It is estimated that between 60% and 70% of European soils are unhealthy.
Lack of knowledge and awareness of the importance of long-term soil health are major drivers of soil degradation and affects its capacity to provide the ecosystem services crucial to our planet and society.
In the EU Mission “A Soil Deal for Europeâ€, raising awareness and knowledge on soil health is seen as a key approach to the transition towards healthy soils by 2030.
The Mission proposes a novel approach to R&I for impact, based on Open Science and strong stakeholder and citizen engagement.
PREPSOIL will adopt a proactive approach to co-create with stakeholders, leveraging on both offline and online facilities, with the ultimate purpose of generating long-lasting spaces for interaction.
Moreover, PREPSOIL will provide the first assessments and efforts towards an improved knowledge base and awareness level of soil health for multiple stakeholders. PREPSOIL’s web portal is envisaged as the European “one-stop-shop” for all information, resources and digital engagement tools for the Mission’s stakeholders. It will offer an open-source workspace, including collaboration instruments, ready to be expanded to meet further requirements from the Mission.
This interaction and engagement strategy supports stocktaking and dialogue to understand how a regional ‘soil needs’ assessment, supported by harmonised monitoring mechanisms, can lead to action in Living Labs (LLs) and LightHouses (LHs) for soil health. An ambitious ‘soil needs’ appraisal campaign will be carried out. In combination with other actions, it will provide direction and capacities for the future national soil health monitoring mechanisms, as well as mapping and preparing the implementation of regional LLs through business plan model guidance.
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