SOILS4MED has the following objectives: 1) engage with stakeholders in line with the Living Lab ap-proach and raise awareness on the benefits deriving from increased investment in soil data and in-formation (SDI); 2) develop policy relevant integrated in- dicator sets and monitoring protocols adapted to the environmental specificities and stakeholder needs of the Mediterranean Region; 3) validate the protocols in study areas representing major agro-ecological regions and soil types, generating the first region-wide harmonized soil health dataset for the Mediterranean Region; 4) demon- strate the capacity of the SDI produced by the protocols, integrated by legacy soil data, to feed state-of-the-art tools to support sustainable soil and water management, land degradation neutrality, and to en-hance regional soil condition mapping including carbon stock mapping; and 5) design and implement standardized country-based soil information systems (SIS) for the effective management and use of SDI.
Thematic areas
Awareness and engagement Biodiversity Soil monitoring and indicatorsProject contribution to Mission Soil’s:
Specific objectives
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1. Reduce land degradation relating to desertification
Partially targeted -
2. Conserve and increase soil organic carbon stocks
Partially targeted -
3. No net soil sealing and increase the reuse of urban soils
Not targeted -
4. Reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration
Not targeted -
5. Prevent erosion
Not targeted -
6. Improve soil structure to enhance habitat quality for soil biota and crops
Partially targeted -
7. Reduce the EU global footprint on soils
Not targeted -
8. Increase soil literacy in society across Member States
Not targeted
Operational objectives
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1. Build capacities and the knowledge base for soil stewardship
Not targeted
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2. Co-create and upscale place-based innovations to improve soil health in all places
Partially targeted
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3. Develop an integrated EU soil monitoring system and track progress towards soil health
Targeted
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4. Engage with the soil user community and society at large
Targeted
Innovation hotspots
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1. Carbon farming
Not targeted
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2. Soil pollution and restoration
Not targeted
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3. Soil biodiversity including the microbiome
Targeted
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4. Circular economy solutions
Not targeted
Cross-cutting dimensions
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1. Business
Not targeted
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2. Digital
Partially targeted
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3. Territorial
Partially targeted
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4. International
Partially targeted
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