factor dataset took place for the year 2023 and the results have been published in the paper 'A data-driven indicator for assessing the evolving impact of the EU Common Agricultural Policy on soil erosion mitigation'. This update focusses on arable lands and we also made available the dataset for the pre-GAEC period (year: 2000). Therefore the C-factor is available for arable lands in 4 periods: 2000, 2010, 2016 and 2023.
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Link to data
Link to publication
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Inter- and intra-laboratory replicate measurements of soil organic carbon for LUCAS
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Analytical soil data from conventional methods is generally assumed to be error free. However, conventional methods also have associated errors due to different laboratory conditions, protocols, operators, instruments and random variation. These factors contribute to variation in analytical measurements from a single laboratory (the intra-laboratory error) as well as between different laboratories (inter-laboratory error). Breure et al. (2026) provided two different methods for which the intra- and inter-laboratory from LUCAS measurements can be used to interpret soil property predictions, either from VNIRS or other methods. We found that using the laboratory error changed relative differences between models compared to mean prediction metrics commonly used in the literature (e.g. RMSE, R2), given that mean predictions are more dependent on the underlying data distribution and have a higher sensitivity to outliers.
Data link
Link to publication
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15 datasets added to ESDAC in 2025
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In 2025, 15 more datasets were added to ESDAC reaching a total of 141 datasets. Those datasets include: Gully erosion, Observed/typical SOC, Texture, Soil erodibility point data, Inter and intra-laboratory replicates, Soil function data, Soil Carbon Risk index, Update of C-factor 2023, Risk of heavy metals, Aboveground biomass over Amazon, Projected SOC changes, Optimizing Phosphorus inputs, Dissolved Cadmium content, Global displaced Carbon due to erosion, Fraction of carbon in SOM.
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Dataset downloads
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Rethinking Global Soil Degradation: Drivers, Impacts, and Solutions
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Soil degradation is a growing problem that threatens soil and food security, ecosystem functioning, and socio-economic activities. A recent article in Reviews of Geophysics looks at how soil degradation is defined and measured, the causes behind it, and how it affects people and the environment. It also explores new tools like satellite data, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics that could help us better detect and predict soil degradation. The study highlights how protecting soil health is essential to achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals. It calls for better ways to measure soil health and smarter strategies to manage land in a sustainable way.
Link to publication
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First European Soil Biodiversity Monitoring Symposium
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Following the recent entry into force of the Soil Monitoring Directive, key discussions are needed on monitoring standards and long-term targets (soil descriptors) for soil biodiversity. To support this, the EUSO will host its first European Soil Biodiversity Monitoring symposium on 2-3 February 2026. On-site registrations are now closed; however, selected sessions will be livestreamed (non-interactive hybrid format), with opportunities for feedback via an open chat. The online audience will be able to follow discussions on:
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- Overlaps and divergences among large-scale monitoring projects (Monday 2/02, 9:45 – 13:00 CET)
- Methodological standards (Tuesday 3/02, 9:00 – 9:45 CET)
- Cross-validation, soil bioindicators and roadmap for implementation (Tuesday 3/02, 14:15 – 15:45 CET)
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