European Journal of Soil Science最新文献

{"title":"Predicting and Mapping the Phosphorus Adsorption Maximum and Phosphorus Adsorption Affinity Constant at Regional Scale","authors":"Yu Gu,&nbsp;Gerard H. Ros,&nbsp;Qichao Zhu,&nbsp;Dongfang Zheng,&nbsp;Jianbo Shen,&nbsp;Wim de Vries","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70033","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70033","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Insight into the variation of the soil phosphorus (P) adsorption maximum (Q_max) and the P adsorption affinity constant (K_L) is crucial for accurately assessing the dynamics of P availability, P uptake and P leaching in agricultural systems at regional scale. Data on the variation in soil P adsorption characteristics, derived from traditional batch experiments, combined with data on soil properties affecting them, such as pH, clay and organic matter content, can be used to assess the influence of soil properties on P adsorption characteristics. However, current studies are limited to explaining the variation in Q_max using linear models, focusing on either noncalcareous or calcareous soils. This study aims to (1) identify the soil properties governing both Q_max and K_L for a combination of noncalcareous and calcareous soils, including nonlinear and interaction effects; and (2) create spatial maps depicting the variations in both soil P adsorption characteristics at the regional scale (two typical Chinese counties). We leveraged 83 data points of both Q_max and K_L from 16 publications with main soil properties affecting P adsorption, that is, pH and the content of soil organic matter (SOM), clay and oxalate extractable Fe and Al (Fe_OX and Al_OX), to develop predictive models for soil P adsorption. General linear regression (GLM) and extreme gradient boosting (XGB) models were used to unravel the relationships between soil properties and P adsorption characteristics. The XGB model outperformed GLM model, explaining more than 80% of the variations in both Q_max and K_L in noncalcareous and calcareous soils, while the GLM model explained 52% for Q_max and only 21% for K_L. Key drivers influencing Q_max were found to be Fe_OX, Al_OX and pH, while clay and pH played significant roles in explaining the variability in K_L. When applying these models at the county level using county-level inventory data, noncalcareous soils generally exhibited higher P sorption capacity and binding energy than calcareous soils. To enhance the accuracy of soil P sorption predictions and guide sustainable P fertiliser use, regional mapping of Fe_OX and Al_OX content is essential.</p>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"76 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejss.70033","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142968271","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Changes in Biological and Chemical Soil Properties in an Austrian Long-Term Tillage Experiment","authors":"Heide Spiegel,&nbsp;Taru Sandén,&nbsp;Hans Sandén,&nbsp;Sophia Götzinger,&nbsp;Julia Miloczki,&nbsp;Ellen Kandeler","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70037","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70037","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Conventional tillage, including ploughing after harvest and/or for seedbed preparation, aims to incorporate crop residues and weeds and to loosen, mix and aerate the soil. However, less beneficial effects, such as a loss of soil organic carbon (SOC), are also associated with intensive tillage. This has made reduced and minimum tillage systems without ploughing increasingly popular in agriculture, contributing to soil health and climate change mitigation. We studied the effects of different tillage systems on chemical and microbial soil properties in a long-term field experiment established on a fine-sandy loamy Haplic Chernozem in Fuchsenbigl, Austria, in 1988. The tillage treatments include conventional tillage (CT) with a plough and a cultivator down to 30 cm soil depth, reduced tillage (RT) with a cultivator down to 15 cm two to three times a year, as well as minimum tillage (MT) treated with a rotary driller once a year down to 5–8 cm soil depth. In 2016, a soil sampling campaign was conducted, and alkaline phosphatase, phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs), and the nitrogen (N) mineralisation potential were analysed along with chemical properties including SOC, active C, total nitrogen (N_t), CAL extractable phosphorus (P_CAL) and potassium (K_CAL). Under MT, these properties were significantly higher compared to CT in 0–10 cm. In deeper soil layers, these parameters showed very few significant differences between the tillage treatments. RT yielded intermediate values but not always significantly different from CT. PLFA indicators significantly correlated with SOC and, even more distinctly, with N_t and active carbon. The high ratio of Gram-positive to Gram-negative bacteria indicates more recalcitrant organic matter in the top layer in MT than CT.