{"schedule": {"version": "0.1", "base_url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/schedule/", "conference": {"acronym": "soil-health-now-2026", "title": "Soil Health Now! 2026", "start": "2026-12-07", "end": "2026-12-10", "daysCount": 4, "timeslot_duration": "00:05", "rooms": [{"name": "Amphitheater II", "guid": null, "description": "Plenary Room - Main Room", "capacity": 170}, {"name": "Amphitheater I", "guid": null, "description": "Breakout room per theme", "capacity": 153}, {"name": "Amphitheater III", "guid": null, "description": "#2 Breakout room per theme", "capacity": 125}, {"name": "Basement (Foyer)", "guid": null, "description": "Social space: networking session, poster session, commercial exhibitions", "capacity": null}], "days": [{"index": 1, "date": "2026-12-07", "day_start": "2026-12-07T04:00:00+02:00", "day_end": "2026-12-08T03:59:00+02:00", "rooms": {"Amphitheater II": [{"id": 544, "guid": "036b8bc7-f77b-5986-9f7b-f59abe4fb042", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T14:00:00+02:00", "start": "14:00", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater II", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-544-deriving-spatially-explicit-tolerable-soil-loss-rates-from-a-global-synthesis-of-soil-production-rates", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/NNKJR8/", "title": "Deriving spatially explicit tolerable soil loss rates from a global synthesis of soil production rates", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil health indicators", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Soil maintenance depends on erosion not exceeding soil replacement, yet tolerable soil loss rates (defined as the maximum erosion rate possible before soil profiles begin to thin over time) remain poorly constrained and are often represented by broad global defaults that do not adequately reflect environmental variability. This study updates the global evidence base for soil production from the weathering of parent material and explores how these rates can be used to derive more spatially explicit estimates of tolerable soil loss. We compiled a global database of 528 soil production rate (SPR) observations with soil depth information from 29 publications covering approximately the last 30 years. Across the main dataset, SPRs span approximately six orders of magnitude, ranging from 6 x 10-5 to 2.47 mm yr\u207b\u00b9, with a mean of 0.0869 mm yr\u207b\u00b9 and a median of 0.033 mm yr\u207b\u00b9. Strong differences were evident among environmental settings, with especially low rates in dry climates, and the highest rates associated with steep slopes and metamorphic lithologies.\r\nTo move beyond global averages, we used an ensemble of 10,000 regression trees to identify robust combinations of environmental controls on SPRs, resulting in the delineation of seven globally mappable soil production zones. The selected tree structure indicates that climate, lithology, slope, and sampling depth (as a proxy for overlying soil profile thickness) interact to produce distinct regional rates of soil production. Our results are mapped at full global scale at 1 km resolution to allow for comparison with global model estimates of soil erosion rates. Mapping these zones for upland-hillslope soils (where explicit soil profile thickness estimates are available and where soils are most vulnerable to loss through erosion) shows that SPRs are lowest across hot arid regions, including much of Australia, central Asia, southern Africa, and the southern USA\u2013Mexico border region, while higher SPRs occur widely in tropical regions and in some higher latitude regions with metamorphic lithology. These results illustrate that tolerable soil loss thresholds should be spatially differentiated, and that commonly cited universal values (e.g. 2 t ha-1 yr-1) likely overestimate tolerable soil loss rates in many landscapes.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 255, "code": "EG9GAJ", "public_name": "Chris Feeney", "biography": "Land-water systems scientist working within the Land, Soil & Coast team at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. Specialised in applying GIS, modelling and analysis of environmental data, particularly large-scale, long-term monitoring, as well as spatial data on climate, land cover, soils and terrain in support of project teams across UKCEH and externally. Key areas of interest include soil health and land degradation, nutrient and sediment fluxes between land and water, and spatial modelling of ecosystem services to support the restoration and management of natural resources.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 546, "guid": "c5c0689b-e3ee-5f03-b519-ff673428b04f", "logo": "/media/soil-health-now-2026/submissions/LPYY8Q/soil_health_now_murcia_cover_UM_DhYx10u.png", "date": "2026-12-07T15:00:00+02:00", "start": "15:00", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater II", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-546-satellite-based-assessment-and-neural-network-prediction-of-desertification-risk-in-mediterranean-agricultural-landscapes", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/LPYY8Q/", "title": "Satellite-Based Assessment and Neural Network Prediction of Desertification Risk in Mediterranean Agricultural Landscapes", "subtitle": "", "track": "Earth observation data for monitoring soil health", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Mediterranean agricultural landscapes in south-eastern Spain are increasingly affected by gradual, spatially heterogeneous soil degradation processes, including vegetation decline, water stress, bare soil exposure and surface warming. Early detection is challenging when monitoring relies on occasional field observations alone, yet timely identification of at-risk areas is critical for guiding soil health management and combating desertification. Developed within the NEMESIS project, a Mediterranean Soil Health Living Lab network, this study supports efforts to combat desertification, reduce land degradation and promote sustainable land management through soil health descriptors, Earth Observation (EO) data and place-based monitoring.\r\nThis work presents a satellite-based framework for assessing and predicting desertification risk in agricultural plots located in the Region of Murcia (37.930981 N, \u22122.203217 E), using Sentinel-2 imagery acquired at five-day intervals between 2015 and 2026. Seven spectral and biophysical indicators were derived from the multitemporal archive: NDVI and MSAVI to describe vegetation vigour and canopy development; NDMI to represent moisture-related vegetation response; BSI and BSF for monitoring bare soil exposure; a land surface temperature proxy (LST) to capture thermal stress; and FCover to estimate fractional vegetation cover.\r\nThese indicators were integrated into a Desertification Degree Index (DDI), a spatial composite combining all seven components using weighted aggregation and global normalisation across the observation period to ensure temporal comparability. Pixel-wise temporal trend analysis was performed using linear regression, producing maps of change and statistical significance masks to identify areas with consistent degradation or recovery signals.\r\nTo explore short-term risk evolution, predictive models were applied to the multitemporal DDI series. These models used the historical behaviour of the indicators to forecast future desertification risk and generate maps of expected surface condition, allowing both plot-level interpretation and pixel-level identification of vulnerable areas.\r\nThe results identified zones of elevated desertification risk and captured intra-annual vegetation and soil dynamics that would be overlooked by annual composites. Areas with lower vegetation indices, persistent bare soil exposure, reduced moisture response and higher surface temperature were associated with greater vulnerability, while zones with stable vegetation cover and lower thermal stress showed lower apparent risk. The short-term forecasts provided information on likely surface condition, supporting agronomic intervention. By translating a dense decade-long satellite archive into actionable soil health indicators, this work demonstrates the operational potential of EO for early warning and targeted monitoring in Mediterranean semi-arid agricultural systems.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 546, "code": "GBNSGH", "public_name": "Adrian Canovas-Rodriguez", "biography": "Adri\u00e1n C\u00e1novas-Rodr\u00edguez received his Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Murcia. He later obtained a Master's degree in New Information Technologies from the same university, where he is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Computer Science.\r\nHis research focuses on the application of artificial intelligence to environmental and agricultural domains. He currently works as a Ph.D. student and researcher on the OSIRIS project. Previously, he participated in the ATLAS project, which focused on the development of intelligent control devices to improve irrigation efficiency, integrated with satellite-based monitoring technologies.", "answers": []}, {"id": 547, "code": "9SLPMZ", "public_name": "Mar\u00eda Fernanda Garc\u00eda-Cruz", "biography": "I am an Agricultural Engineer at the University of Murcia, with a strong interest in sustainable agriculture, soil health, efficient water management, and the conservation of natural resources. I am currently involved in the European project NEMESIS, where I contribute to activities focused on more sustainable and resilient agricultural systems. My profile is mainly agronomic, with experience in crop monitoring, irrigation management, fertilization, and the improvement of agricultural practices that support soil quality, productive efficiency, and a better balance between agriculture and the environment.", "answers": []}, {"id": 548, "code": "9C8QUB", "public_name": "Andres Julian Colunje Diaz", "biography": "Agricultural Engineer and Master in Mediterranean Greenhouse Horticulture from the University of Almer\u00eda (Spain), with experience in research and development of horticultural crops, agronomic trials and varietal evaluation in field and greenhouse environments. I have worked on projects related to genetic improvement, phytosanitary and biostimulants, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams. I am currently part of the European project NEMESIS (Soil Health Living Lab Network for Combating Desertification in the Mediterranean), focused on the fight against desertification and improving soil health in the Mediterranean region through Living Labs and applied innovation.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}], "Amphitheater III": [{"id": 599, "guid": "92bb9973-88b1-5009-ab3c-505844bb09cb", "logo": "/media/soil-health-now-2026/submissions/3A7NZP/green_earth_k4bWZVS.png", "date": "2026-12-07T14:00:00+02:00", "start": "14:00", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater III", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-599-green-earth-program-earth-observation-supported-soil-rehabilitation-in-drylands-using-biological-soil-crusts", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/3A7NZP/", "title": "Green Earth Program \u2013 Earth Observation-Supported Soil Rehabilitation in Drylands using Biological Soil Crusts", "subtitle": "", "track": "Let organizers decide", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Green Earth Program \u2013 Earth Observation-Supported Soil Rehabilitation in Drylands using Biological Soil Crusts\r\n\r\nJessica Friedrichs, Ines Wagner, Andreas Burr, Pia Swatkowski, Marvin Braun, Olga Spang, Charis Benetatos\r\n\r\nBlue Horizon S.\u00e0.r.l., Betzdorf, Luxembourg\r\n\r\nKeywords: Induced biological soil crusts; soil health; soil biodiversity; carbon sequestration; dryland ecosystems; Earth Observation; AI\r\n\r\nThe \u2018Green Earth Program\u2019 is an end-to-end Earth Observation and biotechnology-driven framework. It is designed to combat dryland degradation and desertification through the rehabilitation of soil functions and ecosystem resilience. Built around five integrated stages - identify, analyse, produce, treat and monitor - the programme aims to bring life back to soils in arid and semi-arid environments.\r\n\r\nAt its core, the approach leverages induced biological soil crusts as a foundational rehabilitation mechanism to improve soil fertility, stabilise surfaces and initiate natural recovery processes on the microorganism level. A locally produced, GMO-free mix of active microorganisms is cultivated in scalable, energy- and cost-efficient raceway pond cultures. These raceway ponds are powered on-site by renewable energy, so that CO2 is captured from the atmosphere already during cultivation. Once applied, the biological soil crusts enhance nitrogen cycling and increase soil organic carbon through photosynthetic carbon fixation. This key pioneer step starts over a biological succession and progressively re-establishes soil functions such as biodiversity, carbon sequestration, erosion control and nutrient retention. It thereby reverses degradation trajectories in drylands.\r\n\r\nEarth Observation and Artificial Intelligence run through the whole framework, guiding from initial assessment to long-term monitoring. They reveal where degradation is occurring by monitoring for example soil health parameters, inform how and when treatments are applied and track the recovery of treated areas over time as the biological soil crusts establish and grow.\r\n\r\nIn the longer term, the formation of stable biological soil crust systems is intended to create massive, long-term CO2 sinks and form the basis for higher plant communities. Furthermore, the Green Earth Program can also provide an ecological foundation for future land-use systems. For example, it can support drought-affected agroforestry and orchard systems (olive, argan) from drought and erosion, through soil stabilisation and increased water retention. It can also protect dust-affected photovoltaic installations by stabilising surrounding soils against wind erosion.\r\n\r\nBy combining bioprocess engineering with advanced monitoring, the Green Earth Program offers a scalable pathway for rehabilitating soils and dryland ecosystems, through measurable soil health improvements.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 606, "code": "8SWHF7", "public_name": "Jessica Friedrichs", "biography": "Jessica Friedrichs is an environmental scientist with a specialisation in environmental remote sensing and modelling. She has been working as a Project Engineer for the Luxembourgish company Blue Horizon Sarl since 2022 and is part of the Green Earth program team. She has experience in mapping soil parameters using Earth observation data and artificial intelligence techniques to support soil health assessment.", "answers": []}, {"id": 648, "code": "YEMEU7", "public_name": "Andreas Burr", "biography": null, "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 568, "guid": "424e2333-0b0c-5ae0-975d-08beee157e3c", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T14:15:00+02:00", "start": "14:15", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater III", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-568-living-lab-for-sustainable-hop-agroecosystem-health-monitoring-through-soil-and-plant-microfungal-indicators", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/77QAQG/", "title": "Living Lab for Sustainable HOP Agroecosystem Health Monitoring Through Soil and Plant Microfungal Indicators", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil-climate-agriculture", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Humulus lupulus L. (HOPs) that is used in the pharmaceutical and industrial area, grow out only in Pazaryeri /Bilecik at Turkey. The aim of this study is to monitor the sustainable health of the HOP agricultural ecosystem through soil and plant microfungal indicators. For this purpose, microfungal biodiversity in soils where HOPs plants are grown and in HOPs plants themselves has been monitored since 2022 in the Pazaryeri/Bilecik region of T\u00fcrkiye. In this monitoring system, the method followed for soil and plant is as follows: soil samples are taken annually and/or seasonally, while plant samples are taken during the months of March-August, covering the growth and harvest period of HOPs. In determining microfungal biodiversity, Rose Bengal-added Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA-RB), Speziel Nahrstoffarmer agar (SNA), and Selective Fusarium Agar (SFA) + Rose Bengal media were used. The obtained isolates were identified using molecular and morphological methods based on multi-gene region sequencing. In conclusion, Dematiaceous organisms, primarily Aspergillus, Paecilomyces, Penicillium and Taloromyces, Fusarium genera, were recorded in the soil, along with mildew and powdery mildew on plants. This study aimed to reveal the agroecosystem health of HOP by establishing a calendar of this biodiversity over the year and providing findings on how climate variables affect the process. Living Lab applications on this subject are ongoing; steps are being taken to understand the ecological conditions and their consequences through training and working processes with local authorities and farmers.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 569, "code": "MQPMEW", "public_name": "Rasime Demirel", "biography": "I am a scientific project coordinator and university-level educator based in T\u00fcrkiye, with expertise in soil fungal biodiversity, agricultural ecosystems, and plant pathogenic fungi. I have extensive experience in Horizon Europe proposal design, consortium building, and curriculum development. My research interests focus on biodiversity conservation, molecular ecology, and the integration of AI into ecological monitoring. I am passionate about fostering international collaborations across Europe to advance sustainable agriculture and environmental protection", "answers": []}, {"id": 572, "code": "TMTTCM", "public_name": "Seda \u00d6zta\u015f Tar\u0131", "biography": "My name is Seda \u00d6zta\u015f Tar\u0131, and I am an Industrial Microbiologist and researcher specializing in soil microbiology, microbial ecology, and sustainable agricultural biotechnology. I hold an MSc degree in Fundamental and Industrial Microbiology, where my research focused on the investigation of Fusarium species associated with Humulus lupulus L. and agricultural soils. Currently, I work in R&D and laboratory management at a biotechnology company developing innovative microbial biofertilizers for sustainable agriculture and climate resilience. My research interests include soil health, plant\u2013microbe interactions, microbial diversity, biocontrol strategies, and the development of environmentally friendly agricultural solutions that enhance soil fertility and crop productivity.", "answers": []}, {"id": 573, "code": "VJK9G8", "public_name": "Ayten Harman", "biography": "This proposal will be presented by Rasime Demirel. I am a senior-year student in the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, at Eski\u015fehir Technical University, and I contributed to the studies on the microfungi associated with hop (Humulus lupulus) plants within this research.\r\n\r\nI hereby confirm my approval for Ms. Rasime Demirel to deliver the presentation of this proposal.", "answers": []}, {"id": 576, "code": "8UHTUU", "public_name": "Sanem Akda\u011f", "biography": "This proposal will be presented by Rasime Demirel. I am a senior-year student in the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, at Eski\u015fehir Technical University, and I contributed to the studies on the microfungi associated with hop (Humulus lupulus) plants within this research.\r\n\r\nI hereby confirm my approval for Ms. Rasime Demirel to deliver the presentation of this proposal.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 590, "guid": "fc65b5da-1059-574b-8308-2b45fefe208c", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T15:00:00+02:00", "start": "15:00", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater III", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-590-food-processing-residues-as-circular-soil-improvers-for-soil-health", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/FPNTCU/", "title": "Food processing residues as circular soil improvers for soil health", "subtitle": "", "track": "Technology demonstrations", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Waste4Soil is a European research initiative focused on transforming food-processing residues and other bio-based waste streams into safe, effective and locally adapted soil improvers. By working through Living Labs across different pedoclimatic regions and cropping systems, the project aims to support circular bioeconomy models while improving soil health, resource efficiency and the sustainable use of organic amendments in agriculture.\r\n\r\nWithin the agronomic work of Waste4Soil, a broad assessment was conducted to evaluate the effects of selected soil improvers on soil properties, biological activity, crop performance and nutrient dynamics. Soil samples from the Living Labs were analysed for a wide range of physical, chemical and biological indicators, including pH, electrical conductivity, soil organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, labile carbon and nitrogen fractions, enzyme activities, soil respiration, microbial biomass, functional microbial genes and community-level physiological profiles. The results showed that the effects of soil improvers were highly site- and product-specific, reflecting differences in soil type, crop, climate, amendment composition and application rate.\r\n\r\nSeveral amendments improved key soil health indicators. For example, compost- and biochar-based products increased soil organic carbon, labile carbon fractions, microbial functional diversity or enzyme activities in specific Living Labs, while other responses were neutral or dependent on local conditions. Additional experiments assessed nitrogen mineralisation, partial replacement of commercial fertiliser, crop performance and disease suppressiveness. Selected soil improvers were able to replace part of the nitrogen fertiliser without reducing lettuce biomass, while some biochar and protein hydrolysate products showed suppressive effects against the soil-borne pathogen Globisporangium ultimum. Long-term modelling further indicated that soil improvers may contribute to increased carbon and nitrogen stocks, particularly when products contain stable organic matter such as biochar-rich materials. Overall, the agronomic work confirms the potential of locally produced soil improvers to enhance soil health and support sustainable crop production, while highlighting the need for context-specific recommendations.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 299, "code": "3JHFGL", "public_name": "Vera Proskynitopoulou", "biography": "Vera Proskynitopoulou is a research chemist specialising in waste management, circular economy and sustainability. Her work focuses on the development and implementation of European and national research projects exploring the valorisation of organic residues, food-processing by-products and bio-based waste streams.\r\n\r\nShe has contributed to projects addressing nutrient and water recycling from organic wastes, soil improver development, soil health monitoring and living lab approaches in agricultural systems. Her activities involve the integration of scientific, technical and stakeholder knowledge to support the transition towards more resource-efficient and circular farming systems. Through her involvement in Waste4Soil and related initiatives, she supports the translation of research outcomes into practical solutions for improving soil quality, enhancing nutrient use efficiency and promoting sustainable crop production.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 569, "guid": "2e6a4bb0-e4b3-5c96-90b8-95f7f69bdbfd", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T15:15:00+02:00", "start": "15:15", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater III", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-569-monitoring-hidden-microfungal-biodiversity-from-urban-forest-to-agricultural-soils", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/SJEYJL/", "title": "Monitoring Hidden Microfungal Biodiversity from Urban Forest to Agricultural Soils", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil biology", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Forests, which cover a large portion of the Earth's terrestrial surface, play a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance as dynamic ecosystems that are directly affected by climate change and characterized by high levels of biodiversity. Within this biodiversity, microfungi contribute significantly to the sustainability and resilience of forest ecosystems through their roles in carbon cycling, nutrient cycling, soil formation, and soil\u2013tree interactions. Determining the biodiversity of microfungi, which directly influence soil health in this living and densely populated ecological niche, enables the monitoring of forest and soil health while also providing insight into the extent to which urban forests have developed forest-like ecological characteristics.\r\nMonitoring forest biodiversity is essential not only for assessing forest and soil health but also for understanding afforestation processes, the condition of protected areas, the impacts of human activities, the prevention of biodiversity loss, and the influence of urban environments on forests established within cities. Furthermore, such monitoring facilitates cooperation among relevant authorities in the development of sustainable management strategies.\r\nWithin the scope of this study, the microfungal biodiversity of urban forest and agricultural soils, as well as its interactions with climatic factors, was investigated. Soil samples were collected from an urban forest and surrounding agricultural lands in the Eski\u015fehir province of T\u00fcrkiye according to the LUCAS soil sampling protocol. Cultural isolation was performed from soil samples using Potato Dextrose Agar supplemented with Rose Bengal. A total of 71 and 58 isolates were obtained from agricultural and forest sites, respectively. Morphological examination revealed that the isolates predominantly belonged to the genera Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Talaromyces, as well as members of the family Dematiaceae. Microfungal biodiversity was further determined using ITS DNA barcoding and Sanger sequencing techniques.