Soil Health Benchmarks
Building a European network to advance soil health research, monitor soil health and advocate for sustainable land use
Project budget
11.610.406,25€
Climate Farmers Academy Share
754.375€
Funding source
Horizon Europe
Project duration
01.01.2023 – 31.12.2027
More information on our project website
Project Description
Soils are essential for food production, clean water, biodiversity, and climate resilience. The EU-funded BENCHMARKSproject develops an Integrated Soil Health Monitoring Framework and an interactive soil health dashboard.
The project supports:
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Selection of relevant soil health indicators
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Soil health assessment and indexation
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Recommendations for management practices
Indicators (from field data, models, satellite and citizen science) are tested in 29 case studies across urban, agricultural, and forestry systems in 11 European countries.
What the Framework Delivers
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Indicator Selection based on context and practices
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Soil Health Assessment using a unified index
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Management Advice to improve soil health on site
Scientific Basis
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30,000+ soil samples
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From 11 countries: AT, CZ, FI, FR, DE, IT, NL, NO, PT, ES, CH
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Across agriculture, forestry, and urban landscapes
Project outcomes
Soil Health Dashboard
A decision support tool to identify soil health indicators tailored to regional climate, geography, and land use.
Serious Game on Soil Health
An interactive card game illustrating the impact of soil management choices on soil health and resilience.
Dataset of +30k samples
Huge set of sampling data on chemical, physical and biological parameters from 29 different sites.
Soil Health Coaching
Targeted support for actors aiming to integrate soil health measurement into operations or business models.
Our project activities
Project Communication
In collaboration with Ersilia Foundation, we manage all project communication activities — from the website and social media to videos, podcasts, newsletters, and event branding. Our in-house design team creates visual assets including templates, posters, and presentations.
Glossary of Soil Health Terminology
Together with AGES, we developed a glossary that defines key soil health terms. Input from leading soil scientists ensures high standards. The glossary also serves as a foundation for AI-driven meta-tagging of soil health datasets and scientific publications.
Stakeholder Engagement
We are conducting two rounds of 21 workshops with over 650 participants across the 11 project countries. The goal is to gather needs and challenges from land stewards and share project learnings. We also engage with European and national policymakers concerning the Soil Monitoring Law, Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and the Nature Restoration Law.
Supporting Soil Health Measurement
We provide active support for implementing soil health monitoring across all land-use types. Beneficiaries include:
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Regional supply chain actors (e.g. food companies, distributors)
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National research networks and authorities
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European and global bodies involved in standardisation and policy
Project Partners
Looking for more details about the project?
Feel free to reach out to Fabio with any questions!
Our partners
Our partners
