Soil degradation affects an estimated 60–70% of soils in the European Union, generating annual costs exceeding €50 billion. In response, the EU Soil Strategy for 2030, the Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe,” 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.
CluBE 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.
The 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.
URSOILL 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.
Waste4Soil 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.
Together, these Living Labs demonstrate how the EU Soil Monitoring Law’s 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.