</p>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"76 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejss.70037","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142968273","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"BLOSOM: A Plant Growth Facility Optimised for Continuous 13C Labelling and Measurement of Soil Organic Matter Dynamics","authors":"Nina L. Friggens,&nbsp;Neville England,&nbsp;Julian B. Murton,&nbsp;Gareth K. Phoenix,&nbsp;Iain P. Hartley","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70042","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70042","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Changes in soil carbon (C) stocks are largely driven by rhizosphere processes forming new soil organic matter (SOM) or stimulating SOM decomposition by rhizosphere priming effects (RPEs). Quantifying these changes is challenging and requires high spatial sampling densities or plant–soil experiments with highly distinct C isotopic signatures for plants and soils. Current methods for quantifying new SOM formation and RPEs rely on low labelling intensities, which introduces high levels of uncertainty. Here, we describe the design and operation of an experimental laboratory facility—BLOSOM (Botanical Labelling Observatory for Soil Organic Matter)—optimised for continuous ¹³C labelling of plants at high labelling intensities (&gt; 500‰) to quantify new SOM formation and RPEs in temperature-controlled soils from 216 experimental units. Throughout a &gt; 6-month experimental period, independent control of soil and air temperature was achieved across diurnal cycles averaging at 5.24°C ± 0.05°C and 21.4°C ± 1.2°C, respectively. BLOSOM can maintain stable CO₂ concentrations and δ¹³C isotopic composition within 5% of setpoints (CO₂: 440 ppm, δ¹³C: 515‰) across a &gt; 6-month period. This high-precision control on atmospheric enrichment enables the detection of new SOM formation with a total uncertainty of ±39% to ±3% for a theoretical range of 0.5%–10% new SOM formation, respectively. BLOSOM has the potential improve quantification and mechanistic understanding of new SOM formation and RPEs across many different combinations of plants, soils and simulated climatic conditions to mimic a wide range of ecosystems and climate scenarios.</p>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"76 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejss.70042","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142961304","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Soil Pore System Functionality in a Micro-Watershed Formed by Wet Meadows (Vegas) in the Southernmost Chilean Patagonia","authors":"J. Ivelic-Sáez,&nbsp;P. Cisternas,&nbsp;J. Clunes,&nbsp;J. Dörner,&nbsp;J. L. Arumí,&nbsp;S. Valle,&nbsp;J. Valenzuela,&nbsp;E. Muñoz,&nbsp;D. Dec,&nbsp;R. Horn","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70043","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70043","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Wetlands occupy a small percentage of the Earth's surface but provide essential ecosystem services, such as water regulation, carbon cycling and habitat support. Patagonian “Vegas” are unique wetland ecosystems characterised by their groundwater recharge and hydrological dynamics, distinct from the surrounding steppe. These ecosystems play a critical role in supporting livestock with up to six times the forage productivity of the surrounding steppe and in storing over 69 g kg⁻¹ of organic carbon. However, the influence of soil structure parameters (e.g., pore size distribution, bulk density) and soil shrinkage behaviour on soil moisture variability and ecosystem functions in Patagonian wetlands remains poorly understood. This study aimed to assess the physical capacity and intensity parameters of soils, including shrinkage properties, within a micro-watershed in southern Patagonia. Our findings reveal significant spatial variability in soil properties, with bulk density (BD) ranging from 0.12 to 1.81 Mg m⁻³ across topographic positions. Mineral soils on summits and footslopes exhibited high macroporosity (up to 18.1% of total pore volume at 5 cm depth), which facilitates water movement, while organic soils in the Vega centre had a higher total porosity (up to 88.8%) that enhances water and air retention. The coefficient of linear extensibility (COLE) for organic soils reached a level of 0.078, indicating a high shrinkage capacity. This shrinkage influenced the functionality of the porous system, shifting pore roles between air conduction and water storage as larger pores contracted. These dynamics, driven by climate change and increased drying cycles, may lead to significant shifts in soil functionality and ecosystem resilience. Enhanced understanding of soil physical states and their response to environmental changes can support sustainable management strategies, benefiting local agriculture and preserving these critical ecosystems.