\r\nThe results of this study demonstrated that microfungal biodiversity in agricultural soils tends to favor pathogenic, resistant, and/or mycotoxigenic microfungi possessing sexual reproductive structures, likely due to environmental factors and anthropogenic influences. In addition, the study highlights the ecological importance of microfungal biodiversity lost as a consequence of human intervention and aims to support the integration of soil microfungal biodiversity assessments into sustainable forest and agricultural management practices. Furthermore, the identification of potential bioindicator species reflecting changes driven by human activities and global warming, together with the contribution of DNA barcode data to international genetic databases, is anticipated.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 569, "code": "MQPMEW", "public_name": "Rasime Demirel", "biography": "I am a scientific project coordinator and university-level educator based in T\u00fcrkiye, with expertise in soil fungal biodiversity, agricultural ecosystems, and plant pathogenic fungi. I have extensive experience in Horizon Europe proposal design, consortium building, and curriculum development. My research interests focus on biodiversity conservation, molecular ecology, and the integration of AI into ecological monitoring. I am passionate about fostering international collaborations across Europe to advance sustainable agriculture and environmental protection", "answers": []}, {"id": 575, "code": "CQQUC3", "public_name": "Merve KESKINOGLU INCE", "biography": "Early-career researcher with a background in molecular biology and epigenetics, focusing on biodiversity, stress biology and regulatory mechanisms at the molecular level. Experienced in critical evaluation of scientific literat\u00fcre, experimental design, molecular data analysis, plant stress response and epigenetic regulation. I am highly motivated to establish international scientific collaborations and actively participate in consortia. My current research areas include microfungi and their biodiversity, as well as the impact of biotic factors on this diversity.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}], "Basement (Foyer)": [{"id": 625, "guid": "4929971f-68e0-5ebd-8e64-f52ee3198d75", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T17:00:00+02:00", "start": "17:00", "duration": "01:00", "room": "Basement (Foyer)", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-625-kopaida-regional-soil-spectral-library-advancing-soil-property-monitoring-through-spectroscopy", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/8AMPY9/", "title": "Kopaida Regional Soil Spectral Library: Advancing Soil Property Monitoring through  Spectroscopy", "subtitle": "", "track": "Earth observation data for monitoring soil health", "type": "Poster", "language": "en", "abstract": "Abstract\r\nSoils are the largest terrestrial carbon pool providing important ecosystem services, essential for sustainable land management, agricultural productivity, and climate regulation. Spaceborne imaging spectrometers represent a promising tool for producing up-to-date, inexpensive and spatially explicit maps. The recent availability of spaceborne imaging spectroscopy sensors provide high signal-to-noise ratio, such as the EnMAP, offers new opportunities for detailed and spatially explicit soil assessment.\r\nThis study investigates the potential of EnMAP hyperspectral imagery for retrieving and mapping key topsoil properties, with a particular focus on soil organic carbon (SOC), using advanced machine learning and spectral processing techniques. The analysis conducted across agricultural landscapes in Kopaida region in Central Greece and was supported by an extensive soil sampling campaign designed to capture the spatial variability of soil conditions within the study area.\r\nBare soil spectra were extracted from EnMAP imagery, and the effects of spectral transformations and feature selection on model performance were assessed. Random Forest (RF) models were trained based on different spectral transformations and feature-selection methods, and their impacts on predictive performance were compared to derive a robust modelling workflow. The SOC results showed strong performance at the laboratory scale. Results demonstrated the potential of EnMAP hyperspectral observations for operational soil monitoring and support the development of scalable methodologies for regional soil monitoring and digital soil mapping. Overall, the generated soil maps revealed substantial spatial variability across the study area, highlighting the influence of local environmental factors on soil distribution patterns.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": true, "persons": [{"id": 627, "code": "HKJ38Z", "public_name": "Spyridon E. Detsikas", "biography": "Spyridon E. Detsikas is a researcher at the Department of Geography of Harokopio University of Athens, Greece, with expertise in geoinformatics, remote sensing, environmental monitoring, and Earth Observation applications. His research focuses on the integration of satellite, UAV, and in-situ data for environmental assessment, natural resource management, climate change adaptation, and sustainable development.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 633, "guid": "1cad236d-be3b-5126-bfbf-3b3dfa2be676", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T17:00:00+02:00", "start": "17:00", "duration": "01:00", "room": "Basement (Foyer)", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-633-soil-health-monitoring-in-nature-conservation-across-european-protected-areas", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/WERME8/", "title": "Soil health monitoring in nature conservation across European protected areas", "subtitle": "", "track": null, "type": "Poster", "language": "en", "abstract": "Authors: Jasmin Liedtke,\u00a0 Surya Gupta, Valentin Amrhein, Christine Alewell\r\nDepartment of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Switzerland\r\n\r\nThe European Soil Strategy for 2030 in combination with the Soil Monitoring Law aim\r\nto support the restoration of soils across Europe and reduce overall soil loss and\r\ndegradation. Despite its fundamental role in supporting ecosystem functioning and\r\nbiodiversity, soil health is rarely included in monitoring of protected areas. In addition,\r\nand despite soils being the fundament of all terrestrial ecosystems, soil protection\r\nand nature conservation continue to be addressed largely separately in policy\r\nstrategies. We systematically reviewed the literature to investigate how soil has been\r\nobserved and potentially monitored within protected areas and how useful this could\r\nbe to assess soil health in nature conservation. Overall, there was a lack of\r\nawareness for soil or soil health in conservation contexts, and there was little\r\nconsensus on which indicators could be monitored and be suitable for long-term\r\nassessments. Only few protected areas assessed soil parameters at all, and if so, it\r\nwas often to address specific conservation challenges with indicators chosen to the\r\nlocal conditions. No indicator set was meaningful on its own for European-wide\r\nconservation targets, which highlights the need for an integrative soil health\r\nmonitoring method for protected areas. SHERPA was designed with an open\r\ndecision-tree structure and would therefore already be applicable in most cases with\r\nits existing keys for forests and grasslands. The development of additional keys for\r\nwetlands and sparsely vegetated areas will be needed, because these land use\r\ntypes are priorities for conservation in Europe. Integrating soil health and soil\r\nmonitoring into conservation contexts could not only significantly improve\r\nconservation effectiveness but be critical for achieving the targets of the EU\r\nBiodiversity Strategy for 2030.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 641, "code": "SZAGSY", "public_name": "Jasmin Liedtke", "biography": null, "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 612, "guid": "e3ba753b-d5ab-59bd-bf32-a4e46a3f2e95", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T17:00:00+02:00", "start": "17:00", "duration": "01:00", "room": "Basement (Foyer)", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-612-assessing-soil-health-across-europe-using-collembola-diversity-indicators", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/M9XGPJ/", "title": "Assessing Soil Health Across Europe Using Collembola Diversity Indicators", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil health indicators", "type": "Poster", "language": "en", "abstract": "The development of reliable and scalable biological indicators is a major challenge for the implementation of the EU Soil Strategy and Mission Soil. Among soil mesofauna, Collembola (springtails) are key regulators of decomposition processes, microbial dynamics, and nutrient cycling, yet their potential as indicators of soil health remains insufficiently explored at continental scale.\r\nWithin the Horizon Europe SOB4ES project, we analysed Collembola communities across more than 430 sites distributed among nine European pedoclimatic regions and contrasting land-use systems. Using a harmonized dataset of sampling plots integrating biological, soil, climatic, management, and Earth Observation data, we identified the key environmental drivers and anthropogenic pressures shaping Collembola abundance and diversity.\r\nBiological observations were integrated with soil physico-chemical properties, climatic variables, topographic descriptors, management information, and Earth Observation products. Machine-learning models and explainable artificial intelligence (SHAP) were applied to identify the factors governing Collembola abundance and diversity.\r\nThe analyses revealed a striking contrast between density and species-richness responses. Collembola density showed relatively low predictability, reflecting strong local-scale variability and dependence on soil structure, moisture conditions, and climate. In contrast, species richness was predicted with very high accuracy by the XGBoost model (R\u00b2 \u2248 0.92), indicating a strong and consistent response to broad environmental gradients. Soil pH emerged as the dominant predictor, followed by precipitation, soil moisture, nitrogen availability, temperature, and pedoclimatic context. Species richness increased under alkaline, nutrient-rich, and moist conditions, while specific soil and landscape characteristics further modulated diversity patterns.\r\nThese findings demonstrate that Collembola species richness is a robust and sensitive indicator of soil ecological condition across Europe. By combining standardized biodiversity monitoring with Earth Observation data and explainable artificial intelligence, this study provides a scientifically grounded and operational framework for integrating soil biodiversity into future European soil health monitoring systems.\r\nAuthors: Cristina Fiera\u00b9, Minodora Manu1, Ioana Vicol1, Monica Mitoi1, Constantin-Tiberiu Sahlean1, Dariusz Skar\u017cy\u0144ski\u00b2, J\u00f6rg-Alfred Salamon3, Marjetka Suhadolc4, Karen Vancampenhout5, Wim H. van der Putten6,7, George Zalidis8, Mar\u00eda Jes\u00fas Iglesias Briones9, and SOB4ES consortium", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 616, "code": "RMGEWU", "public_name": "Fiera Cristina", "biography": "Cristina Fiera is a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Biology Bucharest, Romanian Academy, Romania. Her research focuses on soil biodiversity, soil ecology, and the role of soil organisms, particularly Collembola, in ecosystem functioning and soil health assessment. She has extensive experience in the taxonomy and ecology of Collembola and other soil fauna, as well as in biodiversity monitoring across natural and managed ecosystems. Cristina is involved in several European research projects, including Horizon Europe initiatives such as SOB4ES, addressing soil biodiversity, ecosystem services, and sustainable land management. Her current work explores the use of soil biological indicators to support the implementation of the EU Soil Strategy and Mission Soil objectives.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 618, "guid": "aa5154b4-43d2-5512-9698-1d5c96a17cea", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T17:00:00+02:00", "start": "17:00", "duration": "01:00", "room": "Basement (Foyer)", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-618-sob4c-the-relative-importance-of-biotic-and-abiotic-drivers-of-soil-carbon-stocks-at-the-european-scale", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/QMHNMF/", "title": "SOB4C: The relative importance of biotic and abiotic drivers of soil carbon stocks at the European scale", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil Organic Carbon", "type": "Poster", "language": "en", "abstract": "Understanding what controls soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks across broad spatial scales remains a central challenge in soil science. While climate and soil physicochemical properties are well-established drivers of SOC variation, the contribution of soil biota remains poorly quantified at the European scale. Most large-scale SOC assessments rely on a restricted set of abiotic predictors, leaving the biological drivers of SOC largely unresolved.\r\n\r\nThis study addresses this gap using the continent-wide dataset collected within the Horizon Europe SOB4ES project, encompassing soils from major land-use types and pedoclimatic regions across Europe. We first describe general patterns of SOC stocks across these land-use types and pedoclimatic regions, providing a continental-scale overview of SOC distribution. We then apply random forest analysis to a comprehensive set of predictors spanning four categories: climatic variables, topographic variables, soil physicochemical properties, and biological variables. The latter include soil fauna (earthworms, enchytraeids, oribatid mites, and collembolans) and microbial properties (biomass, basal respiration, and bacterial and fungal diversity), enabling us to quantify their relative importance for SOC variation and identify key interactions among predictors.\r\n\r\nThe findings will provide new insights into the biotic and abiotic controls on SOC stocks across European soils, and may serve as a basis for future large-scale soil carbon assessments.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 624, "code": "XGE33X", "public_name": "Astrid Sneyders", "biography": "Astrid Sneyders is a PhD student at KU Leuven, Belgium, within the research group EDAPHOS. Her doctoral research is conducted within the Horizon Europe SOB4ES project, and focuses on the drivers of soil organic carbon stocks and soil health indicators across European soils. Her broader research interests include soil biodiversity, carbon cycling, and the development of scalable methods for large-scale soil health assessment.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 558, "guid": "a794ac88-151d-5c98-956b-1414f73a8ed5", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T17:00:00+02:00", "start": "17:00", "duration": "01:00", "room": "Basement (Foyer)", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-558-uav-based-hyperspectral-soc-mapping-using-a-tunable-fabry-prot-imager-and-machine-learning", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/YECZSZ/", "title": "UAV-Based Hyperspectral SOC Mapping Using a Tunable Fabry-P\u00e9rot Imager and Machine Learning", "subtitle": "", "track": "Let organizers decide", "type": "Poster", "language": "en", "abstract": "This work presents a UAV-based hyperspectral imaging pipeline for high-resolution Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) mapping at the field scale. The system combines hyperspectral remote sensing, ground-truth soil sampling, and machine learning to generate detailed SOC distribution maps that can support precision agriculture and soil monitoring applications.\r\nThe pipeline begins with data acquisition using a hyperspectral camera mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). In this study, a real-time hyperspectral imager based on a large Fabry-P\u00e9rot Interferometer (FPI) filter was used. Unlike conventional fixed-band hyperspectral systems, the tunable FPI design developed by VTT allows the user to programmatically select the spectral bands and wavelength combinations most suitable for a specific application, enabling more flexible and efficient data acquisition. The sensor operates in the 650\u20131200 nm wavelength range using an InGaAs detector with 1280 \u00d7 1024 pixel resolution and captures full 2D spatial information for every spectral channel while minimizing acquisition delays. \r\nThe UAV captures hyperspectral imagery at sub-meter spatial resolution, allowing detailed observation of soil variability across agricultural fields. Compared to conventional multispectral imagery, hyperspectral data provides significantly richer spectral information, enabling the detection of subtle soil characteristics and absorption features related to organic carbon content.\r\nTo create reference data for model development, soil samples were collected from multiple locations within each field and analyzed in the laboratory to determine SOC content. The laboratory measurements were then spatially linked with the hyperspectral imagery to form a training and testing dataset consisting of spectral signatures and corresponding SOC values. Image preprocessing included radiometric correction, geometric alignment, and bare-soil identification to reduce the influence of vegetation and non-soil materials on the spectral signal.\r\nThree machine learning algorithms were evaluated for SOC prediction, including Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), Random Forest, and Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) models. Model performance was assessed using 5-fold cross-validation with metrics such as Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) and coefficient of determination (R\u00b2). Among the evaluated approaches, XGBoost achieved the best predictive performance and was selected for final SOC map generation.\r\nThe trained model was subsequently applied to the full hyperspectral dataset to produce continuous high-resolution SOC maps for multiple agricultural fields. The resulting maps reveal fine-scale spatial variability in soil carbon content that would be difficult to capture using traditional sampling approaches alone.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 556, "code": "SLGM9S", "public_name": "Wannes De Man", "biography": "Dr. Wannes De Man works as a researcher at the Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), where he contributes to and coordinates Horizon Europe projects on data-driven innovation in the agri-food sector. He has a background in food science, NMR spectroscopy, and international project management, and holds a PhD in Bioscience Engineering.\r\nWithin his team at ILVO, Wannes works at the intersection of climate, soil, and digital innovation, focusing on how data-driven tools and user-centred services can support the transition towards more sustainable agrifood systems in Flanders and across Europe. Through the SoilWise project, he coordinates efforts to build a European Soil Health Data Space and to make FAIR soil data more accessible and useful for science, policy, and practice.", "answers": []}, {"id": 560, "code": "RJCTF8", "public_name": "Haris Ampas", "biography": "Haris Ampas is a PhD candidate in Deep Learning for Earth Observation at the Department of Applied Informatics, University of Macedonia, Greece. He holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of Ioannina, an M.Sc. in Environmental Design and Natural Resources Management from the Democritus University of Thrace, and an M.Sc. in Applied Informatics from the University of Macedonia. His research focuses on Earth observation, hyperspectral remote sensing, edge AI, spectral unmixing, and deep learning for geospatial applications.", "answers": []}, {"id": 589, "code": "WAZRYJ", "public_name": "Tuna Coppens", "biography": null, "answers": []}, {"id": 590, "code": "BHEQT9", "public_name": "Nick Berkvens", "biography": null, "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 557, "guid": "52e58e57-70f9-5fd4-acaf-d69151c5edb9", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T17:00:00+02:00", "start": "17:00", "duration": "01:00", "room": "Basement (Foyer)", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-557-soilwise-project-the-journey-of-a-fair-metadata-record-from-publication-to-reusability", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/X3K8B3/", "title": "SoilWise project: the journey of a FAIR metadata record from publication to reusability", "subtitle": "", "track": "Let organizers decide", "type": "Poster", "language": "en", "abstract": "The SoilWise Project, a Horizon Europe Mission Soil project (2023\u20132027), builds an open-access catalogue that harvests soil metadata from across Europe and makes it discoverable through a search interface (the SoilWise Finder) and an AI chatbot (the Soil Companion), which will later be part of the European Soil Observatory (EUSO). Yet what surfaces in SoilWise, and how well, depends on the publishing choices data and knowledge providers make. We illustrate how metadata records go through the SoilWise pipeline, so that data and knowledge providers understand how they can make their work FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable). \r\nStarting from publication on Zenodo with a DOI and a grant-agreement number, the record is picked up automatically by the SoilWise Harvester via OpenAIRE. It is then harmonised from its source format into a common SoilWise data model and deduplicated against records from other aggregators such as the INSPIRE Geoportal and data.europa.eu. A validation step scores the record for completeness and INSPIRE compliance, while an augmentation step enriches it with standardised SoilVoc concept identifiers, normalised resource types, and geographic information extracted from text where explicit spatial metadata is missing. The processed metadata record is stored across three parallel structures, each supporting a different mode of access: a relational database, a semantic Knowledge Graph, and a full-text search index. Finally, the record becomes discoverable both through the SoilWise Finder's faceted search interface and through the Soil Companion, an AI assistant that uses retrieval-augmented generation to synthesise natural-language answers from across the catalogue.\r\nAt every stage, the concrete publishing decision that determines whether a metadata record succeeds is highlighted: a DOI and grant reference for harvesting, a recognised metadata standard for harmonisation, complete core fields for validation, and controlled-vocabulary keywords and geographic extent for augmentation and search. This work is aimed at Mission Soil data managers, data stewards, researchers, and Living Lab participants, with the practical message that understanding the pipeline is what enables soil data and knowledge providers to make their work findable today and preserved in EUSO at the JRC.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": true, "persons": [{"id": 530, "code": "JXNE98", "public_name": "Radu Giurgiu", "biography": "Dr. Radu Giurgiu is a researcher at ILVO, the Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and the project coordinator of SoilWise, a Horizon Europe project funded under the EU Mission \u201cA Soil Deal for Europe\u201d. He has a background in agronomy and holds a PhD in plant science.\r\nWithin his team at ILVO, Radu works at the intersection of climate, soil, and digital innovation, focusing on how data-driven tools and user-centred services can support the transition towards healthier and more resilient soils in Flanders and across Europe. Through SoilWise, he coordinates efforts to build a European Soil Health Data Space and to make FAIR soil data more accessible and useful for science, policy, and practice. The outputs of SoilWise are expected to be integrated into the European Soil Observatory (EUSO) and further developed and maintained by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, supporting the long-term sustainability and impact of the initiative.", "answers": []}, {"id": 556, "code": "SLGM9S", "public_name": "Wannes De Man", "biography": "Dr. Wannes De Man works as a researcher at the Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), where he contributes to and coordinates Horizon Europe projects on data-driven innovation in the agri-food sector. He has a background in food science, NMR spectroscopy, and international project management, and holds a PhD in Bioscience Engineering.\r\nWithin his team at ILVO, Wannes works at the intersection of climate, soil, and digital innovation, focusing on how data-driven tools and user-centred services can support the transition towards more sustainable agrifood systems in Flanders and across Europe. Through the SoilWise project, he coordinates efforts to build a European Soil Health Data Space and to make FAIR soil data more accessible and useful for science, policy, and practice.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 596, "guid": "5cedccd6-2106-51b2-a893-e57815a6dcde", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T17:00:00+02:00", "start": "17:00", "duration": "01:00", "room": "Basement (Foyer)", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-596-use-and-substitution-potential-of-agricultural-plastics-in-apple-orchards", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/WV9HZB/", "title": "Use and Substitution Potential of Agricultural Plastics in Apple Orchards", "subtitle": "", "track": "Methods for soil degradation reduction", "type": "Poster", "language": "en", "abstract": "Plastic pollution is increasingly recognized as a major environmental challenge in agroecosystems due to the widespread use of plastic-based materials for irrigation, protection, and plant support. Despite their practical benefits, their persistence and fragmentation lead to the accumulation of (micro)plastics in soils, contributing to long-term contamination and negatively affecting soil health. As such contamination originates from material inputs, the selection and use of agricultural products represent a key starting point for reducing impacts and advancing regenerative agriculture.