Resource description:
Soils and their health hold a pivotal importance for the future of our planet and its people, as reflected by increasing recognition of their importance at the international level. The EU Soil Monitoring Law obliges Member States to take action to protect, maintain, and enhance soil health across all soils – from urban to agricultural and forests.
A methodology that accounts for the specificities of forest soils, as well as variation in forest soil types across the EU, has been created under the Horizon 2020-funded HoliSoils project.
In a new EFI policy brief, based on HoliSoils’ findings, a harmonised methodology is crucial to facilitate comparability of forest soil monitoring data and findings across the EU in three main ways:
- Development and testing of a harmonised methodology to measure forest soil carbon fluxes and stock changes that can be used in national GHG inventories.
- Identification and testing of advanced soil models that apply to national GHG inventories.
- Development and testing of a harmonised methodology for analysing soil microbial and faunal communities.
The policy brief also includes recommendations for EU and national policymakers to ensure that the requirements of the EU SML are met and its goals are achieved.
Author/Contact:
Mäkipää, R., Ackermann, A., Adams, S., Bozzolan, N., Curiel, J., Guenet, B., Lehtonen, A., Santonja, M., Verkerk, P.J. 2025. How to advance the implementation of the EU Soil Monitoring Law? Policy Brief 14. European Forest Institute. https://doi.org/10.36333/pb14