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"76 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142939931","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Vital for Sustainable Agriculture: Pedological Knowledge and Mapping","authors":"José A. M. Demattê,&nbsp;Budiman Minasny,&nbsp;Alfred E. Hartemink","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70040","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70040","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Over the past 60 years, efforts to enhance agricultural productivity have mainly focussed on optimising strategies such as the use of inorganic fertilisers, advancements in microbiology and improved water management practices. Here, we emphasise the critical role of pedology as a foundation in soil management and long-term sustainability. We will demonstrate how overlooking the intrinsic properties of soils can result in detrimental effects on soil and overall sustainability. Communication between academia, extension experts, consultants and farmers often results in an overemphasis on the surface layer, for example, 20 to 40 cm, neglecting the functions that occur at depth. Soil health and regenerative agriculture must be coupled with an understanding of how soil functions as a dynamic system. We find that pedological knowledge and digital soil mapping technologies are underused for achieving sustainable agriculture. By bridging the gap between pedology and emerging agricultural technologies, we can provide land users with the tools needed to make informed decisions, ensuring that their practices not only increase production but also preserve the health of the soil for future generations.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"76 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142939930","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Soil Health and Challenges to Sustainable Soil Management in Denmark: Stakeholder Perceptions","authors":"Mansonia Pulido-Moncada,&nbsp;Martin Hvarregaard Thorsøe,&nbsp;Jorge F. Miranda-Vélez,&nbsp;Morten Graversgaard,&nbsp;Lars J. Munkholm","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70038","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70038","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Maintaining soil health is essential to ensuring an adequate food supply and preserving the environment. Insights from multiple stakeholder inquiries can provide a more nuanced understanding of conditions for soil health to support the adoption of sustainable soil management practices to meet national and regional goals. This article aimed to gather insights from stakeholders' perceptions of soil health and the state of soil knowledge in Denmark. Seven stakeholder inquiries, collected through a series of recent European soil research activities, were synthesised to identify perceptions of soil health, concerns about soil challenges and needs for harmonising production and use of knowledge related to sustainable soil management. Each inquiry was analysed individually, and common themes were discussed across topics. The data showed that the ecosystem service framework related to soil health was not evenly familiar across stakeholder categories. Identified concerns for soil health included climate change effects, knowledge transfer, economic pressure/risk, and soil challenges. The top ‘priority’ soil challenges identified were improving soil organic matter/peat soil, avoiding soil compaction and improving nutrient retention/use efficiency. Soil knowledge gaps related to soil challenges included: multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary long-term experiments, site-specific measures, science–policy–stakeholder interactions and knowledge feasibility at the farm level. Identified barriers preventing wider adoption of sustainable management practices included farm applicability of practices, farmers' engagement, knowledge sharing and lack of regulations for challenges such as soil compaction. Farmers were also concerned about the time and effort required to learn new practices, especially as it relates to their work/life balance and the challenge of implementing sustainable practices on commercial farms while ensuring profitability. These concerns might partially arise from knowledge gaps between stakeholder categories. Raising awareness of sustainable practices and addressing current and future risks such as pests and weather extremes are crucial for policy and stakeholder engagement.</p>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"76 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejss.70038","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142936759","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A “Golden Moment” for Soils and Society Presents Challenges and Opportunities for Soil Science","authors":"Peter M. Groffman","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70035","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70035","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We appear to be at a shining moment for interactions between soils and society. Popular interest in soils has increased along with interests in urban gardening, carbon sequestration, recognition of the vast biodiversity in soils, and the realisation that soils are a finite resource whose degradation has serious consequences. This increase in interest creates both opportunities and challenges for soil science. While there is great potential for increasing the diversity of people involved with soil