\r\nIn perennial production systems such as apple orchards, mitigating this issue is particularly challenging. Due to the long lifespan of orchards, materials must meet high functional requirements, including long-term durability, UV resistance, and weather resistance, which makes substitution with alternatives significantly more difficult. Furthermore, the complete removal of plastic debris during orchard clearing is often not feasible. Therefore, it is essential that potential alternative materials undergo complete degradation under natural soil conditions.\r\nThis study aims to examine the current use of plastic products in apple orchards across different applications and to identify potential alternatives, focusing on applications where substitution was deemed more feasible (like tying material). The methodology combined local retailer inquiries with targeted online research to compile and analyze a comprehensive product list, including potential alternatives.\r\nIn addition, a farmer perception survey was conducted to assess awareness of plastic-related environmental impacts, knowledge of available alternatives, and perceived barriers to their adoption.\r\nThe material assessment revealed that common polymers such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) dominate specific application areas. The evaluation further highlighted limited availability and transparency of material composition information, as well as challenges related to recycling and end-of-life management, particularly for fossil-based plastics. A range of potential alternatives was identified, including biopolymers derived from renewable biological resources and biobased or non-plastic options such as natural fibre-based products. While these alternatives may reduce plastic inputs, application-specific evaluation shows that high costs, limited durability, and constraints in circular economy strategies\u2014including reuse, recycling, and biodegradation\u2014remain major barriers to effective substitution.\r\nAddressing plastic inputs and their potential impacts on soils requires more than substitution; it demands a systemic approach aligned with regenerative agriculture, integrating material selection, product design, application-specific requirements, and improved end-of-life management. Supporting farmer decision-making and fostering innovation in sustainable material solutions are key steps toward regenerative and soil-protective agricultural systems.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 603, "code": "JNZVH9", "public_name": "Mirjam Hofer", "biography": "Scientific Researcher, Institute for Plant Health, Laimburg Research Centre, Pfatten/Vadena, Italy\r\n\r\nSince 2025: Scientific Collaborator, CLIMOO project \u2013 plastic use and alternative materials in agricultural systems\r\n\r\nEducation:\r\n2024: Master\u2019s degree (Dipl.-Ing.) in Sciences and Management of Nature, University of Bologna, Italy\r\n2019: Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Biology, University of Innsbruck, Austria", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 584, "guid": "981d3380-d19d-5470-99cc-1f78a921e92d", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T17:00:00+02:00", "start": "17:00", "duration": "01:00", "room": "Basement (Foyer)", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-584-assessing-soil-biological-quality-in-mediterranean-horticultural-systems-using-the-qbs-ar-evidence-from-the-soillife1st-project", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/VGXTAD/", "title": "Assessing soil biological quality in Mediterranean horticultural systems using the QBS-ar: Evidence from the SoilLife1st project", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil health indicators", "type": "Poster", "language": "en", "abstract": "Soil biodiversity is increasingly recognized as a key component of soil health and ecosystem functioning. However, biological indicators remain underrepresented in routine soil monitoring program compared with physical and chemical parameters. The SoilLife1st project aimed to evaluate the effects of soil-improving agricultural practices on soil health in Portuguese horticultural systems, with a particular focus on soil biological quality.\r\nBetween 2022 and 2025, six commercial horticultural fields located in the Ribatejo, Oeste and Alentejo Litoral regions were monitored. Biodiverse cover crops were established prior to the main cash crops and compared with control plots under conventional management. Soil biological quality was assessed using the QBS-ar (Soil Biological Quality based on Arthropods), a recognized indicator that integrates the diversity of soil microarthropod groups with their degree of adaptation to soil habitats.\r\nMicroarthropods play a fundamental role in organic matter decomposition, nutrient cycling and soil structure formation, while also responding rapidly to changes in soil conditions and management practices. \r\nResults showed higher QBS-ar values in plots where cover crops were implemented, indicating a significant improvement in soil biological quality compared with control treatments.\r\nThese findings demonstrate the potential of cover crops to enhance soil biodiversity and support the use of QBS-ar as a tool for soil health assessment. The work contributes to the integration of biological indicators into soil monitoring frameworks and supports the implementation of the European Soil Monitoring Law and future soil health policies.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 588, "code": "EDVEJN", "public_name": "Maria Godinho", "biography": "Personal details\r\nMaria do C\u00e9u Godinho holds a degree in Agronomic Engineering and a Master\u00bfs degree in Integrated Pest Management from the Instituto Superior de Agronomia, University of Lisbon. She has been a professor of Polytechnic Higher Education since 1996, an adjunct professor at the Agricultural School of Santar\u00e9m where she is responsible for the curricular units in the area of plant protection. Member of the IPSantarem Research Unit (UIIPS) and the Quality of Life Research Centre (CIEQV).She has completed postgraduate training courses in Plant Protection at institutions such as Wageningen University (Netherlands), Imperial College (Univ. London) and CAB-Institute of Entomology (London). Participates in several national and European projects with special focus on the coordination of PRR - Soilife1st that did run until 2015. Participates as a trainer to agents of the sector in the area of integrated protection. Assumes orientation and co-orientation of Bachelor and Master thesis. He has been Chairman of the Board of the COTHN General Assembly since 2015 and a member of the APH Board. She is the author and co-author of technical and scientific papers. She is the author and co-author of book chapters in the field of plant protection.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 553, "guid": "7520cf66-7d9c-5efa-8ac3-18ce91450133", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T17:00:00+02:00", "start": "17:00", "duration": "01:00", "room": "Basement (Foyer)", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-553-towards-a-soil-resilience-and-food-security-index-for-climate-resilient-agricultural-landscapes", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/TZFHT8/", "title": "Towards a Soil Resilience and Food Security Index for Climate-Resilient Agricultural Landscapes", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil health indicators", "type": "Poster", "language": "en", "abstract": "Extreme weather events, including droughts, heatwaves, intense rainfall and episodic non-seasonal frosts, are increasingly disrupting soil functionality and agricultural production stability. In Mediterranean agricultural landscapes, these pressures interact with long-standing soil degradation processes such as declining organic matter, erosion, salinisation, compaction and reduced biological activity, creating new risks for food security and land management. There is therefore a growing need for integrated, spatially explicit tools that can assess not only the current condition of soils, but also their capacity to buffer climatic stress, recover after disturbance and support stable crop production over time. \r\n\r\nThe Soil Resilience and Food Security Index (SRFSI) is proposed as a composite framework for evaluating the resilience of agricultural landscapes under climate-extreme conditions. The index integrates four complementary dimensions: Soil Resilience Capacity, representing the ability of soils to sustain carbon storage, water regulation, nutrient cycling, structural stability and biological functioning; Biological and Agroecological Management, capturing the contribution of practices such as compost and manure application, biofertilisers, microbial inoculants, cover crops, crop-residue retention, reduced tillage, diversified rotations and landscape elements that enhance biodiversity and water regulation; Climate-Extreme Resilience, assessing exposure and response to drought, heatwaves, heavy rainfall, erosion risk, salinity stress and crop-relevant non-seasonal frosts; and Food Security Stability, reflecting yield stability, stress-year yield retention, production reliability and post-event recovery. \r\n\r\nThrough SRFSI, a framework is proposed that can function both as a baseline diagnostic approach and as a scenario-based tool for assessing soil and production resilience. By comparing index scores under current conditions, climate-extreme scenarios and post-intervention conditions, resilience loss and adaptation gain can be quantified across different crops, soil types and management systems. Remote-sensing proxies, open soil and climate datasets, field measurements and farm-management information are combined to support implementation at field, farm, municipal and regional scales. This approach is intended to support the identification of vulnerable agricultural areas, the evaluation of biological and agroecological soil-management interventions, and the design of strategies that help maintain productive, resilient and food-secure agricultural systems under increasing climate uncertainty.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 288, "code": "ZTUQXJ", "public_name": "Konstantinos Karyotis", "biography": "Kostas Karyotis graduated from the School of Mathematics at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 2013 and received an MSc in Webscience from the same faculty in 2016. Since 2018, he has been working as an associate researcher at the Interbalkan Environment Center and the Laboratory of Remote Sensing of the Aristotle University, focusing on modeling physicochemical soil properties using spectroscopy and remote sensing techniques. He has actively participated in more than 20 European and National research projects related to Earth Observation. Since 2020, he is serving as the secretary of the \u201cIEEE P4005: Standards and Protocols for Soil Spectroscopy\u201d initiative.", "answers": []}, {"id": 550, "code": "KXWYW8", "public_name": "Maria Marily Christou", "biography": "Maria-Marily Christou holds a BSc in Biology from the Department of Biology, School of Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and an MSc in Applied Bioinformatics. She is currently a PhD candidate at the International Hellenic University, working on \u201cAI-Driven Modeling of Soil Health: Integrating Spectral Signatures and Biodiversity\u201d. Her research focuses on soil health, soil biodiversity, Earth Observation and AI-driven modelling. She is also involved in the Horizon Europe project SOB4ES.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 555, "guid": "3358c3dd-608e-5b84-a0be-b56f56bc22a7", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T17:00:00+02:00", "start": "17:00", "duration": "01:00", "room": "Basement (Foyer)", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-555-cultivating-soil-literacy-bridging-the-science-society-gap-through-arts-and-participatory-engagement", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/TYD3CJ/", "title": "Cultivating Soil Literacy: Bridging the Science-Society Gap through Arts and Participatory Engagement", "subtitle": "", "track": "Let organizers decide", "type": "Poster", "language": "en", "abstract": "Despite advances in soil health research, a significant communication gap persists between scientific jargon and public discourse, which can hinder widespread behavioural change . The Horizon Europe SOILSCAPE project addresses this gap by utilising cultural and creative industries, arts, and participatory methodologies to transform human-soil relationships and foster deep, emotional connections to soil ecosystems. This poster outlines the project\u2019s multifaceted approach to improving soil literacy, structured across five core blocks of action:\r\n1. Mapping Societal Perceptions & Capacities: To understand current soil narratives, SOILSCAPE analysed 122 mass and social media datasets, identifying dominant metaphors and communication gaps . Concurrently, the project mapped regional governance frameworks and established a capacity matrix of over 900 art-soil stakeholders to mobilise cross-sector collaboration.\r\n2. SEPIA: A Photovoice-Inspired Approach: The project developed SEPIA (Soil Environments Based on a Photovoice-Inspired Approach), a participatory methodology that captures community soil perceptions directly through citizens' camera lenses . By facilitating focus group discussions around these images, SEPIA reveals how diverse groups relate to local \"soilscapes,\" providing intuitive entry points to boost soil awareness.\r\n3. Cultivating \"Soil Orchestras\": The project has established a self-sustaining network of eight multidisciplinary \"Soil Orchestras\" across Europe . Currently engaging 145 members, these orchestras function as social learning ecosystems, rooting scientific accuracy in creative engagement to empower local communities.\r\n4. Empowering Grassroots Action (FSTP): SOILSCAPE launched a Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) program. Demonstrating massive public interest with >400 applications , the project is funding 36 diverse sub-projects to use arts-based approaches to increase soil literacy and contribute to the SOILSCAPE festivals.\r\n5.  Tools in Progress: The first edition of the SOILSCAPE festival was successfully held in Portugal (April 2026) and France (May 2026), with festivals planned for 2027 in all 8 orchestra countries. Simultaneously, a Soil Literacy Portal is being co-designed with the JRC and DG Agri to host interactive \"Soils & Arts\" modules, alongside a finalized Soil Literacy Press Kit featuring 12 science-backed fact sheets to bridge the gap between soil research and public discourse .", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 533, "code": "9ZZCMK", "public_name": "Mackenzie Baert", "biography": "Mackenzie holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alberta, specialising in palaeontology and geology and a Master\u2019s degree in Environmental Management and Sustainability from the International University of Greece. She is the team leader for business and impact at reframe.food and working as a project manager in diverse research and innovation projects focusing on raising awareness about environmental sustainability and protection.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 622, "guid": "7e952eab-a488-5404-b857-f973c74f347a", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T17:00:00+02:00", "start": "17:00", "duration": "01:00", "room": "Basement (Foyer)", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-622-green-field-landscapes-for-resilient-agriculture-and-carbon-sequestration-a-pilot-scheme-for-an-outcome-based-incentive", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/SZYN3E/", "title": "Green Field Landscapes for Resilient Agriculture and Carbon Sequestration - a pilot scheme for an outcome-based incentive", "subtitle": "", "track": "Regenerative agriculture", "type": "Poster", "language": "en", "abstract": "Regenerative agriculture is gaining interest and recognition by farmers, governments and the agrifood sector as a response to improve the overall sustainability of food production. It is referred to also from climate objective standpoint, i.a., within the EU CRCF framework. Cultivation practises that build resilience and soil health often align with soil carbon sequestration, thus supporting integrated policies and incentive schemes. For the CAP, result-based payments are increasingly being advocated by administration and farmers alike to increase effectiveness of policy (often motivation for the former group) and flexibility at farm level (motivation for the latter group). \r\nBut so far we lack management indicators and that would be sufficiently attributable, effective and supported by viable monitoring systems. Considering as indicators for result-based payments, soil carbon does not optimally capture the farm management benefits nor does it alone fully align with farm level sustainability objectives. Therefore, on the basis of five-year experimental study and aligned MRV development (Carbon Action collaboration), as well as parallel work by the European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture (EARA), BSAG proposes to test Gross (or Net) Primary Productivity as an indicator for carbon sequestration with multiple benefits. GPP is calculated from satellite-derived NDVI and PAR data. It is important to note that the GPP is not intended as a direct proxy indicator for soil carbon stock increase, but if the right MRV is applied and due farm data is available, soil carbon stock can be calculated as a higher tier metric if needed.  \r\nThe GPP as a target is expected to lead to increase of green vegetation in time (as days over a year/cropping cycle) and space (as arable hectares) through, e.g. addition/increase of undersown crops, cover crops, winter crops, legumes, green manuring or grazing, including switching to rotational grazing. In addition to increasing carbon sequestration in the soil through increased photosynthesis, these practises are associated with improved soil structure, reduced soil erosion, increased water infiltration and soil's water holding capacity, increased biodiversity below and above ground and increased farm systems resistance to diseases and pests. Thereby, this measure is aligned with pesticide and fertilizer reduction targets. The pilot would also help establish complementarity across the CAP and the CRCF. In this approach, additional carbon sequestration to qualify for CRCF certification would be accounted separately with additional farm level data on yields and carbon inputs.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 625, "code": "STKKHG", "public_name": "Kaj Granholm", "biography": "With 20+ years of working experience facilitating research-policy-practice dialogue and transfer in national and international contexts, I am dedicated to sustainability, soil and marine ecosystem health, I lead transition collaboration in the food system and societies, working for a private non-profit based in Finland. I specialize in international partnerships, advocacy, agriculture, environment and climate policy and incentive structures across market and policy.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 597, "guid": "7fb0aaf2-f5bd-5007-90f0-55ec50fea6b6", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T17:00:00+02:00", "start": "17:00", "duration": "01:00", "room": "Basement (Foyer)", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-597-can-biological-indicators-capture-soil-health-differences-across-farming-systems-evidence-from-135-samples-in-the-french-living-lab", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/NBFHW9/", "title": "Can Biological Indicators Capture Soil Health Differences Across Farming Systems? Evidence from 135 Samples in the French Living Lab", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil health indicators", "type": "Poster", "language": "en", "abstract": "The European Mission \"A Soil Deal for Europe\" highlights the need for robust, scalable and operational indicators capable of supporting soil health assessment across diverse agricultural systems. While physical and chemical soil properties are routinely monitored, biological indicators remain underused despite their central role in ecosystem functioning and agricultural sustainability.\r\nThis study presents the establishment of a biological soil health baseline within the French Living Lab located in the Landes (South-West France). A total of 135 soil samples were collected across 25 farms representing a diversity of agricultural systems and pedoclimatic conditions. Three complementary biological indicators were assessed: total microbial abundance, relative microbial biodiversity and dehydrogenase activity as a proxy for overall microbial metabolic activity.\r\nThe objective was not only to characterize the current biological status of soils across the territory, but also to evaluate the potential of combining these indicators into an operational framework for long-term soil health monitoring within a Living Lab context. Attention was given to the relationships among community size, biodiversity and biological activity, as well as to the variability observed between farms and management contexts.\r\nResults reveal substantial spatial heterogeneity across the territory, highlighting the diversity of biological soil conditions encountered under real farming situations. Preliminary analyses indicate that microbial abundance, biodiversity and enzymatic activity provide complementary rather than redundant information, suggesting that multiple biological dimensions should be considered when assessing soil health. The data further demonstrate the feasibility of deploying harmonized biological monitoring at territorial scale and provide a reference point against which future changes associated with soil health interventions can be evaluated.\r\nBeyond the characterization of current conditions, this work contributes to ongoing efforts to identify practical biological indicators for soil health assessment and monitoring. The baseline established through this study will support the evaluation of future innovations implemented within the Living Lab and offers a framework that could be replicated in other European territories engaged in the transition towards healthy soils.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 601, "code": "EERD7T", "public_name": "Wafa Guiga", "biography": "After 20 years as researcher in engineering, I started working on Participatory-Action Research, involving the quadruple helix of innovation in the participatory devices I build with other actors.\r\nNature Based Solutions and Farmers Knowledge are the main drivers of innovation for sustainability, that I'm counting on. Designing and facilitating co-creation workshops with this focus allows a robust co-construction of knowledge.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 571, "guid": "e1a6b89c-6365-5a1a-83a2-7c69d0217017", "logo": "/media/soil-health-now-2026/submissions/EL7GRA/study_locations_europe_soil_fauna_meta_analysis_cjfBipW.png", "date": "2026-12-07T17:00:00+02:00", "start": "17:00", "duration": "01:00", "room": "Basement (Foyer)", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-571-soil-fauna-responses-to-agricultural-management-across-europe-a-meta-analysis-of-biological-metrics-and-decomposer-taxa", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/EL7GRA/", "title": "Soil fauna responses to agricultural management across Europe: a meta-analysis of biological metrics and decomposer taxa", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil biology", "type": "Poster", "language": "en", "abstract": "Soil fauna are key components of soil biodiversity and contribute to decomposition, nutrient cycling, soil structure formation and the regulation of biological processes in agricultural soils. However, soil faunal responses to management are often assessed using different metrics, such as activity density, density, biomass and taxonomic richness, which may reflect distinct biological processes. As a result, it remains unclear whether agricultural practices that benefit one dimension of soil fauna also support others.\r\n\r\nWe conducted a meta-analysis of peer-reviewed field studies from European agricultural landscapes to compare how cropping intensity, crop type, farming type and agri-environmental measures affect soil fauna communities relative to intensively managed arable references. The dataset included 1,383 paired observations from 43 publications and covered major soil fauna groups and management contexts. Effect sizes were calculated as log response ratios and analysed using multilevel random-effects models that accounted for between-study heterogeneity and dependencies among comparisons sharing controls. We further evaluated whether responses differed among soil fauna metrics and major decomposer taxa.\r\n\r\nSoil fauna responses varied strongly among metrics. Lower cropping intensity and agri-environmental measures produced the clearest positive effects on density and biomass, suggesting that reduced disturbance, permanent or semi-natural vegetation, and more continuous resource inputs favour the build-up of larger and more abundant soil fauna communities. Farming type was more closely associated with activity density and taxonomic richness, with organic or ecological farming generally showing positive effects. Crop type alone showed weaker and less consistent responses. Among individual agri-environmental measures, forests, fallows, grasslands, habitat strips and field margins generally supported higher density or biomass, whereas richness responses were more variable. Taxon-specific analyses showed that positive responses were concentrated in several decomposer groups, including Acari, Collembola, Enchytraeidae, Lumbricidae and Nematoda, although the strength of evidence differed among taxa.