Browsing by Author "Spiegel, Heide"

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    Monitoring Systems of Agricultural Soils Across Europe Regarding the Upcoming European Soil Monitoring Law
    (Wiley, 2025) Mason, Eloïse; Cornu, Sophie; Arrouays, Dominique; Fantappiè, Maria; Jones, Arwyn; Götzinger, Sophia; Spiegel, Heide; Oorts, Katrien; Chartin, Caroline; Borůvka, Luboš; Pihlap, Evelin; Putku, Elsa; Heikkinen, Jaakko; Boulonne, Line; Poeplau, Christopher; Marx, Marc; Tagliaferri, Elisa; Vinci, Ialina; Leitāns, Lauris; Armolaitis, Kęstutis; van Egmond, Fenny; Kobza, Jozef; Wetterlind, Johanna; Drobnik, Thomas; Hirte, Juliane; Hefler, József; Smreczak, Bożena; Carvalho Gomes, Lucas; Humlekrog Greve, Mogens; Bispo, Antonio
    In Europe, 60%–70% of soils are considered degraded, underscoring the urgent need for consistent monitoring to prevent further degradation and support evidence-based policies for sustainable soil management. Many countries in Europe have implemented one or more soil monitoring systems (SMSs), often established long before the EU-wide “Land Use/Cover Area frame statistical Survey Soil”, LUCAS Soil program. As a result, their sampling strategies and analytical methodologies vary significantly. The proposed EU Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience (Soil Monitoring Law, SML) aims to address these differences by establishing a unified framework for systematic soil health monitoring across the EU. This paper assesses the compatibility of the 25 identified SMSs from countries participating in the EJP SOIL Program with the anticipated requirements of the SML. The analysis focuses on critical aspects, including sampling strategies, analytical methods, and data accessibility. Results show significant variability in SMS approaches, including sampling depth, monitored land uses, and analytical methods, which limit cross-system comparability. Despite challenges, opportunities for harmonization include aligning SMSs with the LUCAS Soil methodology, developing transfer functions, and adopting scoring systems for soil health evaluation. Enhanced collaboration and data accessibility are also emphasized as critical for achieving the SML's objectives. This research provides actionable recommendations to harmonise SMSs with the SML framework, promoting coordinated soil monitoring efforts across Europe to support the EU's goal of achieving healthy soils by 2050.
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    Towards enhanced adoption of soil-improving management practices in Europe
    (John Wiley & Sons, 2024) Heller, Olivier; Di Bene, Claudia; Nino, Pasquale; Huyghebaert, Bruno; Arlauskienė, Aušra; Castanheira, Nádia L.; Higgins, Suzanne; Horel, Agota; Kir, Alev; Kizeková, Miriam ; Lacoste, Marine ; Munkholm, Lars J.; O'Sullivan, Lilian; Radzikowski, Paweł; Rodríguez-Cruz, M. Sonia; Sandén, Taru; Šarūnaitė, Lina; Seidel, Felix; Spiegel, Heide ; Stalenga, Jarosław ; Uusi-Kämppä, Jaana; Vervuurt, Wieke; Keller, Thomas ; Vanwindekens, Frédéric
    Sustainable agricultural soil management practices are key to restore, maintainand improve soil health. The European Joint Programme for SOIL (EJP SOIL)has identified twelve main soil challenges in Europe. To assess the potentialand eventually increase the adoption of soil-improving management practices,it is necessary to know (i) the current levels of adoption of the practices,(ii) socio-technical barriers influencing their adoption, and (iii) their bio-physical limits. This study compiled an inventory of soil-improving manage-ment practices relevant to European conditions, and used a survey among soilscientists to assess the levels of adoption of these practices in Europe. In total,53 soil management practices were identified that address one or several of thesoil challenges. The adoption of most practices was low or spatially heteroge-neous across Europe, highlighting region-specific limitations to sustainable soilmanagement. Qualitative interviews were conducted to explore the importanceof socio-technical aspects of adoption. Using conservation agriculture as anexample, factors that can hinder adoption included the availability of knowl-edge and adequate machinery, financial risks, and farming traditions. Througha modelling approach, 54% of arable land in Europe was found to be suitablefor cover cropping, indicating that the adoption of soil management practicesis frequently limited by climatic constraints. We propose a region-specificapproach that recognizes the importance of identifying and overcoming socio-technical barriers, and by acknowledging bio-physical limits that may beexpanded by innovation.