science, key scientific and communication challenges need to be addressed for interactions between soils and society to be useful and productive. Here, I present case study issues on the mechanisms and limitations of carbon sequestration in soils and the need to restore and/or create new soils for specific uses, including urban agriculture and green infrastructure, to illustrate the opportunities and challenges associated with new societal interest in soil science. Addressing these issues requires advances in both basic and applied science, new participatory approaches to the design, execution, and interpretation of research, collaboration with multiple disciplines, including the social sciences, and improvements in the two-way flow of information between science and society. Careful attention to these issues will attract new people to soil science, advance awareness of the importance of and threats to soils across the globe, and produce improvements in the quality of life for diverse human populations.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"76 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142935117","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Where Are We With Gender Parity in Academia and Professional Societies? A Multinational Look at Women in Soil Science","authors":"Eric C. Brevik,&nbsp;Maja Krzic,&nbsp;Heba Elbasiouny,&nbsp;Lorna Dawson,&nbsp;Jacqueline A. Hannam,&nbsp;Monday Mbila,&nbsp;Laura Bertha Reyes-Sánchez,&nbsp;Natalie Coles","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70039","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70039","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Issues of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), including gender equity, have gained increasing recognition at the beginning of the 21st century. As an academic discipline, soil science has been late in addressing gender equity, but several peer-reviewed studies have been published in the last 5 years. This study investigated gender equity in the soil science university faculty/academic staff (f/as) and soil professional societies in Canada, Egypt, Mexico, Nigeria, the United Kingdom and the United States of America (USA) using data publicly available on the Internet and anonymized data from soil science professional societies. We found that women still lagged behind men among our soil science f/as by considerable margins (69.2% men vs. 30.8% women for pooled data for all six countries in this study), and that the percentage of women in soil science f/as positions are similar to those for f/as women in many other scientific fields. There are differences in gender equity by soil science subdiscipline that vary by country. In countries where data are available to make comparisons, over the last 6–8 years, the gender gap has closed to some degree, both overall and for sub-disciplines. Women also often hold leadership positions in numbers that are lower than their representation among the f/as and membership in professional societies. In addition, women are recognised with awards such as society fellowship in numbers lower than their overall representation would suggest. This study concludes that progress has been made on several fronts in the last 6–8 years, but there is still much work to be done to achieve gender equity in soil science academia and professional societies. It is recommended that soil science societies collect, analyse and compare data on gender in the discipline so that progress can be evidenced, tracked and encouraged.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"76 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejss.70039","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142935118","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Geochemical and microbial responses to limestone and peat treatment of incubated hypermonosulfidic sediments","authors":"Liubov Kononova,&nbsp;Anders Johnson,&nbsp;Sten Engblom,&nbsp;Pekka Stén,&nbsp;Changxun Yu,&nbsp;Peter Österholm,&nbsp;Vadim Kessler,&nbsp;Gulaim Seisenbaeva,&nbsp;Mark Dopson,&nbsp;Mats Åström,&nbsp;Eva Högfors-Rönnholm","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70024","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70024","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Fine-grained hypermonosulfidic sediments are widespread on the coastal plains of the northern Baltic Sea that when drained, cause the formation and dispersion of acid and toxic-metal species. In this study, a 30-month laboratory oxidation experiment with such a sediment was performed in incubation cells. To minimize or prevent acidification, limestone was applied in two grain sizes: agricultural limestone with particles that were all &lt;3.15 mm and half of them &lt;0.80 mm, and fine-grained limestone with a median grain size of 2.5 μm. The amount of limestone applied corresponded to the theoretical acidity contained in the sulfides, as well as four times that amount. Another treatment included addition of peat to the low limestone dose to test its effects on immobilizing sufhur and metals. The pH of the drainage water and solid phase decreased to pH &lt;4.0 in the control, and to pH &lt;5.0 in the