\r\n\r\nOur results show that soil fauna metrics are not interchangeable indicators of biological soil condition. Density and biomass responded most consistently to management interventions, whereas activity density and richness were more context-dependent. Integrating multiple soil fauna metrics and taxon-specific responses can therefore improve biological assessment of agricultural soils and support the design of management practices that better conserve soil biodiversity", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 578, "code": "B9NG8Z", "public_name": "Nga Thi Thanh Mai", "biography": "Nga Mai is a PhD student at Charles University and the Biology Centre CAS, Czech Republic. Her research interests include soil fauna, soil biodiversity, and the ecological functioning of agricultural soils. She is particularly interested in how soil organisms respond to land use and management, and how biological information, including insights from bioinformatics-based approaches, can support sustainable soil management, biodiversity conservation, and soil health assessment in agricultural landscapes", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 572, "guid": "a8556c3f-161c-59ba-8afc-26ce72ed646d", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T17:00:00+02:00", "start": "17:00", "duration": "01:00", "room": "Basement (Foyer)", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-572-deep-learning-based-crop-type-classification-using-multitemporal-sentinel-2-data", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/ECXQB7/", "title": "Deep Learning-Based Crop Type Classification Using Multitemporal Sentinel-2 Data", "subtitle": "", "track": "Earth observation data for monitoring soil health", "type": "Poster", "language": "en", "abstract": "Materials and Methods \r\n\r\nLand use classification is a key tool for understanding and monitoring both natural and human-modified landscapes. It supports environmental protection, sustainable agricultural management, and urban planning. Its importance is also reflected in the Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) framework, which is closely linked to European Union climate policies, carbon stock changes, greenhouse gas emissions, and ecosystem resilience. Satellite remote sensing provides an efficient and cost-effective way to monitor land use over large areas. However, accurately separating similar land cover types, especially in agricultural areas with small parcels and strong seasonal changes, remains a difficult task. This study investigates the use of deep learning methods to improve land use classification using Sentinel-2 imagery, supported by suitable preprocessing steps and additional ancillary data.\r\nWe compiled a time series of Sentinel-2 imagery, computing monthly median reflectance values for each spectral band, resulting in 12 composite images. To ensure data quality, individual images with more than 20% cloud cover were excluded before median calculation. Further filtering was applied at the pixel level using the Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI) and the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), setting a <30% threshold to remove pixels associated with snow cover and water bodies. The study was conducted in the Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Region, utilizing 2022 Land Parcel Information System (LPIS) data provided by the National Paying Agency of Greece as ground truth, including the field boundaries and crop type labels.\r\nWe evaluated multiple deep learning models for land use classification, including and Temporal CNN Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) Bidirectional GRU (BiGRU) Multi-Head Attention (MHA) and Transformer Encoder. Performance was assessed using the Classification Report from the scikit-learn library, which provided key metrics such as precision, recall, F1-score, and support. By analyzing results at the crop type level, we identified underperforming classes and refined the classification strategy by merging related categories, ultimately enhancing overall model accuracy.\r\n \r\nResults and Evaluation\r\n\r\nAs the dataset is highly imbalanced among crop-type classes, we utilized the F1-score to select the best performing model which was temporal CNN achieving the value of 0.85, which is comparable to the reported State-of-the-Art at various works.\r\n\r\nConclusion\r\n\r\nOverall, the study shows  that multitemporal deep learning applied to Sentinel-2 parcel sequences provides a robust and scalable framework for operational crop type classification.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 579, "code": "NX83KF", "public_name": "Giorgos Varras", "biography": "I hold a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Thessaly, Greece. I am currently working as a Software Engineer and Machine Learning/Deep Learning Engineer, specializing in the development of advanced artificial intelligence solutions for Earth observation and remote sensing applications. My expertise includes the design and implementation of deep learning architectures and neural networks for crop type classification using satellite and geospatial data.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 583, "guid": "436d6751-fa31-525f-8be5-312888efdac4", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T17:00:00+02:00", "start": "17:00", "duration": "01:00", "room": "Basement (Foyer)", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-583-application-of-portable-nir-spectroscopy-and-machine-learning-for-soil-health-assessment-in-swedish-grassland", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/BB3D7A/", "title": "Application of Portable NIR Spectroscopy and Machine Learning for Soil Health Assessment in Swedish Grassland", "subtitle": "", "track": "In-situ measurement of soil health", "type": "Poster", "language": "en", "abstract": "Grassland systems play a critical role in regulating soil carbon dynamics and delivering essential ecosystem services, particularly under the pressures of global climate change. Effective monitoring of soil physical and chemical properties is therefore critical to support sustainable grassland management. However, conventional laboratory-based analyses are often costly, time-consuming, and difficult to implement at large scales.\r\nSpectroscopy, combined with machine learning, offers a promising alternative by enabling rapid and cost-effective prediction of soil properties. This study evaluates the potential of a commercially available near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer, NeoSpectra, to support practical soil monitoring in grassland systems. The use of an accessible device aims to simulate real-world conditions, potentially allowing farmers to perform measurements directly in the field or in simple laboratory settings. NIR spectroscopy operates in a wavelength range that is highly sensitive to organic carbon and N\u2013H bonds, which reflects the change of C and N content and making it a suitable tool for monitoring grassland soils. The approach integrates spectral data with multiple machine learning models to predict soil physical and chemical properties, with a focus on optimizing model performance and assessing its robustness under conditions that reflect realistic application scenarios. \r\nThis study highlights the potential of combining NIR spectroscopy with machine learning as a scalable tool for soil health monitoring. The approach provides a rapid and accessible method for evaluating grassland soils and shows potential to support decision-making in sustainable land management under changing environmental conditions.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 291, "code": "VQ9JNB", "public_name": "Hsiang-Ju Fan", "biography": "PhD candidate at Stockholm University specializing in in-situ methods for soil health assessment, including soil spectroscopy, infiltration measurements, and eDNA analysis. My research focuses on integrating biological, physical, and chemical indicators of soil systems, with a strong interest in scaling these approaches for broader environmental and agricultural applications. I am particularly interested in advancing sustainable soil management and translating soil science knowledge into practical solutions for agricultural systems.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 592, "guid": "775b4939-def1-5af6-836a-7df6e4cb4ee0", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T17:00:00+02:00", "start": "17:00", "duration": "01:00", "room": "Basement (Foyer)", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-592-selecting-phytoremediation-strategies-for-acidic-boreal-forest-soils-a-comparison-of-chelator-assisted-phytoextraction-and-biochar-assisted-phytostabilization-across-contamination-levels", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/99HZ93/", "title": "Selecting Phytoremediation Strategies for Acidic Boreal Forest Soils: A Comparison of Chelator-Assisted Phytoextraction and Biochar-Assisted Phytostabilization Across Contamination Levels", "subtitle": "", "track": "Methods for soil degradation reduction", "type": "Poster", "language": "en", "abstract": "Phytoremediation offers a sustainable approach for remediating heavy metal-contaminated soils through strategies that either enhance metal uptake (phytoextraction) or reduce metal mobility (phytostabilization). This study evaluated the influence of metal bioavailability on phytoremediation outcomes in an acidic boreal forest soil (pH =5.6) using chelator-assisted phytoextraction and biochar-assisted phytostabilization. A 10-week greenhouse experiment was conducted on moderately contaminated soil using Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) and six chelator treatments: control, EDTA, citric acid (CA), oxalic acid (OA), and combinations of EDTA with CA or OA at rates of 3 mmol kg\u207b\u00b9 for natural chelators and 1.5 mmol kg\u207b\u00b9 EDTA in combined treatments. EDTA significantly increased the solubility of Cd, Cu, and Zn in soil and pore water; however, severe phytotoxicity resulted in plant mortality when EDTA was applied alone or in combination with natural chelators. In contrast, CA and OA caused no phytotoxicity but produced only limited increases in metal bioavailability and phytoextraction. A second three-month growth chamber experiment evaluated biochar (BC) and H2O2-modified biochar (HBC) applied at 5% (w/w) to a higher heavy metal-contaminated soil using Canada wild rye (Elymus canadensis), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). Biochar amendments improved plant growth, reduced metal accumulation in plant tissues, and enhanced metal stability. In BC-amended soils, Canada wild rye produced the highest biomass and reduced shoot Cd, Cu, and Zn concentrations by up to 81%, 77%, and 84%, respectively. Results demonstrate that metal bioavailability is a key factor governing phytoremediation success in acidic boreal soils. While chelator amendments increased metal solubility, excessive mobilization caused phytotoxicity and limited phytoextraction. Conversely, biochar reduced metal availability, enhanced plant growth, and improved metal stability, highlighting the importance of balancing metal availability with plant tolerance during phytoremediation.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 326, "code": "FCXTAJ", "public_name": "Darshani Kumaragamage", "biography": "Dr. Darshani Kumaragamage is a Professor at the Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences, University of Winnipeg, Canada. Her research interests include sustainable soil management and mitigating the environmental impacts of fertilizers and animal manure under different climatic and management scenarios. She has an active research program at the University of Winnipeg focusing on reducing phosphorus loadings to Lake Winnipeg and other water bodies through better agricultural management practices.", "answers": []}, {"id": 595, "code": "DFUTGS", "public_name": "Srimathie Indraratne", "biography": "Dr. Srimathie Indraratne is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences at the University of Winnipeg. Her research focuses on soil and water quality, contaminant remediation, trace metal dynamics, and sustainable soil management. She investigates the use of biochar, soil amendments, and phytoremediation approaches to reduce environmental risks associated with contaminated soils and waters.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 594, "guid": "6dff6ffa-b672-5985-a70d-2e01cff26abd", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T17:00:00+02:00", "start": "17:00", "duration": "01:00", "room": "Basement (Foyer)", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-594-landprint-mapping-the-human-imprint-on-soil-health-drivers-costs-and-solutions-across-europe", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/GKP8GR/", "title": "LandPrint: Mapping the Human Imprint on Soil Health Drivers, Costs, and Solutions Across Europe", "subtitle": "", "track": "Let organizers decide", "type": "Poster", "language": "en", "abstract": "Soil is a living archive of how societies govern, value, and manage their land. Yet more than 60% of Europe\u2019s soils remain in unhealthy condition. Solutions exist, but they often fail to take root because the deeper human imprint (i.e., economic short-termism, fragmented governance, and cultural detachment from soil) remains unaddressed. Current soil policies and assessments focus mainly on one-way causality, describing how human activities degrade soils, while underestimating the feedback loops through which degraded soils in turn reshape behaviours, governance, and economic systems. This leads to policies that undervalue the true costs of degradation and overlook soil health as a driver of transformative change. LandPrint responds by conceptualising soil as part of a layered socio-ecological system: socio-cultural practices (subsoil), political-regulatory frameworks (topsoil), and economic and behavioural incentives (surface), all interacting with biophysical indicators. Through these, LandPrint integrates evidence, models, and participatory methods to reveal the two-way feedbacks between land degradation and human systems. The project is structured around four interconnected roots: Explore (harmonised indicator & data matrix across disciplines), Explain (mapping behavioural, institutional, and economic drivers), Experiment (nested modelling with agroeconomic tools, ABM, and FABLE pathways), and Enable (Policy Toolbox, EU Soil Policy Lab, peer-learning cycles, and cultural foresight workshops). Five case studies across diverse pedoclimatic and socio-economic contexts provide the evidence base, feeding data into EU infrastructures such as SoilWise and EUSO.LandPrint directly supports the EU Mission \u201cA Soil Deal for Europe\u201d by delivering 3 advances: (i) evidence on the true costs and multi-layered drivers of degradation, (ii) policy tools for readiness, feasibility, and equity, and (iii) pathways to embed soil health in climate resilience and territorial cohesion.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 599, "code": "DD7NMR", "public_name": "Georgios Chatzichristos", "biography": "Georgios Chatzichristos is an adjunct lecturer in the Political Sciences Department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He is the coordinator and AUTH principal investigator of the following Horizon Europe projects: a) LandPrint [101297309] Mapping The Human Imprint: Drivers, Costs, And Solutions For Soil Health Across Europe; b) ASSETS [GA: 101177874] Advancements in Social Economy through Technological Solutions. His research focuses on rural development, social innovation, social economy and qualitative research. He studied Economics at the University of Macedonia. He completed his postgraduate studies in Political Theory (MSC) at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and in Philosophy (MA) at King\u2019s College London (KCL). He received his PhD from the University of the Aegean as a Marie Curie ITN Scholar of the European Union in the RurAction programme [GA: 721999].", "answers": []}, {"id": 600, "code": "RUG8CU", "public_name": "Emanuel Lekakis", "biography": null, "answers": []}, {"id": 602, "code": "H8NHSS", "public_name": "Sofia Magopoulou", "biography": null, "answers": []}, {"id": 617, "code": "KWSHYB", "public_name": "ELENI KALOPESA", "biography": null, "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 565, "guid": "f42fd115-0eab-5175-afa6-25ebf6a217b5", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T17:00:00+02:00", "start": "17:00", "duration": "01:00", "room": "Basement (Foyer)", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-565-building-the-mrv4soc-knowledge-hub-an-interoperable-digital-platform-for-soil-monitoring-data-integration-and-open-science", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/CKYVYS/", "title": "Building the MRV4SOC Knowledge Hub: An Interoperable Digital Platform for Soil Monitoring, Data Integration, and Open Science", "subtitle": "", "track": "Technology demonstrations", "type": "Poster", "language": "en", "abstract": "The MRV4SOC Knowledge Hub (KH) is a central component of the project\u2019s digital infrastructure, designed as a CKAN-based platform to support Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) of soil organic carbon across Europe. It provides a unified and scalable environment for storing, managing, and disseminating heterogeneous datasets, including remote sensing products, in-situ measurements, and process-based model outputs. By harmonizing these diverse data streams, the KH facilitates access to high-quality, well-documented information for scientific, policy, and practitioner communities.\r\nA core strength of the KH lies in its robust data repository architecture, which ensures secure storage, version control, and full provenance tracking. This enables transparency, reproducibility, and long-term data stewardship. All datasets are accompanied by detailed metadata compliant with the INSPIRE Directive and aligned with Joint Research Centre (JRC) and EU Soil Observatory (EUSO) guidelines. Metadata profiles capture key attributes such as data origin, spatial and temporal coverage, processing workflows, and licensing conditions, ensuring consistency and interoperability across datasets and platforms.\r\nThe KH is closely connected to the SoilWise project and its repository under the EUSO framework, serving as a key data provider and integration node. Through standardized vocabularies and controlled terminologies aligned with European soil data standards, the KH ensures semantic interoperability, enabling consistent interpretation of datasets across systems. Its RESTful API supports automated metadata harvesting and synchronization (e.g., via OAI-PMH and CKAN APIs), allowing SoilWise to seamlessly access, ingest, and integrate harmonized MRV4SOC datasets into the broader European soil data ecosystem.\r\nAdvanced search and discovery functionalities further enhance accessibility, enabling users to locate datasets through keyword queries, metadata filters, and semantic search supported by integrated glossaries. In addition, geospatial visualization capabilities, enabled through a GeoServer infrastructure, allow users to explore spatial datasets interactively and assess their relevance before download.\r\nBy combining standardized metadata, interoperable APIs, semantic harmonization, and direct integration with SoilWise, the MRV4SOC Knowledge Hub demonstrates a practical implementation of FAIR data principles. It not only preserves and disseminates project outputs but also strengthens European soil data infrastructures, supporting coordinated monitoring, modelling, and evidence-based decision-making under the EUSO mission.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 564, "code": "USLANK", "public_name": "Dimitra Palantza", "biography": "Dimitra Palantza is a Scientific Associate at i-BEC and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, holding a BSc in Geology and an MSc in Physical and Environmental Geography. She specializes in soil science and environmental monitoring, with research interests focused on remote sensing, soil pcience, erosion processes, environmental assessment, and sustainable land management.\r\nWithin i-BEC, she is actively involved in data analysis and interpretation, the application of geospatial and Earth Observation techniques, and the preparation of scientific and technical reports, contributing to evidence-based approaches for environmental sustainability. Her work is closely linked to EU-funded HORIZON projects, supporting the development and implementation of harmonised monitoring frameworks and innovative methodologies for soil and environmental assessment.\r\nShe is a data-driven professional with an interdisciplinary background spanning physical geography, environmental sciences, soil science, and erosion processes, complemented by strong foundations in the social sciences. This interdisciplinary profile enables her to address complex environmental challenges by integrating biophysical data with policy-relevant and socio-environmental perspectives.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 577, "guid": "3dae137e-e86a-5db1-9ab4-3d10c6b9029b", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-07T17:00:00+02:00", "start": "17:00", "duration": "01:00", "room": "Basement (Foyer)", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-577-soc-enrichment-and-ghg-mitigation-in-greek-mediterranean-vineyard", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/H8BNUP/", "title": "SOC enrichment and GHG mitigation in Greek Mediterranean vineyard", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil Organic Carbon", "type": "Poster", "language": "en", "abstract": "SOC enrichment and GHG mitigation in Greek Mediterranean vineyard \r\n\r\nDaphne Kitsou\u00b9, Paraskevi Chantzi\u00b9\u02d2\u00b2, Dimitrios Gkoutzikostas\u00b9, Vasileios Rousonikolos\u00b9, Theodoros Gkrimpizis\u00b9, Konstantina Gkouramani\u00b9, and Georgios Zalidis\u00b9\u02d2\u00b2 \r\n\r\n\u00b9Interbalkan Environment Centre \u2013 Green Innovation Hub, Thessaloniki, Greece\r\n\u00b2Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece\r\n\r\nBuilding soil organic carbon (SOC) while lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is a key challenge for Mediterranean vineyards. We assessed SOC dynamics and the GHG footprint of a 0.4 ha vine field in Epanomi, Central Macedonia, Greece, over two consecutive seasons. A cradle\u2011to\u2011farm\u2011gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) compared a 2024 business\u2011as\u2011usual baseline with a 2025 season in which carbon farming practices were introduced.\r\nIn 2024, the vineyard was managed with full tillage, low organic inputs and rainfed conditions, and the SOC stock was assumed to be stable. Emissions were dominated by field energy use and no measurable change in soil carbon stocks was detected. In 2025, reduced tillage and a winter cover crop were adopted while fertilizer inputs remained comparable, allowing the effect of management on carbon flows to be isolated. Soil analyses showed an increase in soil organic matter from 2.03 to 3.10% and SOC from 1.18 to 1.80% in the top 30 cm, indicating substantial carbon accumulation.\r\nBetween the two seasons, the GHG footprint per hectare decreased by about one\u2011third, and the emission intensity per kilogram of grapes was almost halved. Overall, the results demonstrate that combining reduced tillage with cover cropping can substantially enhance SOC storage while simultaneously lowering operational GHG emissions in Mediterranean perennial systems.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 562, "code": "BBSDMA", "public_name": "Paraskevi Chantzi", "biography": "Paraskevi Chantzi is an environmental scientist and Research Coordinator specialising in isotope geochemistry, hydrology and biogeochemical cycles. Her research focuses on climate and environmental monitoring using MRV and ISO\u2011based methods, in situ and remote sensing tools, to study soil carbon, greenhouse gases and resilient ecosystems at the interface between natural and human environments, especially agriculture and food systems.", "answers": []}, {"id": 582, "code": "GPNPJC", "public_name": "Daphne Kitsou", "biography": null, "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}]}}, {"index": 2, "date": "2026-12-08", "day_start": "2026-12-08T04:00:00+02:00", "day_end": "2026-12-09T03:59:00+02:00", "rooms": {"Amphitheater II": [{"id": 598, "guid": "3434f3cd-d047-5896-90cf-5f9802ffee0a", "logo": "/media/soil-health-now-2026/submissions/W89DCJ/GroundWork-fullcolour-positive_Pt7NqPo.png", "date": "2026-12-08T14:00:00+02:00", "start": "14:00", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater II", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-598-in-situ-soil-health-measurement-to-support-regenerative-grazing-practices-across-european-living-labs-groundwork-project-", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/W89DCJ/", "title": "In Situ Soil Health Measurement to Support Regenerative Grazing Practices Across European Living Labs (GroundWork project)", "subtitle": "", "track": "In-situ measurement of soil health", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "The European Soil Mission highlights the need for practical approaches that enable farmers to assess and improve soil health directly in the field. While many soil health assessments rely on laboratory analyses, there remains a need for accessible and cost-effective methods that can support management decisions under real farming conditions. The Horizon Europe GroundWork project (started in October 2025) addresses this gap by developing and testing a new adaptive management framework, the Ecosystem-Mediated Management Approach (EMMA), with a strong emphasis on in situ soil health measurement. \r\nEMMA is currently under development within GroundWork and will be co-created and refined throughout the project. It is designed as an iterative decision-support framework that helps farmers continuously improve grazing systems through cycles of ecosystem assessment, objective setting, management intervention, monitoring, and adaptation. Rather than focusing only on short-term production outcomes, EMMA links management decisions to key ecosystem processes, including water cycling, mineral cycling, energy flow, and community dynamics, which underpin soil and pasture functioning. \r\nThe framework will be implemented and tested across five European Living Labs covering diverse pedoclimatic and farming contexts. The primary focus is on understanding how grazing management influences soil health, while also capturing related effects on vegetation, biodiversity, and livestock health and welfare. EMMA is supported by a monitoring framework that is developed as part of the project and is intended to provide practical, field-based indicators that farmers can use directly. \r\nSoil health assessment within this framework focuses on physical, chemical, and biological indicators that can be measured or observed in situ using simple and low-cost methods. These practical indicators will be validated during the project by results from laboratory measurement of related scientific indicators. \r\nA key objective of GroundWork is to iteratively develop and validate EMMA and its monitoring framework through close collaboration between farmers, researchers, and advisors. The usefulness, feasibility, and reliability of the proposed indicators will be evaluated in real farming conditions across the Living Labs, ensuring continuous refinement based on both scientific evidence and user experience. \r\nThis work will contribute to a practical and scalable approach for in situ soil health measurement that is embedded within adaptive grazing management and supports the transition towards more resilient and soil-aware livestock systems in Europe.