EU Soil Observatory (EUSO) - Newsletter November 2025
EU Soil Observatory (EUSO) - Newsletter November 2025
See latest highlights and insights on soil-related research and policy developments within the European Union
EUSO/ESDAC Newsletter
EU Soil Observatory (EUSO)
Newsletter No 182 - November 2025
Dear Readers,
The November edition of the EU Soil Observatory (EUSO) newsletter is now available, providing the latest highlights and insights on soil-related research and policy developments within the European Union.
The Adoption of the Soil Monitoring Law by the European Parliament
After a two-year legislative process, the Soil Monitoring Law has been definitively approved by the European Parliament. The Law is expected to enter into force by mid-December 2025. The law includes several key measures to be adopted at the national level:
Establish a comprehensive and harmonized, yet flexible, framework for monitoring soil health, with criteria for healthy soils, and establish non-binding, sustainable targets for each soil descriptor;
The Commission will support member states by reinforcing its current EU soil sampling programme, LUCAS Soils;
Member States should provide support to soil managers to improve soil health and resilience;
An indicative watch list of emerging substances that could pose a significant risk to soil health, human health or the environment,
Identify potentially contaminated sites and manage them to eliminate risks to human health and the environment, in compliance with the “polluter pays” principle.
The EUSO will support the implementation of the law through a range of actions, including the development of the EU Soil Health Portal, updating the LUCAS Soil Module, and the provision of technical guidance documents.
Optimizing phosphorus inputs in EU agricultural soils
Excessive phosphorus (P) fertilization has resulted in elevated soil P concentrations in some regions in the EU. Legacy soil P imposes a risk for soil functioning and may lead to P losses into the aquatic environment. We present a data & modelling framework to estimate how much and where P inputs in EU agricultural (cropland and grassland) soils can be optimized by 2050. The dataset includes a) The distribution of nine P management strategies in EU agricultural land, b) Optimized P inputs in order to reach optimal P concentrations by 2050, and c) The increase in P inputs required when the aim is to reach at least 20 mg kg−1 of topsoil P-OLSEN concentrations by 2050.
Webinar on the soil sampling protocol for the next LUCAS Soil Survey
The EUSO technical working group on soil monitoring is organising a webinar on 10 December 2025. The webinar aims to discuss the technical details of the sampling protocol for the upcoming LUCAS soil survey. The protocol is designed to meet the requirements of the Soil Monitoring and Resilience Directive. All stakeholders are invited to participate in the discussion on the LUCAS soil sampling protocol.
The EUSO contributed extensively to the third edition of the European Mission Soil Week 2025, which was held on 5 - 6 November 2025 at Aarhus University, Denmark. This year’s edition came at a pivotal moment for soil policy in Europe, with the recent approval of the Soil Monitoring and Resilience Directive. The event brought together stakeholders from policymaking, research, farming and other land management sectors, as well as from financial institutions, businesses, philanthropies, and citizens, to share experiences and explore challenges and solutions for sustainable soil management.
Soil Erosion as a Driver of Eutrophication: An Analysis of European Lakes Using Sentinel-2 Satellite Data
Conservation outcomes of dietary transitions across different values of nature
Warming could cause significant soil organic carbon loss around the southern Baltic Sea
Dynamic assessment of rainfall erosivity in Europe: evaluation of EURADCLIM ground-radar data
Patterns and thresholds for soil pH across Europe in relation to soil health and degradation
Terracing can reduce cropland water erosion in China by over 50% at present and under future climate change
Events
British Society of Soil Sciences – Annual Conference
The BSSS Annual Conference will take place from Wednesday 3 – Friday 5 December 2025 in Manchester. The overall conference theme is Resilient Soils for a Sustainable Future. Panos Panagos and Nils Broothaerts (EUSO) will provide a keynote presentation showing how the EU Mission Soil is leading the transition towards healthy soils through innovative research.
BIOEAST HUB CR
National Bioeconomy Hub, the first in the Central and Eastern Europe region with the support of the BIOEAST Initiative.
