Food & Nature
SOB4ES

Making Soil Biodiversity Visible to Society

Making Soil Biodiversity Visible to Society

At a Glance

  • Investigating soil biodiversity across Europe’s landscapes and climates
  • Finding reliable ways to measure soil health and biodiversity
  • Using new technologies like DNA analysis and satellite data to track soil conditions
  • Helping shape better policies to protect soils for farming, nature, and climate

Soil biodiversity plays a vital but often invisible role in supporting healthy ecosystems, food production, and climate regulation. SOB4ES aims to make this hidden world visible by assessing soil organisms across Europe’s diverse landscapes and land uses. The project identifies reliable and cost-effective indicators that link soil biodiversity to key ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling, carbon storage, water regulation, and crop productivity.

Using a combination of field sampling, DNA sequencing, machine learning, remote sensing, and targeted outreach, SOB4ES develops practical tools to support sustainable land management and guide environmental policy. The project contributes directly to the EU Soil Mission, which aims to ensure that at least 75 percent of soils in Europe are healthy and capable of delivering essential ecosystem services by 2030.

Valuing what lies beneath

Valuing what lies beneath

Soil sustains life above ground, from growing our food to regulating the climate, yet its biodiversity remains largely overlooked in monitoring and policy. Without clear indicators, the organisms living in soil are undervalued and often ignored, despite their essential roles. SOB4ES seeks to change this by highlighting the diversity of soil life and its contribution to vital ecosystem services. Making soil biodiversity visible is a key step toward healthier soils, more resilient ecosystems, and a more sustainable future.

Turning soil science into practical solutions

Turning soil science into practical solutions

SOB4ES collects soil samples from forests, grasslands, croplands, wetlands, urban areas, and other land types across nine European pedoclimatic regions. It analyses soil organisms such as mesofauna, nematodes, fungi, bacteria, and earthworms using both traditional identification methods and DNA metabarcoding. In parallel, the project measures physico-chemical properties and enzyme activity to understand how biodiversity relates to soil functions.

Advanced machine learning is used to map relationships between soil life, aboveground biodiversity, and ecosystem benefits. Remote sensing technologies help expand soil monitoring to larger areas. Through outreach and collaboration with land managers, policymakers, and other stakeholders, SOB4ES ensures that its findings are translated into practical guidance.

sob4es.eu

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Your contact
Anne Kopka
Senior Research & Impact Manager
Portfolio Manager Food & Nature
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