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 604, "code": "WKJMEQ", "public_name": "Justine Luca", "biography": "I\u2019m a PhD Student at Ghent University within the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, working with the SoFer (Soil Fertility and Nutrient Management) research group. \r\n\r\nMy doctoral research is part of the EU Mission Soil project \"GroundWork\", which focuses on regenerative grazing practices to improve soil health across five Living Labs in Europe, including one in Belgium.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 573, "guid": "00746dca-4ea3-5cac-8352-63e9c928d886", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-08T14:15:00+02:00", "start": "14:15", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater II", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-573-a-comparison-of-model-performances-and-uncertainty-of-soil-remote-sensing-products-calibration-for-large-scale-carbon-farming-accounting", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/N7PAPF/", "title": "A comparison of model performances and uncertainty of soil remote sensing products calibration for large-scale carbon farming accounting", "subtitle": "", "track": "Let organizers decide", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "In the framework of carbon farming, remote sensing (RS) is used to produce soil property maps for the upscaling of soil carbon stocking potentials, as modeled in in-field simulations. Reducing the uncertainty of the soil maps produced is a key element to obtain reliable upscaling products and finally calculate credible carbon credit potentials of the interested territories. The MRV4SOC project have tested the in-situ simulation of a RothC model in 3 demonstration sites in central-northern Italy, to calculate carbon credits of croplands and agroforestry. The soil input parameters used were soil organic carbon stock of the first 30 cm depth, and soil textural fractions, clay and sand. The MRV4SOC project has tested different procedures to produce soil map input parameters by remote sensing, such as: 1) a calibration of the bare soil composite of Europe SoilSuite (SRC), 2) a calibration of Sentinel and ENMAP spectral libraries using local field and lab-collected soil spectral libraries with VNIR spectroradiometers, and 3) a calibration of the SRC using a data augmentation strategy. AI models used for each calibration cases were: for case 1) quantile random forest (QRF) models, for case 2) XGBoost models, and for case 3) QRF and convolutional neural networks (CNN). The three strategies showed high calibration performance, but validation performance differs based on the model and strategy used, as well as the uncertainty of products.\r\n\r\nAuthors: Carlos Lozano Fondon, carlos.lozanofondon@crea.gov.it; Kevin K\u00fcelh, kevin.kuehl@dlr.de; Dimitra Palanza, dpalant@auth.gr; Konstantinos Karyotis, kkaryiotis@auth.gr; Costanza Andrenelli,  mariacostanza.andrenelli@crea.gov.it; Roberto Barbetti, roberto.barbetti@crea.gov.it; Maria Fantappi\u00e8, maria.fantappie@crea.gov.it.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 580, "code": "GFQHB7", "public_name": "Maria Fantappi\u00e8", "biography": "Dr. Maria Fantappi\u00e8 PhD\r\nAddress: CREA, Via Di Lanciola 12/A \u2013 50125 \u2013 Firenze, Italy.\r\nhttp://orcid.org/0000-0001-6223-1099 \r\n \r\nDr. Maria Fantappi\u00e8 is a senior researcher at CREA Research Center for Agriculture and Environment, Italy. She is a soil scientist, and she holds a PhD in Environmental Agronomy. She is representative for Italy of the INSII \u2013 GSP \u2013 FAO network, the network of Global Soil Partnership \u2013 International Network of Soil Information Institutions, as she supports CREA in the holding and maintaining of the national soil database of Italy. Her main topics of research include digital soil mapping, Italian soil geodatabase, soil organic carbon modelling, climate change, land use and management change, soil erosion modelling, pedology, participatory research. She has been Pillar 4 representative for Europe of the FAO-GSP. She has coordinated for EJP SOIL Programme (H2020, GA 862295), the working package 6 dedicated to the \u201cSupporting harmonised soil information and reporting\u201d and contributing to the establishment of a continuous dialogue between policy and research on the topics of soil data standardization, harmonisation, soil health monitoring, digital soil mapping, soil data sharing and soil data governance. She has coordinated a focus group on 'How to harmonise public and private datasets for mapping and monitoring soil carbon dynamics?' during the CREDIBLE carbon farming project, and she is currently involved in MRV4SOC and Soilwise projects.", "answers": []}, {"id": 584, "code": "WKAXUZ", "public_name": "Carlos Lozano Fond\u00f3n", "biography": "I am a soil scientist with expertise in geospatial analysis, Earth Observation, and proximal sensing technologies, focusing on monitoring soil health indicators. I have a PhD in Ecology and a strong background in forest engineering and environmental sciences. I am experienced in developing operational workflows for environmental monitoring, skilled in multi-source data integration, EO analytics, and geospatial modeling, with applications in land monitoring, sustainability, and decision support. Passionate about transforming complex environmental data into actionable insights, I thrive in international, cross-disciplinary environments and contribute to solutions in sustainable land-use management, climate tech, precision agriculture, environmental consulting, and MRV for sustainability and carbon farming.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 614, "guid": "8c35c647-7ebd-5f6d-b212-ac671c272c6d", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-08T14:30:00+02:00", "start": "14:30", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater II", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-614-sample-size-requirements-for-carbon-farming-projects-with-baseline-control-sites", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/KJWDRR/", "title": "Sample Size Requirements for Carbon Farming Projects with Baseline Control Sites", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil Organic Carbon", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Effective Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) is the cornerstone of high-integrity carbon farming projects. A well-known approach to quantify the effect of a carbon farming project is to measure sequestered soil organic carbon (SOC) in the project area and compare it to sequestered SOC in designated baseline control sites (\u201cMeasure & Re-Measure\u201d in Verra\u2019s VM0042). The required number of soil samples in the project area and in baseline control sites is a key driver of MRV costs and determines the uncertainty deductions enforced by carbon methodologies.\r\n\r\nThis presentation addresses a critical discrepancy between expected and actual sample size requirements when following the \u201cMeasure & Re-Measure\u201d approach in a classical design-based estimation (DBE) framework. Sample size equations commonly found in the literature and in methodologies focus on temporal change rather than effect size (against a baseline). This leads to significantly lower sample sizes than required to achieve the desired statistical power. Apart from deriving more suitable equations, we analyze the role of sample allocation between project area and baseline control sites. Our research shows that the optimal sample allocation ratio can rarely be attained, as it demands practically infeasible sampling densities in the baseline control sites. At the same time, deviations from optimal allocation can inflate total sample sizes by a factor of three or more, directly threatening project economics.\r\n\r\nWe propose a two-fold remedy to this inefficiency. First, instead of applying a purely statistical criterion for sample size determination, we propose using the Economic Optimum Number of Samples (EONS). EONS is a holistic approach that integrates sampling costs, uncertainty deductions, and carbon credit prices. The economic optimum is attained where the cost of taking an additional soil sample equals the marginal revenue gained from lower uncertainty deductions. Second, we demonstrate how shifting from classical DBE to a Digital Soil Mapping (DSM) approach drastically improves project economics by lowering required sample sizes. We provide a method to determine EONS for DBE and DSM-based approaches, and argue that DSMs should be the preferred option wherever applicable.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 620, "code": "DS3GCC", "public_name": "Erik Scharw\u00e4chter", "biography": "Data Science Lead at Seqana, with a strong focus on statistical methods for SOC monitoring, uncertainty quantification, and digital soil mapping. Co-author of the \"SOC Model Requirements and Guidelines\" published by The Gold Standard, and technical contributor to Verra's VM0042 version 3.0 draft. PhD in computer science.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 542, "guid": "08eac6ac-089b-5001-b3bb-dbbedc646726", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-08T15:15:00+02:00", "start": "15:15", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater II", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-542-toward-a-digital-twin-for-agriculture-soil-health-and-carbon-assessment-with-modasys", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/PDE8EG/", "title": "Toward a Digital Twin for Agriculture: Soil Health and Carbon Assessment with MODASYS", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil health indicators", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Global agriculture faces the challenge of increasing productivity while maintaining environmental sustainability. Agricultural system models support climate-smart land management; however, accurately predicting soil organic carbon (SOC) density changes and indexing soil health remains difficult because of the complex interactions among soils, climate, land use, and management practices. Emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), including remote sensing, drones, and spectroscopy, provide opportunities for real-time monitoring and decision-making despite having several challenges.\r\nThis study advances the MODASYS (Model for Decision-Making in Agri-Environmental Systems) framework, facilitating the assessment of nutrient and land-management strategies aligned with the Climate Action Plan. By integrating high-resolution georeferenced soil datasets with the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS). For this, SoilGrids (Global Soil Map) and the National Soil Database of Ireland were harmonised using ArcGIS and Multiple Imputation by Chained Equations (MICE), supported by advanced statistical and Machine Learning approaches, to generate a robust and spatially consistent soil dataset and map. The resulting Soil Health Indices (SHIs) benchmark observed (O) SOC against Typical (T) values, which remain limited for organo-mineral and organic soils, revealing substantial spatial variability across land uses and soil types in Ireland.\r\nBy integrating LPIS-mapped datasets with the MODASYS API, the framework enables high-resolution simulations of soil and climate-driven variables to predict SHIs and quantify carbon footprints, facilitating the precise delineation of optimal carbon-management zones. Simulations from an Irish dairy farm case study using nine land-use scenarios showed that, although the highest SHI (O/T SOC = 3.8) was predicted in grasslands, mixed farming systems incorporating agroforestry and reduced nitrogen inputs achieved high SHI values (0.94) while simultaneously lowering carbon footprints and maintaining profitability through reduced reliance on synthetic fertilisers. In contrast, a New Zealand case study with twelve crop-field sequences predicted declining O/T SOC ratios (from 1.20 to 1.12 over five years) despite fields remaining within a \u201cHigh\u201d SHI category, highlighting the limitations of relative indices in detecting absolute carbon depletion.\r\nThe MODASYS framework demonstrates the power of integrated soil-health modelling for strategic agricultural planning, carbon farming, and climate resilience. Future iterations will incorporate AI-driven digital twin methodologies, evolving the model into a dynamic platform for predictive soil management and sustainable intensification in the face of escalating climate risks.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 544, "code": "QKVC3N", "public_name": "Mohammad Ibrahim Khalil", "biography": "Dr. Ibrahim Khalil is a Senior Environmental Systems Scientist and Modeller at University College Dublin. With over 30 years of research experience, his career is distinguished by prestigious fellowships from The Royal Society (UK), the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany), and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). Dr. Khalil\u2019s expertise centers on the biogeochemistry of carbon and nitrogen cycles, trace gas emissions, and advanced systems modelling to address climate change in agricultural landscapes. A prolific researcher with over 200 publications, he leads several high-impact national and international projects and serves as a key editor for leading scientific journals. He is also the founder and organiser of the biennial ISCRAES international conference series.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 549, "guid": "54bd3a34-cd29-5c72-9eae-c7928f411614", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-08T16:00:00+02:00", "start": "16:00", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater II", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-549-using-earth-observation-and-machine-learning-to-identify-environmental-drivers-and-land-use-pressures-of-soil-biodiversity-across-european-landscapes", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/FSMT7Z/", "title": "Using earth observation and machine learning to identify environmental drivers and land-use pressures of soil biodiversity across European landscapes", "subtitle": "", "track": "Let organizers decide", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Soil biodiversity plays a central role in regulating ecosystem functioning and maintaining soil health through its influence on nutrient cycling, carbon dynamics, soil structure formation and water regulation. At the same time, environmental change and land-use intensification alter soil physicochemical conditions and vegetation dynamics, with cascading consequences for belowground communities and ecosystem functioning. Despite increasing recognition of the importance of soil biodiversity within European soil health initiatives, identifying scalable and operational indicators capable of capturing soil ecological responses across contrasting pedoclimatic regions remains a major challenge.\r\nUsing harmonized datasets generated within the SOB4ES project, we integrated soil biodiversity indicators, soil physicochemical properties, land-use information and Earth Observation-derived climatic, vegetation and topographic variables across European sites. The analyses employed machine-learning approaches and explainable artificial intelligence methods to investigate large-scale relationships among soil biodiversity, environmental gradients and ecosystem service-related functions under different climatic and land-use contexts.\r\nAcross multiple organism groups, diversity-based metrics generally showed stronger and more consistent relationships with environmental gradients than abundance- or density-based indicators, supporting their relevance for large-scale soil health assessment frameworks. Soil pH, soil organic carbon, moisture conditions and soil texture parameters emerged as dominant cross-taxa predictors, while climatic and vegetation-related variables derived from Earth Observation data explained a substantial proportion of spatial variation in belowground biodiversity patterns. However, the influence of environmental predictors frequently differed among land-use types, indicating that biodiversity responses are strongly context-dependent and shaped by interactions among soil conditions, vegetation structure and management intensity. \r\n\r\nOverall, the integration of harmonized biodiversity observations, remote-sensing data and machine-learning approaches demonstrated strong potential for supporting spatially explicit soil health monitoring and the identification of robust biological indicators under global change and land-use pressures across Europe.\r\n\r\nAcknowledgments: The work and all the authors were supported by the Horizon Europe project SOB4ES under Grant Agreement No. 101112831. We acknowledge all participating investigators from the SOB4ES consortium who contributed to the existing sample collection and the field sampling for the generation of the spatial database used in the current analysis. Partners from KNAW, UVIGO, NUID UCD, UNICT, KU Leuven, CU, ARO, IBB, UL, UoC, SLU, EFWSL, Airfield, MFO, and INRAe provided these contributions.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 550, "code": "KXWYW8", "public_name": "Maria Marily Christou", "biography": "Maria-Marily Christou holds a BSc in Biology from the Department of Biology, School of Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and an MSc in Applied Bioinformatics. She is currently a PhD candidate at the International Hellenic University, working on \u201cAI-Driven Modeling of Soil Health: Integrating Spectral Signatures and Biodiversity\u201d. Her research focuses on soil health, soil biodiversity, Earth Observation and AI-driven modelling. She is also involved in the Horizon Europe project SOB4ES.", "answers": []}, {"id": 551, "code": "MVZ9RY", "public_name": "Snezhana Mourouzidou", "biography": "Holds a Master\u2019s degree in Sustainable Agriculture and Business from the International Hellenic University, Thessaloniki, Greece. Currently pursuing a PhD at the International Hellenic University, with research centered on the dynamics of soil microbial communities and their functional roles in the remediation of heavily contaminated soils.  She is also involved in the Horizon Europe project SOB4ES.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 609, "guid": "cf21f537-9331-5ac6-8973-07d0f0f7576d", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-08T16:15:00+02:00", "start": "16:15", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater II", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-609-data-driven-ecosystem-management-assessing-soil-carbon-responses-to-land-use-and-restoration-practices-using-spectroscopy-and-digital-soil-mapping", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/AZNSEH/", "title": "Data-driven ecosystem management: assessing soil carbon responses to land use and restoration practices using spectroscopy and digital soil mapping", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil spectroscopy", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "In the context of rapid global change and increasing anthropogenic pressures on ecosystems, robust monitoring of soil health and ecosystem functioning is essential to support evidence-based and data-driven management. Among soil functions, the capacity to store and cycle carbon is critical, both for climate regulation and broader ecosystem service provision. However, quantifying soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics across spatial and temporal scales remains challenging due to the cost, labour intensity, and limited spatial coverage of conventional sampling approaches.\r\n\r\nThis study explores the potential of combining digital soil mapping (DSM) approaches with spectroscopic techniques (NIRS and MIRS) as scalable tools for monitoring soil carbon dynamics and identifying SOC hotspots. We define hotspots as areas with either high carbon stocks or pronounced susceptibility to change under management or disturbance. Using datasets from ongoing monitoring initiatives in Flanders and across Europe\u2014including SOB4ES, INFORMA, LEGACY and AARDEWERK\u2014we assess how integrated data-driven approaches can improve the spatial targeting and temporal tracking of management and disturbances on soil carbon.\r\nCase studies span forest ecosystems, grasslands and peatlands, focusing on the effects of management interventions and disturbances such as drainage, rewetting, eutrophication and fire. Spectroscopic methods enable rapid, cost-effective estimation of SOC, while DSM integrates environmental covariates to extrapolate these observations across landscapes. Together, these approaches provide a framework for identifying priority areas for intervention and for evaluating management outcomes.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": true, "persons": [{"id": 613, "code": "9WAHQS", "public_name": "Karen Vancampenhout", "biography": "Karen Vancampenhout is a Professor at KU Leuven specializing in soil science and ecosystem functioning. Her work focuses on soil health, carbon dynamics, and sustainable land management, combining field research and conventional methods with innovative monitoring approaches. She is actively involved in national and international projects addressing climate change, soil restoration and sustainable management of soil resources.", "answers": []}, {"id": 618, "code": "QEFX8K", "public_name": "Sam Ottoy", "biography": null, "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}], "Amphitheater I": [{"id": 551, "guid": "481f87b8-0eb5-5233-bb27-54c4ee1c2b36", "logo": "/media/soil-health-now-2026/submissions/HFJRT3/AUSO-Logo-Final-1_5M29kuL.png", "date": "2026-12-08T14:00:00+02:00", "start": "14:00", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater I", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-551-building-african-union-soil-oservatory", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/HFJRT3/", "title": "Building African Union Soil oservatory", "subtitle": "", "track": "Technology demonstrations", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Soil degradation across Africa ranks among the most severe globally. It is driven by erosion, nutrient depletion, unsustainable agricultural practices, and climate change. Without urgent action to address soil degradation, it will continue to threaten agricultural productivity, food security, biodiversity, and the livelihoods of millions of farming households.\r\nEffectively addressing soil degradation requires reliable, accessible, and interoperable soil health data and information. However, across many African countries, national soil information systems remain fragmented or underdeveloped, limiting the ability of policymakers, researchers, and practitioners to monitor conditions, assess trends, and implement evidence-based interventions at scale.\r\nIn response to these challenges, the EU-funded African Union Soil Observatory (AUSO) project, led by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), will establish a continental framework for soil data integration, monitoring, and dissemination. The project aims to develop an observatory framework, including an African Soil Data Centre (ASDAC) and a Soil Health Dashboard. ASDAC will increase soil data availability by endorsing FAIR principles, while the dashboard will increase the usability of data by producing derived data products. Building on the Soils for Africa (S4A) initiative and its open-access continental soil information system, AUSO will be owned by the African Union Commission, and operation is delegated to FARA. At its core, AUSO is designed as a two-way system: it connects national soil information systems to continental-scale tools, standards, and datasets \u2014 strengthening national capacities \u2014 while national data in turn enriches continental soil maps and supports policy development at the African Union level.\r\nAfter 18 months of project implementation, the first AUSO results are complete. This session will provide an invaluable opportunity to gather user perspectives and expert feedback, helping to guide the further development of AUSO and ensure that it meets the needs of soil data users across Africa.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 553, "code": "QLXD3L", "public_name": "Tha\u00efsa van der Woude", "biography": "Tha\u00efsa van der Woude is a project manager at ISRIC, focusing on developing information systems, including user needs assessments. Her work includes managing projects such as the African Union Soil Observatory (AUSO), SoilWise, and Soil Information System Technology (SIStech). In addition, Tha\u00efsa supports the ISRIC team in project proposal development, facilitating workshops and strengthening external relations and partnerships.  Tha\u00efsa holds a BSc in Applied Earth Science from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), the Netherlands, and an MSc in Applied Geophysics from TU Delft, the Netherlands, and ETH Z\u00fcrich, Switzerland.  