coarse-grained low-limestone treatment, but remained near-neutral in the other treatments. Hence, the fine-grained limestone effectively hindered acidity formation in contrast with the coarse-grained limestone when applied in amounts corresponding to the potential acidity held in the sulfides. The limestone treatments further overall decreased the rate of pyrite oxidation, slowed down the movement of the oxidation front, strongly minimized the formation of dissolved and solid-phase labile Al, and caused formation of gypsum as well as more labile secondary Fe(III) phases than corresponding Fe phases formed in the control. The limestone and peat treatments also caused shifts in the 16S rRNA gene-based microbial communities, where the control developed acidophilic iron and sulfur oxidizing communities that promoted acidity and metal release. Instead, the limestone-treated unacidified incubations developed acid tolerance to neutrophilic communities of iron and sulfur oxidizers that promoted sulfate formation without acidity release. The results showed that limestone treatments have several biogeochemical effects, and that using a fine-grained limestone as amendment was favourable in terms of minimizing acidity formation and metal release.</p>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"76 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejss.70024","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142888251","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From Proceedings to Actions: European Healthy Soils Conference 2023","authors":"Sebastian Wendeborn","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70031","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70031","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;From September 13 to 15, 2023, the first edition of the European Healthy Soils Conference took place at the FHNW School of Life Sciences in Muttenz, close to Basel, Switzerland. The conference program, focusing on soil fertility, was put together by experts from industry, academia, the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, and the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations. The setting of this conference was unique as it brought together stakeholders from most if not all relevant areas engaged in the promotion of soil health: scientists, representatives from industry, the agricultural sector as well as the public and regulatory sector.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The contributions to this special issue of EJSS are meant to reflect the sprit, content, and topics discussed during this conference and gives tribute to the quality of science and interactions that took place. Healthy soils are in many ways the foundation of our economy, and our culture. They are not only a basis of our food production but also fulfil numerous other functions as they enable microbial, animal and plant biodiversity, purify and store water, and modulate increasingly alarming greenhouse gas emissions. Despite these well-known benefits, healthy soils are under pressure from intensive agriculture, sealing and pollution; from extreme environmental events; and from carbon loss. We therefore must develop means to sustain healthy soils, not only in Europe but across the world. What determines a healthy soil? How can we understand, monitor and maintain soil diversity? What is the underlying chemistry, biology and soil physical structure required to maintain sustainable crop cultivation and management? What are the main challenges to healthy soils? How is climate change challenging soil health, and how can healthy soils help mitigating climate change?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Over 30 international speakers, 40 poster presentations, and all participants addressed and discussed these topics and questions. The conference's opening lecture by Peter Wehrheim (European Commission, DG Research &amp; Innovation, Food Systems and Bioeconomy) provided a European perspective and highlighted the importance of the conference topic. His talk \"&lt;i&gt;The EU mission—A Soil Deal for Europe\"&lt;/i&gt; outlined how the mission will support the transition towards healthy soils by 2030 by putting in place an effective network of 100 living labs and lighthouses in rural and urban areas.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In the first session “Soil Diversity”, Peter Schad (TU Munich) and Sebastian Dötterl (ETH Zürich) presented the multiple environments on our planet which promote the formation of extremely diverse and fascinating soil types through physical and biological processes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In the second session “Chemistry and Microbiology in Agronomical Soils for Sustainable Crop Cultivation”, Katie Field (University of Sheffield) discussed the effect of climate change on mycorrhizal fungi symbiosis function in crop fields and Elena Biagi (University of Bologna","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"76 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejss.70031","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142888253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}