ERF partner in new European research project Soil Health Benchmarks

Benchmarks: Building a European network to promote soil research, monitor soil health and advocate for sustainable land use. ERF is a partner in the European horizon project Soil Health Benchmarks. ERF, together with Hemus, WUR, Wij.land and Commonland, forms the Dutch case study.

The aim of the BENCHMARKS is to build a European network that creates a shared understanding of soil health assessment under various land uses and climatic conditions. BENCHMARKS will determine how soil health can be measured and will provide context- and scale-relevant measurement techniques, from field to European scale. In collaboration with multi-stakeholder partnerships, BENCHMARKS aims to contribute to land use systems that promote soil health, side by side with land managers.

BENCHMARKS is a consortium of 29 partner organisations. Six universities and nine research institutes with a strong track record in soil health research and a history of involvement in relevant policy initiatives. These include the Soil Mission Board, EUSO Working Groups on Data and Monitoring and the European Soil Partnership.

Together, these partners form a strong, pan-European consortium with a wealth of scientific expertise in soil health. In addition to its scientific expertise, the consortium includes partners with a focus on implementing practices to improve soil health and citizen science, as well as organizations working on policy development.

For more information: https://soilhealthbenchmarks.eu/ and https://soilhealthbenchmarks.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Fast-Facts_EN.pdf