She is working in Latin America, Europe, and Africa with acknowledged institutions such as FARA, CABI, JRC, FAO, ILRI, KALRO, ILVO, and Masaryk University.", "answers": []}, {"id": 554, "code": "NFNBLP", "public_name": "Paul van Genuchten", "biography": "Data interoperability specialist at ISRIC - World Soil Information \r\n\r\nTools\r\nGlosis iso28258 iso19115 STA SOSA DCAT DATACITE WRB CSVW RDF Python github geonetwork pycsw csvwlib pygeometa pygeoapi leaflet terriajs openlayers maplibre cog qgis eusoilvoc esoter soilgeopackage inspire quarto mapserver superset\r\n\r\nProjects\r\nEjpsoil soilwise mrv4soc lschub soils4africa Marvic watdev sistech soilvalues eDanube curiosoil auso", "answers": []}, {"id": 557, "code": "3CMT9B", "public_name": "Abdul-Wahab Mossa", "biography": "I am a soil scientist at ISRIC - World Soil Information working on soil fertility, sustainable land management, and spatial soil information products. My expertise includes soil chemistry, statistical modelling, and spatial data analysis. My work has also focused on micronutrients in soils, their concentrations in staple crops, and the implications for dietary supply of essential micronutrients for human health. Previously, I worked at the University of Nottingham in the UK, and at ETH Zurich and Eawag in Switzerland.", "answers": []}, {"id": 558, "code": "HS9AZK", "public_name": "Chipo", "biography": null, "answers": []}, {"id": 559, "code": "A8NM3N", "public_name": "Betony Colman", "biography": null, "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 548, "guid": "65554045-357a-50db-bb0f-7e9a9b6ce1c8", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-08T14:30:00+02:00", "start": "14:30", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater I", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-548-shaping-nextsoils-soil-health-services-with-stakeholders-for-the-sentinel-expansion-missions", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/QDA9EZ/", "title": "Shaping NextSoils+ Soil Health Services with Stakeholders for the Sentinel Expansion Missions", "subtitle": "", "track": "Earth observation data for monitoring soil health", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Earth Observation is creating new possibilities for mapping and monitoring soil health, yet the value of these products depends on how well they respond to the needs of the people who manage, advise on, regulate, or make decisions about soils. This potential will expand further with the advent of the Copernicus Sentinel Expansion missions CHIME and LSTM. CHIME will provide hyperspectral observations across the VIS\u2013NIR\u2013SWIR domain, while LSTM will add thermal infrared information related to land surface temperature and emissivity. Their synergistic use is expected to broaden the range and quality of EO-derived soil health information, including indicators linked to soil organic carbon, texture, moisture, mineralogy, degradation risk, and sustainable land management.\r\n\r\nAt the same time, more advanced EO products do not automatically lead to better uptake. In agricultural landscapes, soil information is interpreted through local knowledge, advisory networks, policy requirements, certification schemes, farm constraints, and trust in the data source. NextSoils+ addresses this challenge by placing stakeholder engagement and co-creation at the centre of EO-based service development.\r\n\r\nThe project brings together farmers, agronomists, cooperatives, regional authorities, researchers, certification bodies, NGOs, and policy actors across Mediterranean pilot regions. Engagement activities include stakeholder identification, power\u2013interest mapping, influence mapping, targeted consultations, interactive meetings, and structured feedback. These activities help clarify which soil-related decisions matter most to different actors, what information is useful in practice, and how EO-derived indicators should be communicated to support interpretation and uptake.\r\n\r\nEarly service outputs, such as soil organic carbon maps, digital interfaces, and indicator-based visual products, are used as shared reference points for dialogue. They allow stakeholders and technical teams to discuss local relevance, usability, uncertainty, trust, and integration into existing farming, advisory, certification, or reporting workflows.\r\n\r\nBy linking the emerging capabilities of CHIME and LSTM with iterative stakeholder engagement, NextSoils+ contributes practical insights into how EO-based soil health products can evolve into services that are scientifically robust, understandable, and relevant for real soil management contexts.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 288, "code": "ZTUQXJ", "public_name": "Konstantinos Karyotis", "biography": "Kostas Karyotis graduated from the School of Mathematics at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 2013 and received an MSc in Webscience from the same faculty in 2016. Since 2018, he has been working as an associate researcher at the Interbalkan Environment Center and the Laboratory of Remote Sensing of the Aristotle University, focusing on modeling physicochemical soil properties using spectroscopy and remote sensing techniques. He has actively participated in more than 20 European and National research projects related to Earth Observation. Since 2020, he is serving as the secretary of the \u201cIEEE P4005: Standards and Protocols for Soil Spectroscopy\u201d initiative.", "answers": []}, {"id": 574, "code": "9FMAWL", "public_name": "Eva Sarigiannidou", "biography": null, "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 530, "guid": "b9fa872f-55ac-5cfd-9ca2-ceff671ff7fc", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-08T14:45:00+02:00", "start": "14:45", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater I", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-530-implications-of-total-and-active-soil-microbiome-dynamics-for-long-term-soil-health-monitoring", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/QUT8EQ/", "title": "Implications of total and active soil microbiome dynamics for long-term soil health monitoring", "subtitle": "", "track": "eDNA", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Soil biological properties are increasingly considered key indicators of soil health because soil biota regulate essential ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling, organic matter turnover and plant productivity. However, their use in monitoring programmes remains challenging due to potentially high temporal and spatial variability. This raises an important question: are soil biological properties too sensitive for long-term and large-scale soil monitoring?\r\nTo address this, we evaluated the temporal dynamics of total and active soil microbial communities in an experimental grassland managed by NEIKER, where rotational grazing has been applied since 2013 and compared with a free-grazing system. Soil samples were collected every three weeks from April to November 2024 at two depths (0-20 cm and 20-50 cm). Environmental DNA (eDNA) and environmental RNA (eRNA) metabarcoding of 16S rRNA and ITS markers were used to characterize total and active prokaryotic and fungal communities.\r\nDNA- and RNA-derived profiles showed clear differences. DNA-based community composition and alpha diversity remained relatively stable over time, indicating that the resident microbial community may provide robust indicators for long-term monitoring. In contrast, RNA-based profiles varied substantially between samplings, suggesting that active microbial communities respond rapidly to short-term changes in climate and pasture conditions.\r\nThese results highlight that the suitability of biological indicators depends on monitoring objectives and temporal scale. DNA-based metrics may be more suitable for detecting long-term trends, while RNA-based analyses can better capture short-term ecosystem responses. Our findings underline the importance of understanding seasonal variability and defining ecosystem-specific normal operating ranges to identify appropriate sampling periods and improve the integration of biological indicators into soil health monitoring programmes.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 261, "code": "GPCDUT", "public_name": "Lur Epelde", "biography": "I am a researcher at NEIKER and coordinator of its Soil Microbial Ecology Group. I completed my PhD at  the University of the Basque Country in 2009, where I developed expertise in the use of microbial indicators of soil health to assess the effectiveness of phytoremediation processes.\r\n\r\nMy current research focuses on soil microbial properties as indicators of soil health, including the application of high-throughput sequencing technologies to evaluate the impacts of environmental stressors such as pollution, agricultural management and climate change. I am also interested in the spread of antibiotic resistance in agricultural soils amended with organic materials of animal or human origin. In addition, I participate in outreach activities aimed at promoting soil health awareness, including the use of Soil Health Cards as a communication tool through Lurzain", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 589, "guid": "a0b7544a-fc16-50a2-b400-d6291482f143", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-08T15:00:00+02:00", "start": "15:00", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater I", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-589-advancing-soil-monitoring-through-citizen-science-generated-data", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/JWKHXL/", "title": "Advancing soil monitoring through citizen science-generated data", "subtitle": "", "track": "Pan-EU soil health assessment", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "ECHO is a Horizon Europe project that engages European citizens in soil protection and restoration by increasing their knowledge of soil health and involving them  directly in soil science through data collection across all EU countries. Between 2024 and 2027 citizen scientists in ECHO collect data on the eight soil health indicators outlined in the Mission Soil Implementation Plan. These data are uploaded to the ECHOREPO (https://echorepo.echosoil.eu), a long-term open access repository. This ensures that citizen science data is accessible to scientists, citizens, farmers, stakeholders and other end-users, while complementing existing European datasets.\r\nIn this study, we aimed to validate citizen science-generated data (CSGD) from approximately 100 soil samples selected to be representative of the main land-uses and soil types covered by Italian citizens. For these samples, we then compared on-site assessments of pH, SOC and texture with results from laboratory methods.\r\nWhile soil pH, SOC and texture were measured on-site by citizens using pH strip method, soil colour estimation, and the feel method, laboratory analyses followed standard ISO methods.\r\nComparing CSGD with laboratory analyses enabled us to assess variability between the approaches and inform CSGD integration with European soil health monitoring programmes. Additionally, these results were compared with existing soil and environmental datasets, such as LUCAS 2018 campaign and LUCAS-derived raster, to better understand where variability and complementarities occur, using the dataset from the ECHOREPO.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 592, "code": "MHXSBH", "public_name": "C\u00e9line Laurent", "biography": "C\u00e9line Laurent is a postdoc working at the Free University of Bolzano, on the ECHO project. She works in the field of soil science with a focus on biogeochemistry, soil contamination by trace metals, and soil health. She currently studies soil health indicators through citizen science approach under the ECHO project (https://echosoil.eu/).", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 586, "guid": "b04907c5-d6b4-57ba-8720-49cc58f3a5fa", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-08T15:15:00+02:00", "start": "15:15", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater I", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-586-soilhive-an-open-source-platform-for-global-soil-data-harmonisation", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/MJGAZ7/", "title": "SoilHive: An Open-Source Platform for Global Soil Data Harmonisation", "subtitle": "", "track": "Technology demonstrations", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Monitoring soil health at regional and global scales depends on the ability to integrate and harmonise soil data collected across institutions, laboratories, and monitoring programmes. Despite increasing volumes of soil information, datasets remain highly fragmented and are often neither publicly accessible nor easily discoverable. When available, they are typically stored in heterogeneous formats and frequently lack consistent metadata or methodological descriptions. These barriers limit data reuse and constrain the development of effective soil monitoring systems.\r\nThe Varda Foundation, an independent non-profit stewarding digital public goods for agriculture, addresses this challenge through SoilHive, an open digital platform designed to support the discovery, harmonisation, and reuse of soil data. Rather than generating new datasets, SoilHive focuses on making existing data work together. It is built as precompetitive tool: a shared, open infrastracture on top of which researchers, institutions, and developers can train new models, and build new data products. In September 2026, SoilHive will be released as fully open-source, with a modular architecture designed for federated deployment across institutions. This is not just a technical choice, it reflects a commitment to building something the community owns and shapes together.\r\nAt the core of the platform is a robust data harmonisation module designed to directly tackle the fragmentation problem described above. Users can bring heterogeneous datasets into a common structure through a guided interface, without requiring deep technical expertise. The underlying data model covers more than 50 core soil properties and 80 sub-properties, structured through explicit parent\u2013child ontological relationships, with controlled vocabularies, and standardised units with automated conversion. Once harmonised, data is immediately model- and AI-ready, accessible via both interface and API, and structured for direct integration into downstream analytical and machine learning pipelines.\r\nTo ensure the platform remains relevant across different geographies and user communities, new functionalities including interpretation dashboards and data visualisation tools are being co-developed with a diverse range of stakeholders, from research institutions and policy makers to farmer organisations, across Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 312, "code": "U8UTNX", "public_name": "Ester Miglio", "biography": "Science and Program Manager at Varda Foundation, leading projects across Europe and sub-Saharan Africa at the intersection of soil science, data, and digital innovation. Background in agriculture and land management, specialised in soil chemistry, biology, and ICT for development. Focused on transforming complex information into accessible, practical tools and passionate about open data as a driver of collaboration and equitable environmental solutions.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 552, "guid": "79800d4b-15f4-5505-b4dc-b39597752627", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-08T16:00:00+02:00", "start": "16:00", "duration": "00:45", "room": "Amphitheater I", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-552-make-your-soil-data-or-knowledge-record-findable-a-hands-on-soilwise-publishing-workshop", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/HSXWWG/", "title": "Make your soil data or knowledge record findable: a hands-on SoilWise publishing workshop", "subtitle": "", "track": "Let organizers decide", "type": "Workshop/Hands-on demo", "language": "en", "abstract": "If you produce soil data or knowledge in a Mission Soil project, will anyone find it after your website goes offline? The SoilWise Project, a Horizon Europe Mission Soil project (2023\u20132027), builds an open-access catalogue that harvests soil metadata from across Europe and makes it discoverable through a search interface (the SoilWise Finder) and an AI chatbot (the Soil Companion), which will later be part of the European Soil Observatory (EUSO). But what surfaces in SoilWise, and how well, is decided by the publishing choices data providers make. This hands-on session shows providers exactly what, how, and why to publish so their outputs are found and reused.\r\nWe use the journey of a single metadata record as our teaching device. Following a real soil dataset as our worked example, we walk through what happens at each stage of the SoilWise pipeline (harvesting, harmonisation, validation, augmentation, storage, and discovery) and, at every stage, show the concrete publishing decision that makes it succeed: a DOI and grant-agreement number so the harvester picks the record up via OpenAIRE; a community standard so it harmonises cleanly; complete core fields so it passes validation; and recognised-vocabulary keywords and geographic extent so augmentation and search work in the provider\u2019s favour.\r\nParticipants then get hands-on with the SoilWise publishing tools: the Tabular Soil Data Annotation tool, the SoilWise GeoPackage , and the DOI Resolution Widget.\r\nThe session is aimed at data providers: Mission Soil project data managers and coordinators, data stewards, researchers, and Living Lab participants. Attendees leave with a clear publishing checklist and a working understanding of how following the SoilWise guidelines makes their soil data findable in the catalogue and, ultimately, in the European Soil Observatory at the JRC, the platform\u2019s foreseen long-term home. Bring a laptop.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 530, "code": "JXNE98", "public_name": "Radu Giurgiu", "biography": "Dr. Radu Giurgiu is a researcher at ILVO, the Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and the project coordinator of SoilWise, a Horizon Europe project funded under the EU Mission \u201cA Soil Deal for Europe\u201d. He has a background in agronomy and holds a PhD in plant science.\r\nWithin his team at ILVO, Radu works at the intersection of climate, soil, and digital innovation, focusing on how data-driven tools and user-centred services can support the transition towards healthier and more resilient soils in Flanders and across Europe. Through SoilWise, he coordinates efforts to build a European Soil Health Data Space and to make FAIR soil data more accessible and useful for science, policy, and practice. The outputs of SoilWise are expected to be integrated into the European Soil Observatory (EUSO) and further developed and maintained by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, supporting the long-term sustainability and impact of the initiative.", "answers": []}, {"id": 556, "code": "SLGM9S", "public_name": "Wannes De Man", "biography": "Dr. Wannes De Man works as a researcher at the Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), where he contributes to and coordinates Horizon Europe projects on data-driven innovation in the agri-food sector. He has a background in food science, NMR spectroscopy, and international project management, and holds a PhD in Bioscience Engineering.\r\nWithin his team at ILVO, Wannes works at the intersection of climate, soil, and digital innovation, focusing on how data-driven tools and user-centred services can support the transition towards more sustainable agrifood systems in Flanders and across Europe. Through the SoilWise project, he coordinates efforts to build a European Soil Health Data Space and to make FAIR soil data more accessible and useful for science, policy, and practice.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}], "Amphitheater III": [{"id": 516, "guid": "49d327aa-262f-5038-9def-fa3dbd1b01f3", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-08T16:00:00+02:00", "start": "16:00", "duration": "00:45", "room": "Amphitheater III", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-516-measure-soil-enzymatic-activity-right-here-in-the-room-and-learn-why-you-should-do-it-more-", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/MTKCDF/", "title": "Measure soil enzymatic activity (right here in the room) and learn why you should do it more.", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil biology", "type": "Workshop/Hands-on demo", "language": "en", "abstract": "Soil enzymatic activity is a term everyone hears but few actually measure. Yet, it is a key indicator of soil health and functionality\u2014and one of the few biological indicators you can measure with minimal effort.\r\nIn this workshop, we will cover the essentials: what enzymes are, why you should measure their activity, and how it\u2019s done. We are even bringing devices so we can run measurements right there in the room and show you exactly what to do with the data. We will explore the relationship between enzymatic activity and biodiversity, how it links to nutrient fluxes and pollution, how it changes over time, and the common challenges of interpretation. \r\n\r\n\"Interpretation can be as nasty as making sense out of your tax declaration, challenging as keeping your Monstera alive or finding the right star constellation on the sky among the many points. \" \r\nJasmin Fetzer, PhD\r\n\r\nFurthermore, we will demonstrate how to deploy field measurements effectively and translate that data into direct, actionable steps for your farming system.\r\nWhat we won\u2019t do is show you complex graphs with massive error bars. This will be a hands-on, application-oriented session suitable for any level of soil biology knowledge. You can even bring your own soil!", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 266, "code": "UEUC9E", "public_name": "Sonia Meller", "biography": "CTO & Co-Founder, Digit Soil\r\n\r\nI\u2019m a soil scientist turned founder. I started Digit Soil because I was tired of seeing brilliant biological research get stuck in laboratories while farmers were left waiting weeks for data that was already outdated.\r\n\r\nMy mission is to drop the jargon and provide the \"biological ground truth\" that agriculture actually needs. Whether I\u2019m sampling 200 fields to validate our enzymatic models, building hardware prototypes in Switzerland, or pitching to tractor companies, my focus is always the same: making soil health actionable. I believe that if we can measure the soil\u2019s nutrient release potential in 40 minutes instead of 40 days, we can finally close the loop on precision fertilization and climate protection.\r\n\r\nOriginally from Poland and now based in Zurich, I\u2019m dedicated to building a network where technology actually serves the practitioner. If you\u2019re looking for someone who can talk high-level biochemistry and then jump into a car with a power generator to run real-time field trials, that\u2019s me. Let\u2019s stop guessing and start measuring.\r\n\r\nPhD in Soil Science - ETH Zurich (Switzerland)\r\nMasters in Biotechnology - Jagiellonian University in Krakow (Poland)\r\nProjects: AI4SoilHealth, OptiFert, BodenPulse, GreenGrowth and more.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}]}}, {"index": 3, "date": "2026-12-09", "day_start": "2026-12-09T04:00:00+02:00", "day_end": "2026-12-10T03:59:00+02:00", "rooms": {"Amphitheater II": [{"id": 636, "guid": "765bec8a-9713-5960-b477-57693ffa29a4", "logo": "/media/soil-health-now-2026/submissions/BMKRC7/Sheila_Darmos_portrait_photo_990x1320px1_FxPyc9j.png", "date": "2026-12-09T09:30:00+02:00", "start": "09:30", "duration": "00:30", "room": "Amphitheater II", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-636-understanding-the-barriers-to-regenerative-agriculture-adoption-a-behavioral-pathway-analysis-for-greek-farmers", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/BMKRC7/", "title": "Understanding the Barriers to Regenerative Agriculture Adoption: A Behavioral Pathway Analysis for Greek Farmers", "subtitle": "", "track": "Regenerative agriculture", "type": "Keynotes", "language": "en", "abstract": "Soil health depends fundamentally on the people who manage it. In Greece, farmers steward 45.5% of the national territory, making their behavior central to any effort to regenerate degraded soils. Yet adoption of regenerative agriculture (regen ag) practices remains low, not for lack of proven benefits, but because farmers face a sequence of compounding barriers\u2014a \"transition path\"\u2014each of which sharply reduces the probability of adoption.\r\nMapping the pathway of a farmer to transition reveals further insights at crucial intervention points. First, farmers must hear about regen ag at all: peer networks rarely transmit novel practices, agronomists are not trained in them due to outdated agricultural curricula, and commercial media has structural disincentives to promote practices that reduce dependency on agrochemical inputs. Second, farmers must judge the information credible, typically by seeking endorsement from universities or public institutions. Third, the farmer must actually be the decision-maker on the farm\u2014a condition disproportionately unmet by younger farmers, who are more receptive to innovation but rarely hold final authority. Fourth, even a convinced, empowered farmer needs accessible, affordable technical guidance to adapt practices to local conditions, which is largely unavailable. Finally, and critically, regulatory and subsidy systems fail to recognize diversified systems like agroforestry: a farmer implementing multilayered agroforestry may be forced to register as monoculture, losing subsidy eligibility, insurance coverage, and market access for the crop grown.\r\nFramed through the lens of ambiguity tolerance\u2014only a minority of people readily accept ambiguous, unclassified systems\u2014this analysis argues that regenerative practices remain structurally excluded rather than simply under-promoted. Concrete interventions at each stage are necessary: integrating regen ag into agronomy curricula and subsidy classification systems, establishing peer-learning networks, funding accessible on-farm training, and documenting real-world gaps through pioneer-farmer research. Understanding adoption as a probabilistic pipeline, rather than a single knowledge deficit, reframes soil health policy: the goal is not persuasion alone, but removing systemic obstacles at every step.