How healthy is your soil?
Soil is at the heart of the planet’s living ecosystem. Not only is it responsible for an estimated 95 % of global food supply, it also helps filter our drinking water and regulates the climate. But just like the human heart, soil functions best when it’s healthy. This is why the EU has made soil health a core component of its Soil Deal for Europe(opens in new window) and Soil Monitoring Law(opens in new window). While such initiatives are an important step forward in improving the quality of European soils, to succeed one needs to be able to measure and compare soil health across regions, land uses and functions. The question is, how does one do so? “There is no scientific agreement on how to measure soil health, the definition of which depends on a number of factors, including context (climate and soil type), function (arable land, grassland, forest, nature, urban soils, wetlands) and region (Mediterranean, central, Atlantic or Boreal Europe),” says Wim van der Putten(opens in new window), an ecologist at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology(opens in new window) (NIOO-KNAW). Helping to bring some clarity to what makes a particular soil healthy or not is the EU-funded MultiSol(opens in new window) project.
An IQ test for soil
Coordinated by NIOO-KNAW and supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions(opens in new window) (MSCA) programme, the project developed what it calls an IQ test for soil. “Soil health depends on the physics, chemistry and biology of soils,” explains Van der Putten. “The measurement framework developed by MSCA investigator Jasper Wubs(opens in new window) uses the same statistical machinery and latent variable models that a standard IQ test does.” However, instead of measuring intelligence, the MultiSol framework benchmarks key soil functions(opens in new window) by inferring the real level of soil functioning (the latent variable) from multiple indicators. “By benchmarking soils in terms of their health, the challenge is to not get lost in the plethora of commonly used soil health indicators,” adds Van der Putten. “Therefore, our framework highlights those indicators most relevant to measuring the health of that particular soil.”
A powerful tool for measuring soil health
The powerful, low-cost solution is currently being tested by various research initiatives happening in both Europe and abroad. Based on the outcomes of these tests, Van der Putten hopes to see the framework scaled up and used to monitor soil health across the EU. Furthermore, the project is exploring how to integrate artificial intelligence models into the framework – an integration that could open the door to the targeted management of some of the key biological components driving soil health. Wubs is also continuing his research, which he hopes will yield important new knowledge and insights for applied soil management, as well as scientific support for the EU’s Soil Monitoring Directive. “We look forward to working with the scientific community to further mature our approach, ultimately delivering a powerful tool that can be used to accurately measure, compare and improve soil health across the soil spectrum,” concludes Van der Putten.