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 645, "code": "AFHTBP", "public_name": "Sheila Darmos", "biography": "Sheila Darmos is a third generation farmer and a social entrepreneur in the agri-food sector and civic engagement field in Greece.\r\nHer key focuses lie within her lived physical and social environment, namely the farming and rural communities, and thus a systemic approach to enable transitions towards regeneration in a holistic way.\r\nHer dedication to soil and thus ecosystem restoration translates into her key aims of transforming the farming sector in Greece through her initiative \u201cRegenerative Farming Greece\u201d, and is evident also in her own farming operation on \u201cThe Southern Lights\u201d farm, in the community projects she runs through her non-profit organisation \u201cThe Southern Lights\u201d, in trainings and public speeches in Greece and Europe through her active involvement in EARA and the Bioregional Weaving Lab.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 560, "guid": "15ac9ee5-ff70-5f95-a054-640fe7e1be5f", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-09T14:00:00+02:00", "start": "14:00", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater II", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-560-understanding-soil-health-from-hierarchical-and-thermodynamic-perspectives", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/LSEJKZ/", "title": "Understanding soil health from hierarchical and thermodynamic perspectives", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil health indicators", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Soils are complex ecosystems intrinsically interwoven with the surrounding environment. Local conditions such as topography, geomorphology, drainage, parent material, and microclimate are well-established drivers of soil formation, development, and function. Contemporary climate change constitutes a major global threat to soil functionality, although climatic variability has influenced pedogenesis throughout Earth history. Over millennia, and increasingly since the advent of mechanized agriculture and the widespread use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, agricultural intensification has become a dominant force shaping soil ecosystem processes. These transformations have degraded ecosystem integrity and functioning in many regions; within the European Union, an estimated 60\u201370% of soils are considered to be in poor health.\r\nThis article argues that understanding soil function and defining soil health must begin from two complementary perspectives: first, recognizing the hierarchical organization of patterns and processes operating both within soils and in relation to the broader environment; and second, applying a thermodynamic framework. The spatial scales relevant for soil ecosystem analysis span more than 50 orders of magnitude, from elementary particles to the observable universe, while temporal scales range from instantaneous radiation\u2013matter interactions to the persistence of Precambrian paleosols. Across these spatial and temporal dimensions, soils have evolved through Darwinian selection favoring thermodynamically efficient dissipative systems capable of building internal organization while converting, regulating, and redirecting external energy and matter flows into negentropy. To improve the understanding, management, and optimization of soil health and ecosystem services, this article presents a conceptual framework linking soil functions to the spatial and temporal scales at which soils operate, together with the observational approaches required to assess relevant indicators across these scales.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 302, "code": "YY9DMD", "public_name": "Thomas Gumbricht", "biography": "Researcher at the department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University with an interest in system science and AI based modeling applied to environmental studies. Coordinated the AI4SH in-situ data sampling methods and the development of databases and modeling tools for predicting soil health from different methods ranging from layperson to laboratory grade methods and instruments.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 619, "guid": "90ac1928-1050-5300-9637-ea273a063638", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-09T14:15:00+02:00", "start": "14:15", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater II", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-619-the-role-of-the-western-macedonia-living-lab-in-soil-health-from-co-creation-to-harmonized-monitoring", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/XAPMRF/", "title": "The Role of the Western Macedonia Living Lab in Soil Health: From Co-Creation to Harmonized Monitoring", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil health indicators", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Soil degradation affects an estimated 60\u201370% of soils in the European Union, generating annual costs exceeding \u20ac50 billion. In response, the EU Soil Strategy for 2030, the Mission \u201cA Soil Deal for Europe,\u201d and the proposed Soil Monitoring Law establish a coherent policy framework in which harmonized soil health indicators serve as the primary mechanism for assessing, monitoring, and restoring soil health. Within this context, the Cluster of Bioeconomy and Environment of Western Macedonia (CluBE), a triple-helix platform connecting public authorities, research organizations, and businesses, investigates how Soil Health Living Labs operationalize these indicators in practice through three Horizon Europe projects: iCOSHELLs, URSOILL, and Waste4Soil.\r\nCluBE is an accredited member of the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL), the internationally recognized accreditation body for Living Labs. This accreditation validates the methodological rigor of the Western Macedonia Soil Living Lab, including its co-creation processes, multi-actor governance, and real-life experimentation approach, while connecting CluBE to a European network that supports knowledge exchange, benchmarking, and replication of successful soil restoration practices.\r\nThe iCOSHELLs project applies a harmonized set of physical, chemical, and biological soil health indicators across six Living Labs, including the Greek Mine Soil Health Living Lab in Western Macedonia, where restoration strategies are tested in post-lignite mining areas affected by elevated chromium and nickel concentrations. Indicator monitoring is integrated within structured co-creation processes and capacity-building activities.\r\nURSOILL extends indicator-based assessment to urban environments through five Living Labs and more than 60 experimental sites across Europe, including 14 in Greece. Using the Healthy Soil Living Lab framework, it evaluates soil quality, quantity, and performance through indicators addressing contamination, biodiversity and fertility loss, compaction, sealing, topsoil degradation, carbon storage, water regulation, habitat quality, and safe human use.\r\nWaste4Soil complements these initiatives by focusing on agricultural soils through circular bioeconomy solutions. Coordinated by CluBE in Western Macedonia, the project tests bio-based soil improvers derived from agro-industrial residues and digestate under real farming conditions. Key indicators include soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, and microbial biomass.\r\nTogether, these Living Labs demonstrate how the EU Soil Monitoring Law\u2019s harmonized indicator framework can be implemented across post-mining, urban, and agricultural landscapes. While the Soil Monitoring Law defines what should be measured, Living Labs provide the mechanisms through which indicators are translated into stakeholder engagement, locally validated restoration solutions, informed land-management decisions.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 598, "code": "HEUJGL", "public_name": "Savvas Karagiorgos", "biography": "I'm Savvas Karagiorgos a graduate of the Agricultural University of Athens (Department of Natural Resources and Agricultural Engineering), specialising in Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry. My undergraduate thesis focused on the assessment of water erosion (RUSLE), tillage erosion, and desertification risk in degraded agricultural soils of Thessaly. During my studies, I completed a research internship at the Laboratory of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, gaining hands-on experience in soil sampling, physicochemical analysis, and environmental risk assessment. I'm currently a PhD candidate at the University of Western Macedonia (Department of Agriculture), investigating the soil carbon balance in agroecosystems of Western Macedonia through pedological and micrometeorological approaches. I currently serve at the Cluster of Bioeconomy and Environment of Western Macedonia (CluBE), contributing in an advisory capacity to research and innovation projects focused on soil health, soil quality assessment, soil properties, ecosystem services, and the implementation of Living Lab approaches for sustainable soil management.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 595, "guid": "7b5dddc6-6ec2-5599-bab9-2498601ba311", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-09T14:30:00+02:00", "start": "14:30", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater II", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-595-from-funding-individual-projects-to-building-a-territorial-innovation-portfolio-lessons-from-25-experimental-sites-in-the-french-landes-living-lab", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/KMDZEF/", "title": "From Funding Individual Projects to Building a Territorial Innovation Portfolio: Lessons from 25 Experimental Sites in the French Landes Living Lab", "subtitle": "", "track": "Let organizers decide", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "The European Mission \"A Soil Deal for Europe\" promotes Living Labs as key instruments to accelerate the transition towards sustainable agricultural systems through stakeholder engagement, co-creation and real-world experimentation. While numerous Living Labs are being established across Europe, practical experience remains limited regarding how to identify, support and evaluate diverse innovation initiatives at territorial scale.\r\nThis contribution presents the approach developed within the French Living Lab located in the Landes (South-West France), where twelve agricultural experimentation projects involving 25 farms has been funded and supported to address soil health challenges under real farming conditions. The projects cover a diversity of production systems and innovation pathways, including practices aimed at improving soil organic matter, biodiversity, water regulation, resilience to climatic stresses and overall soil functionality.\r\nThis work examines the Living Lab as an innovation ecosystem. We describe the process used to engage stakeholders, identify local priorities, select original ideas, allocate resources and establish a common framework for monitoring and knowledge exchange. Attention is given to the challenge of creating coherence across heterogeneous experiments while preserving the flexibility required to respond to local pedoclimatic and socio-economic contexts.\r\nThe French Landes Living Lab provides an opportunity to explore how a portfolio-based approach can generate learning beyond individual experiments. By connecting projects through shared objectives, common indicators and collective reflection processes, the Living Lab aims to transform innovations into transferable / replicable knowledge capable of supporting territorial-scale transitions.\r\nPreliminary observations highlight the value of farmer-driven experimentation, multi-actor governance and continuous interaction between researchers, advisors and practitioners. The experience also reveals important challenges related to monitoring harmonization, scaling-up successful practices and balancing scientific robustness with operational feasibility.\r\nThe contribution offers practical lessons for other European Living Labs seeking to move from isolated demonstration projects towards coordinated territorial innovation strategies that support the long-term objectives of soil health restoration and sustainable land management.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 601, "code": "EERD7T", "public_name": "Wafa Guiga", "biography": "After 20 years as researcher in engineering, I started working on Participatory-Action Research, involving the quadruple helix of innovation in the participatory devices I build with other actors.\r\nNature Based Solutions and Farmers Knowledge are the main drivers of innovation for sustainability, that I'm counting on. Designing and facilitating co-creation workshops with this focus allows a robust co-construction of knowledge.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 606, "guid": "43aa6360-d30d-515d-87c0-89c65ac2b696", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-09T14:45:00+02:00", "start": "14:45", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater II", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-606-influence-of-biochar-limestone-and-their-combination-on-cadmium-and-zinc-immobilization-in-metal-contaminated-boreal-soils-", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/YGXPRD/", "title": "Influence of Biochar, Limestone, and Their Combination on Cadmium and Zinc Immobilization in Metal-Contaminated Boreal Soils.", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil health indicators", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Irini Papageorgiou*, Srimathie P. Indraratne, Darshani Kumaragamage, and Douglas M. Goltz \r\nThe University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3B 2E9\r\n\r\nMining and smelting activities have resulted in widespread environmental contamination through the release of heavy metals and other pollutants into soils, water bodies, and the atmosphere of boreal forest soils with potentially toxic metals, including cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn). In Flin Flon, Manitoba, limestone has been commonly applied as a remediation amendment to reduce soil acidity and improve site conditions; however, its effectiveness for direct metal immobilization remains poorly understood. Biochar has emerged as a promising alternative due to its high surface area, alkalinity, and metal sorption capacity. This study evaluates the effectiveness of limestone, biochar, and a 1:1 biochar\u2013limestone mixture for Cd and Zn immobilization under temperature conditions representative of boreal environments. Batch adsorption studies were conducted at 22\u00b0C and 4\u00b0C to evaluate Cd and Zn sorption kinetics, adsorption capacities, and the influence of temperature on amendment performance. Preliminary results from Cd kinetic studies indicate that adsorption was greater at 22\u00b0C than at 4\u00b0C for all amendments. Biochar exhibited the highest adsorption capacity and reached equilibrium rapidly, while the biochar\u2013limestone mixture showed intermediate performance. Limestone displayed minimal Cd adsorption. These findings indicate that direct Cd retention is primarily associated with biochar rather than limestone. Ongoing work includes adsorption isotherm modeling for Cd and Zn, surface characterization of amendment\u2013metal complexes, and incubation studies evaluating amendment performance in contaminated boreal (pH = 5) soils under contrasting temperature regimes. It is anticipated that the combined amendment will provide complementary benefits by coupling the metal adsorption properties of biochar with the pH-adjustment capacity of limestone. The results will improve understanding of amendment mechanisms and support the development of more effective remediation strategies for metal-contaminated boreal forest soils.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 610, "code": "DLAMA9", "public_name": "Irini Papageorgiou", "biography": "I am an MSc student in Soil Science with a background in Chemistry. My research focuses on remediating heavy-metal-contaminated soils in boreal mining regions using biochar and limestone to immobilize cadmium and zinc. Through soil chemistry, adsorption experiments, and spectroscopy, I develop sustainable strategies for mine-site restoration.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 540, "guid": "b44aa6c8-76a7-507b-b3c7-e05f81206931", "logo": "/media/soil-health-now-2026/submissions/D7KKT3/SHE_logo_v1.0_iUQpvo7.png", "date": "2026-12-09T15:15:00+02:00", "start": "15:15", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater II", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-540-from-soil-monitoring-to-soil-intelligence-building-governance-ready-ai-systems-for-tropical-agricultural-landscapes", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/D7KKT3/", "title": "From Soil Monitoring to Soil Intelligence: Building Governance-Ready AI Systems for Tropical Agricultural Landscapes", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil health indicators", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Soil health is now being measured with increasing speed through sensors, remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and digital monitoring platforms. This is important progress. However, one critical issue remains: many soil health indicators are still interpreted using fixed benchmarks and temperate-region assumptions. These assumptions may not work well in tropical agricultural landscapes, where highly weathered soils, acidity, aluminium toxicity, rapid organic matter turnover, intense rainfall, and unstable biological activity strongly affect soil function.\r\n\r\nThis oral presentation argues that soil health should not be treated as a fixed score, but as a dynamic condition shaped by soil chemistry, soil biology, water movement, climate stress, crop demand, and management history. For tropical and Global South systems, soil health assessment must move from simple monitoring toward soil intelligence.\r\n\r\nThe presentation introduces the SHE\u2122 Soil Intelligence Framework and the Soil Intelligence Pyramid as practical concepts for linking soil indicators with field decisions, regenerative agriculture, ESG reporting, and soil governance. It also presents a 5-Sensor Model for reading soil function through interacting physical, chemical, biological, hydrological, and management signals.\r\n\r\nThe session will highlight why universal soil health metrics can become misleading when they are applied without local calibration. Special attention will be given to tropical acid soils, biological resilience, and the need for adaptive thresholds rather than static benchmarks.\r\n\r\nThe presentation concludes by showing how AI-enabled soil intelligence can support more credible soil monitoring, geospatial MRV, regenerative agriculture verification, and policy-linked soil health systems. The goal is to contribute a tropical and Global South perspective to the development of more practical, inclusive, and scientifically defensible soil health indicators.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 542, "code": "EYFNX7", "public_name": "SUZIE HARYANTI HUSAIN", "biography": "Dr. Suzie Haryanti Husain is a Soil Health Expert, Agronomist, and soil governance strategist specializing in tropical soil systems, regenerative agriculture, and AI-enabled soil intelligence. She is the Founder of SHE Intelligence\u2122 and developer of the SHE\u2122 Soil Intelligence Framework, Soil Intelligence Pyramid, and 5-Sensor Model for adaptive soil health assessment and governance.\r\n\r\nHer work focuses on integrating soil chemistry, biology, hydrology, ESG systems, and governance frameworks into operational soil-health strategies for agriculture and land management. She has extensive experience in tropical acid soils, aluminium toxicity, soil resilience, plantation agronomy, and sustainable agricultural systems across Southeast Asia.\r\n\r\nDr. Suzie works with industry, institutions, and agricultural stakeholders on soil-health monitoring, regenerative agriculture implementation, sustainability systems, and governance-oriented soil intelligence approaches for the Global South.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}], "Amphitheater I": [{"id": 620, "guid": "677c74ae-2e8f-539d-b9c3-a56df8593025", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-09T14:00:00+02:00", "start": "14:00", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater I", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-620-scores-of-visual-evaluation-of-soil-structure-vess-as-a-soil-health-indicator-across-contrasting-land-use-types-and-soil-textures", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/NPTBBF/", "title": "Scores of Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS) as a Soil Health Indicator Across Contrasting Land Use Types and Soil Textures", "subtitle": "", "track": "In-situ measurement of soil health", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Assessing soil health requires indicators that capture both the structural condition of soils and their capacity to perform essential ecosystem functions. Soil structure is a key component of soil health because it influences water flow, aeration, root development, carbon storage, and biological activity. \r\nHowever, assessing soil structure holistically remains a challenge. \r\nDetailed metrics like X-ray computer tomography-derived pore geometry or saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) provide valuable insights into soil structure and function but are costly and time-consuming to measure and rely on delicate undisturbed sampling. The Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS) offers a rapid field-based soil structural quality assessment, yet it remains unclear whether relationships previously reported between VESS and established structural indicators also hold across contrasting land-use types and soil properties, leaving its potential as a universal soil health indicator unknown. \r\n \r\nConsequently, we investigated whether VESS supports the functional assessment of more detailed structural soil metrics across different land uses and soil textures. In this study, 66 sites representing cropland, grassland, and forest ecosystems across Switzerland were sampled.\r\nAt each site, VESS was performed and four undisturbed soil cores were collected from the topsoil for assessment of CT-derived macropore metrics and soil hydraulic properties. VESS scores were compared with CT-derived macroporosity, macropore connectivity, Ksat, soil texture, pH, bulk density, and soil organic carbon.\r\n \r\nVESS scores were well distributed across both land-use types and textural classes and did not show a consistent trend with either factor alone. This indicates that visual soil structural quality cannot be explained by land use or texture in isolation and suggests that VESS can be applied across a broad range of soil conditions.\r\nSites with favorable VESS scores generally exhibited larger and better connected macropore networks resulting in higher Ksat-values, indicating that several relationships previously reported in agricultural systems also persist across contrasting land-use types and textures, although their interpretation depends on the dominant type of soil structure formation. Our findings suggest that VESS provides a rapid first assessment of soil structural quality and supports the interpretation of more detailed soil health indicators. The value of VESS-application is greatest when its interpretation is combined with basic soil properties (to assess conditions of structure formation), making it a promising indicator for efficient large-scale soil health monitoring across different land use types.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 294, "code": "ZKUSXJ", "public_name": "Niklas Schm\u00fccker", "biography": "I am a PhD researcher in soil science at the Bern University of Applied Sciences (HAFL) and the ETH Z\u00fcrich, Switzerland. My research focuses on soil structure, soil health, and the factors that influence how soils function in different environments. I am interested in developing practical methods that help improve our understanding and assessment of soil condition and sustainability.\r\n\r\nMy work involves a combination of fieldwork, laboratory analyses, and data-driven approaches to explore how soils respond to different land uses and management practices.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 616, "guid": "9b1db27e-b9e9-5aab-9709-96ce3b4071de", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-09T14:15:00+02:00", "start": "14:15", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater I", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-616-a-comparison-of-dsm-based-soc-stock-estimators-uncertainty-reductions-and-practical-insights", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/UZLZ3G/", "title": "A comparison of DSM-based SOC stock estimators: Uncertainty reductions and practical insights", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil Organic Carbon", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "The main methodologies governing the voluntary carbon market (VCM) and Scope 3 accounting now allow the use of Digital Soil Mapping (DSM) for soil organic carbon (SOC) stock estimation. Verra\u2019s VT0014 has quickly become the industry standard for DSM-based SOC stock estimation and provides step-by-step guidance on uncertainty estimation. This guidance is largely based on Wadoux & Heuvelink (2023) and is applicable for a large class of models. However, the generality of the approach has the cost of suboptimality: uncertainty of the resulting SOC stock estimates is larger than necessary, which directly influences project economics. \r\n\r\nIn this work, we empirically study the uncertainty estimator from Wadoux & Heuvelink (2023) and compare it to a Random Forest Residual Kriging (RFRK) approach (Hengl et al., 2015; Szatm\u00e1ri et al., 2024). We also include the classical Horvitz-Thompson estimator (HTE) calculated from soil samples only. For a fair comparison, we apply the Wadoux & Heuvelink (2023) estimator on top of a Quantile Regression Forest (QRF) model that uses the same calibration data, covariates and hyperparameters as the Random Forest model from the RFRK approach. We benchmark all estimators across three agricultural projects. Special attention is given to the uncertainty of the estimators across differing project sizes and sampling intensities.\r\n\r\nBoth DSM approaches are compliant with VT0014 and passed the model validation requirements with comparable validation metrics. RFRK consistently showed slightly higher R\u00b2 scores, with empirical coverage probabilities closer to the nominal coverage. Throughout the benchmark, RFRK was consistently more precise than HTE, reducing uncertainty of the SOC stock estimate substantially across all scenarios. In contrast, QRF improved over HTE only in the largest-sample project, while inflating the uncertainty in the other two. DSM uncertainty estimates showed diminishing returns as sample sizes increased, and dropped sharply as project area increased. \r\n\r\nThese findings confirm that a DSM-based SOC stock estimate can be substantially more precise than a classical soil sampling approach: RFRK roughly halved the uncertainty of the estimate, translating to reduced uncertainty deductions. However, a DSM-based estimate can also inflate uncertainties, despite being validated with state-of-the-art performance metrics, as demonstrated by the QRF-Wadoux approach. The exact choice of the DSM model appears to govern precision more than the model accuracy in terms of R\u00b2 score. Therefore, project proponents should carefully select the most suitable modelling approach for their project.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 620, "code": "DS3GCC", "public_name": "Erik Scharw\u00e4chter", "biography": "Data Science Lead at Seqana, with a strong focus on statistical methods for SOC monitoring, uncertainty quantification, and digital soil mapping. Co-author of the \"SOC Model Requirements and Guidelines\" published by The Gold Standard, and technical contributor to Verra's VM0042 version 3.0 draft. PhD in computer science.", "answers": []}, {"id": 622, "code": "Y8VGBY", "public_name": "Ahmad Awad", "biography": "Senior data scientist with 5+ years of experience in software development, machine learning, statistical modelling, and remote sensing (RS) imagery. Proficient in generating advanced statistical & machine learning models, maintaining ML pipelines, programming, cloud computing and leading multidisciplinary projects. Currently working with Seqana GmbH, a SOC MRV company located in Berlin, Germany.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 547, "guid": "a9904976-3529-5a2a-887f-078494335d7f", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-09T14:30:00+02:00", "start": "14:30", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater I", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-547-linking-soil-organic-matter-bulk-density-and-runoff-thresholds-under-extreme-rainfall-a-modelling-study-using-gb-national-soils-data", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/WGPZP9/", "title": "Linking soil organic matter, bulk density and runoff thresholds under extreme rainfall: a modelling study using GB national soils data", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil-hidrology-climate", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Climate change is projected to increase the intensity and frequency of extreme rainfall events, amplifying the risk of surface runoff and associated soil degradation. While relationships between soil organic matter (SOM), bulk density (BD), and soil hydraulic properties are well established, their translation into runoff thresholds under realistic storm structures remains insufficiently quantified.\r\nIn this study, we combine national-scale soil observations from the UK Countryside Survey with process-based simulations using HYDRUS-1D to quantify how changes in SOM and BD influence infiltration capacity and the onset of surface ponding and runoff under contrasting storm regimes. Vertical water flow was simulated by solving the Richards equation with van Genuchten\u2013Mualem hydraulic parameterisation across a range of soil textures, BD values (1.15\u20132.00 g cm\u207b\u00b3), and storm scenarios representative of UK rainfall structure (25\u201350 mm over 3\u20136 h; cyclonic vs frontal).\r\nResults demonstrate non-linear threshold behaviour in runoff generation, with small increases in BD leading to disproportionately large increases in runoff, particularly in medium-textured soils. Across simulated conditions, runoff initiation occurred at lower BD values under short-duration, high-intensity (cyclonic) storms compared to longer-duration events. Analysis of Countryside Survey data indicates a national-scale shift towards lower BD in cropland soils between 2007 and 2020, consistent with modest increases in SOM (~0.003\u20130.005 g g\u207b\u00b9), which correspond to substantial reductions in simulated runoff under extreme rainfall scenarios.\r\nThese findings provide a quantitative link between soil structural condition and hydrological response, highlighting critical BD and SOM ranges where management interventions are most effective. The results emphasise that storm structure, in addition to total rainfall depth, is a key control on runoff thresholds, and should be explicitly considered in assessments of soil-based natural flood management strategies.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 259, "code": "83YGG3", "public_name": "Maud van Soest", "biography": "Maud is a soil scientist specialising in particle interactions and transport mechanisms that shape water movement and sediment dynamics within landscapes. Her expertise in soil hydrological processes directly informs strategies for natural flood management, particularly in understanding infiltration, runoff, and erosion control. She has extensive experience in Arctic and permafrost soils, where she has investigated how complex landscapes evolve and respond to climate change. This knowledge of soil structure, stability, and water retention under shifting conditions underpins the development of sustainable land management approaches relevant to flood mitigation.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 574, "guid": "424d7062-cbca-54cf-acc0-72560777a87e", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-09T15:00:00+02:00", "start": "15:00", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater I", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-574-evaluation-of-new-metrics-for-the-selection-of-soil-health-indicators", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/KNM3AW/", "title": "Evaluation of New Metrics for the selection of soil health indicators", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil health indicators", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Assessment of Soil health is critical in evaluating the capacity and potentials of soils to provide the required ecosystem functions and services that support environmental sustainability, food security, climate regulation and human well-being. This study provides an up-to-date overview of the frameworks and key considerations involved in the selection of Soil Health Indicators (SHIs) for soil health assessment and evaluation. SHIs are physical, chemical, and biological parameters that describe soil condition and its ability to support ecosystem services, environmental quality, and human health. They play essential roles in making informed policy decisions, management practices and interventions Therefore, the selection of these SHIs is critical as they should serve specific objective(s), notably, targeted at reflecting the condition or performance of the soil\u2019s capacity to provide specific functions or ecosystem services. These issues further highlight the need for careful selection and potential aggregation of these indicators in guiding future policy decisions and improving sustainable environmental practices short and long term. Four distinct frameworks for selecting and evaluating SHIs are identified and critically examined, highlighting their role as standard benchmarks and value frameworks for soil quality assessment. This study also addressed the importance of establishing reliable thresholds and assessment approaches to evaluate soil capacity in delivering essential ecosystem functions, including nutrient cycling, climate change mitigation, and sustainable food production. Because of the increasing importance of soils in achieving sustainable development goals, robust, transparent, and efficient monitoring systems are necessary to assess changes in soil condition over time. Effective soil health assessment provides critical information for informing land management decisions and ensuring that soils continue to deliver the ecosystem services necessary for environmental and societal well-being.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 581, "code": "QQSMAR", "public_name": "Vince Chukwu", "biography": "I am an Environmental scientist, modeler and data specialist with several years of experience in soil microorganisms, soil carbon assessment and climate change mitigation. Proven track record in pathogen deactivation modelling, organic waste management, soil carbon modeling, environmental data analysis, and developing models to monitor and improve soil health, food safety and food security. Strong expertise in applying environmental models (ECOSSE, DNDC) to simulate soil carbon sequestration. Passionate about leveraging scientific research for sustainable agriculture, food safety, food security, forestry, agroforestry and climate  adaptation", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 556, "guid": "e0925ece-89ca-58a4-8de4-24ee850f4115", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-09T16:00:00+02:00", "start": "16:00", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater I", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-556-a-multi-view-hypergraph-convolutional-network-for-joint-soc-and-clay-prediction-from-sentinel-2-imagery", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/YDNNYJ/", "title": "A Multi-View Hypergraph Convolutional Network for Joint SOC and Clay Prediction from Sentinel-2 Imagery", "subtitle": "", "track": "Earth observation data for monitoring soil health", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Accurate, scalable estimation of soil organic carbon (SOC) and clay content from remote sensing data is crucial for monitoring soil health at large continental scales. Standard baseline methods such as PLSR, SVR, Random Forest, Gradient Boosting etc. struggle to exploit the inherent relationship between spectral signatures and spatial neighborhoods of the corresponding samples. In order to overcome this limitation, we propose MVHGCN, a Multi-View Hypergraph Convolutional Network developed for joint SOC and clay content prediction from Sentinel-2 imagery.\r\n\r\nThe proposed architecture addresses three main drawbacks of standard approaches via the following contributions. First, hyperedges can capture higher-order relationships between soil samples, connecting pixels through both spectral or geographic similarity within a single cluster, instead of decomposing those relationships into pairwise links. Second, a multi-view formulation processes six spectral transforms of each sample (continuum-removal, absorbance, Savitzky-Golay derivatives, SNV-normalized variants), encoded via a 1D-CNN, as parallel views fused through a learned View-Based Attention Fusion module that adaptively weights each transform via an attention mechanism. Third, the model operates on two parallel branches, a global cosine-similarity branch and local multi-scale spatial branch (within-pixel and within-tile), which are fused at every block via a Cross-Talk blending unit, so local geographic proximity and global spectral similarity can be simultaneously exploited. Finally, we introduce Adaptive Hypergraph Learning (AHL), an additional attention mechanism that refines incidence matrices during training, and a multi-task head that predicts SOC and clay jointly under an uncertainty-weighted loss with learnable per-task variance. \r\n\r\nWe evaluate our approach on data from the LUCAS 2015 Topsoil survey matched to satellite-derived reflectance composites, generated from multi-temporal Sentinel-2 imagery. The proposed model is compared against a series of 1) Standard machine learning methods (PLSR, SVR, Random Forest, Gradient Boosted Trees), a state-of-the-art 1D-CNN developed specifically for estimation of soil-properties from remote sensing data, and several baseline graph and hypergraph networks. The results are reported on the original target scale, after inverting the log1p and z-score transforms. The proposed MVHGCN is consistently found to outperform all standard baselines, the respective graph and hypergraph base models, as well as the state-of-the-art 1D-CNN model.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 288, "code": "ZTUQXJ", "public_name": "Konstantinos Karyotis", "biography": "Kostas Karyotis graduated from the School of Mathematics at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 2013 and received an MSc in Webscience from the same faculty in 2016. Since 2018, he has been working as an associate researcher at the Interbalkan Environment Center and the Laboratory of Remote Sensing of the Aristotle University, focusing on modeling physicochemical soil properties using spectroscopy and remote sensing techniques. He has actively participated in more than 20 European and National research projects related to Earth Observation. Since 2020, he is serving as the secretary of the \u201cIEEE P4005: Standards and Protocols for Soil Spectroscopy\u201d initiative.", "answers": []}, {"id": 555, "code": "G7X87S", "public_name": "Christos Chadoulos", "biography": "PhD candidate at the department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering in Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Machine learning Engineer in the Laboratory of Remote Sensing, Spectroscopy and Geographic Information Systems, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Focus in semi-supervised learning, deep learning, graph/hypergraph neural networks, spatio-temporal modeling.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 554, "guid": "1005fca9-2deb-5a5f-878b-3fca4e90b570", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-09T16:15:00+02:00", "start": "16:15", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater I", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-554-soilwise-advancing-a-fair-data-and-knowledge-infrastructure-for-healthier-soils-in-europe", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/FLPJK7/", "title": "SoilWise - Advancing a fair data and knowledge infrastructure for healthier soils in Europe", "subtitle": "", "track": "Let organizers decide", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "SoilWise is a Horizon Europe Mission Soil project (2023\u20132027) building an open-access catalogue that brings together soil-related datasets, publications, software, and knowledge currently scattered across hundreds of European repositories, project websites, and aggregators. Rather than hosting data itself, SoilWise indexes metadata about resources held elsewhere and links back to the original sources, providing a single discovery layer that respects the autonomy of existing data providers.\r\nThis talk presents the platform by following the journey of a single soil metadata record from publication to use. Tracing one record through the system, we show how it is harvested from major European aggregators such as OpenAIRE and CORDIS; harmonised from its original format into a single common model; validated for completeness and INSPIRE compliance; augmented with standardised vocabulary concepts, multilingual labels, and link checks; and stored across a relational database, a knowledge graph, and a search index. The journey ends at the two user-facing tools: the SoilWise Finder, a search-and-browse catalogue, and the Soil Companion, a soil-domain chatbot that grounds its natural-language answers in catalogue records and links back to its sources.\r\nThis single narrative gives the audience a clear mental model of how heterogeneous, fragmented soil metadata is made coherently searchable across Europe \u2014 and where the FAIR principles work well in practice and where systemic gaps remain. The talk also looks ahead: the SoilWise Catalogue is designed to feed directly into the European Soil Observatory (EUSO) at the Joint Research Centre, which is foreseen to host and operate the platform beyond the project's lifetime, keeping the discovery layer growing as part of the European soil-observation ecosystem.\r\nThe talk is aimed at a broad audience, researchers, policy makers, Mission Soil participants, and JRC/EUSO stakeholders, interested in how European soil knowledge can be brought together and kept findable.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 530, "code": "JXNE98", "public_name": "Radu Giurgiu", "biography": "Dr. Radu Giurgiu is a researcher at ILVO, the Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and the project coordinator of SoilWise, a Horizon Europe project funded under the EU Mission \u201cA Soil Deal for Europe\u201d. He has a background in agronomy and holds a PhD in plant science.\r\nWithin his team at ILVO, Radu works at the intersection of climate, soil, and digital innovation, focusing on how data-driven tools and user-centred services can support the transition towards healthier and more resilient soils in Flanders and across Europe. Through SoilWise, he coordinates efforts to build a European Soil Health Data Space and to make FAIR soil data more accessible and useful for science, policy, and practice. The outputs of SoilWise are expected to be integrated into the European Soil Observatory (EUSO) and further developed and maintained by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, supporting the long-term sustainability and impact of the initiative.", "answers": []}, {"id": 556, "code": "SLGM9S", "public_name": "Wannes De Man", "biography": "Dr. Wannes De Man works as a researcher at the Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), where he contributes to and coordinates Horizon Europe projects on data-driven innovation in the agri-food sector. He has a background in food science, NMR spectroscopy, and international project management, and holds a PhD in Bioscience Engineering.\r\nWithin his team at ILVO, Wannes works at the intersection of climate, soil, and digital innovation, focusing on how data-driven tools and user-centred services can support the transition towards more sustainable agrifood systems in Flanders and across Europe. Through the SoilWise project, he coordinates efforts to build a European Soil Health Data Space and to make FAIR soil data more accessible and useful for science, policy, and practice.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 543, "guid": "086a09ba-9ead-553c-85ab-a2cece2842c5", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-09T16:30:00+02:00", "start": "16:30", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater I", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-543-the-fraction-of-carbon-in-soil-organic-matter-as-a-national-scale-soil-process-indicator", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/WYNQDN/", "title": "The fraction of carbon in soil organic matter as a national-scale soil process indicator", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil health indicators", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Soil organic matter (SOM) underpins soil health and climate mitigation, yet its internal dynamics remain difficult to assess at scale. In particular, partitioning soil organic carbon (SOC) into particulate (POC) and mineral-associated (MAOC) fractions, key to understanding carbon persistence, is analytically demanding and rarely available in monitoring programmes. Here, we propose a simple but powerful alternative: the fraction of SOC in SOM (foc).\r\n\r\nWe synthesised 14 datasets comprising 9,503 soil observations across Europe and globally, spanning mineral and organic soils, croplands, grasslands, woodlands, peatlands, permafrost regions, and seagrass habitats. Across this diverse gradient, foc was remarkably constrained (0.38\u20130.58), consistent with the carbon content of plant inputs and processed organic matter, and a consistent linear relationship between SOC and SOM (mean slope \u22480.54).\r\n\r\nCrucially, foc varied systematically with habitat and soil category, forming a clear ecological and biogeochemical gradient. Lowest values occurred in permafrost and marine sediments, intermediate values in croplands and grasslands, and highest values in semi-natural and woody systems. Organic soils showed higher foc values than mineral soils, reflecting advanced decomposition and increased carbon density.\r\n\r\nLinking this indicator to soil functioning, we demonstrate that foc correlates with SOM fractions: higher foc values align with increased particulate organic carbon (POC), supporting its interpretation as a proxy for decomposition state and carbon stabilization pathways. This provides a practical route to infer POC and MAOC distributions without costly fractionation analyses.\r\n\r\nOur findings position foc as a scalable, process-informed indicator of soil organic carbon dynamics that integrates biological inputs, decomposition, and physical protection mechanisms. Because it can be derived from routine measurements of SOC and SOM, foc has immediate applicability for national soil monitoring, land-use planning, and evaluation of soil carbon policies.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 545, "code": "WFDBER", "public_name": "Sabine Reinsch", "biography": "Sabine is a senior soil ecologist with an interest in the links between soils, plants and the atmosphere under global change. She currently coordinates climate change research from the UKCEH's long-term Heathland Climate Change Infrastructure , which has been running since 1999. Her work revolves around the connections between climate change, ecosystem processes and soil.\r\n\r\nSabine is leading soils-related work as part of the EU soil horizon project AI4SoilHealth, bringing together UK, EU and global datasets featuring soil and ecosystem metrics to derive cost-effective and continental-scale soil health indicators. She is also involved in the Norwegian project CLIMASOIL investigating impacts of climate change on soil hydraulic properties and carbon storage.", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}, {"id": 541, "guid": "feb8a34c-9a17-5e10-9c8b-382b941c46bb", "logo": "", "date": "2026-12-09T16:45:00+02:00", "start": "16:45", "duration": "00:15", "room": "Amphitheater I", "slug": "soil-health-now-2026-541-patterns-and-thresholds-for-soil-ph-across-europe-in-relation-to-soil-health-and-degradation", "url": "https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/GSW97R/", "title": "Patterns and thresholds for soil pH across Europe in relation to soil health and degradation", "subtitle": "", "track": "Soil health indicators", "type": "Oral talk", "language": "en", "abstract": "Soil pH indicates the level of acidity or alkalinity in the soil environment, influencing various biogeochemical and physical processes. Additionally, soil pH levels are\r\ncrucial in determining the bioavailability of elements such as iron, aluminium, and heavy metals which can be harmful. As such, pH is an important soil health and\r\ndegradation indicator. Although there is a well-established understanding of soil pH at localized levels, the spatial and temporal variations, as well as significant\r\nthresholds at national and continental scales, are not sufficiently documented. Here we analyse the European topsoil pH data (LUCAS) in combination with other soil\r\nproperties from the LUCAS survey, to identify thresholds and spatial patterns of soil pH across Europe in relation to soil health and degradation. At the European scale\r\nwe found: 1) the water balance, calculated as mean annual precipitation minus potential evapotranspiration (MAP-PET), provides essential context to interpret soil\r\npH; 2) the shift from organic carbon-rich soils to those dominated by inorganic carbon is observed at a pH of about 7.2, however, soil moisture levels may be more\r\ncritical than pH for the accumulation of soil organic carbon; 3) we identified three distinct clusters within the multivariate regression tree: acidophiles (below pH\r\n5.2), neutrophiles (pH 5.2\u20136.9) and alkaliphiles (above pH 6.9), while optimum microbial diversity occurred between pH 6 and 7. Earthworm abundance, as reported\r\nby the sWorm database, is more nuanced and dependent on land use; 4) risk of degradation by heavy metals cannot be captured by a single pH threshold. Finally, we\r\nidentify soil pH thresholds that can aid policymakers in identifying regions that may require protection or intervention.", "description": null, "recording_license": "", "do_not_record": false, "persons": [{"id": 543, "code": "ATMCVW", "public_name": "Inma Lebron Robinson", "biography": "2010 \u2013 Present\t\tCentre for Ecology and Hydrology, Bangor, Gwynedd\r\n\t\t\tEnvironmental/soil chemist\r\n2008 \u2013 2009\t\tUniversity of the West Indies, Trinidad\r\n\t\t\tLecturer, Soil and Environmental Chemistry\t\t\t\r\n2005 - 2008\t\tStanford University, USA\r\n\t\t\tConsulting faculty\r\n2004 - 2005\t\tUtah State University, USA\r\n\t\t\tAssistant Research Professor\r\n1998 - 2004\t\tUniversity of California, Riverside/USDA Salinity Laboratory, USA\r\n\t\t\tAssistant Research Scientist III\r\n1992 - 1998\t\tUniversity of California, Riverside/USDA Salinity Laboratory, USA\r\n\t\t\tResearch Scientist\r\n1989 - 1991\t\tUSDA Salinity Laboratory, USA\r\n\t\t\tVisiting Scientist\r\n1984 - 1989\t\tConsejo S. de Investigaciones Cientificas, Spain\r\n\t\t\tResearch Assistant\r\n1983 - 1984\t\tUniversity of Zaragoza, Spain\r\nLaboratory manager, Teaching Assistant", "answers": []}], "links": [], "attachments": [], "answers": []}]}}, {"index": 4, "date": "2026-12-10", "day_start": "2026-12-10T04:00:00+02:00", "day_end": "2026-12-11T03:59:00+02:00", "rooms": {}}]}}}