Browsing by Author "Borrelli, Pasquale"

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    How the EU Soil Observatory contributes to a stronger soil erosion community
    (Elsevier, 2024-02-03) Panagos, Panos; Vieira, Diana; Eekhout, Joris P. C.; Biddoccu, Marcella; Cerda, Artemi; Evans, Daniel L.; Tavoularis, Nikolaos; Bezak, Nejc; Negrel, Philippe; Katsoyiannis, Athanasios; Borrelli, Pasquale
    New policy developments have emerged in relation to soil conservation after 2020. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023–2027, the proposal for a Soil Monitoring Law and the mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ have shaped a new policy framework at EU level, which requires updated assessments on soil erosion and land degradation. The EU Soil Observatory (EUSO) successfully organised a scientific workshop on ‘Soil erosion for the EU’ in June 2022. The event has seen the participation of more than 330 people from 63 countries, addressing important topics such as (i) management practices, (ii) large scale modelling, (iii) the importance of sediments in nutrient cycle, (vi) the role of landslides and (v) laying the foundations for early career scientists. As a follow up, among the 120 abstracts submitted in the workshop, we received fifteen manuscripts, out of which nine were selected for publication in the present special issue. In this editorial, we summarize the major challenges that the soil erosion research community faces in relation to supporting the increasing role of soils in the EU Green Deal.
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    Sustainable futures over the next decade are rooted in soil science
    (Wiley, 2021-07-13) Evans, Daniel L.; Janes-Bassett, Victoria; Borrelli, Pasquale; Chenu, Claire; Ferreira, Carla S. S.; Griffiths, Robert I.; Kalantari, Zahra; Keesstra, Saskia; Lal, Rattan; Panagos, Panos; Robinson, David A.; Seifollahi-Aghmiuni, Samaneh; Smith, Pete; Steenhuis, Tammo S.; Thomas, Amy; Visser, Saskia M.
    The importance of soils to society has gained increasing recognition over the past decade, with the potential to contribute to most of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With unprecedented and growing demands for food, water and energy, there is an urgent need for a global effort to address the challenges of climate change and land degradation, whilst protecting soil as a natural resource. In this paper, we identify the contribution of soil science over the past decade to addressing gaps in our knowledge regarding major environmental challenges: climate change, food security, water security, urban development, and ecosystem functioning and biodiversity. Continuing to address knowledge gaps in soil science is essential for the achievement of the SDGs. However, with limited time and budget, it is also pertinent to identify effective methods of working that ensure the research carried out leads to real-world impact. Here, we suggest three strategies for the next decade of soil science, comprising a greater implementation of research into policy, interdisciplinary partnerships to evaluate function trade-offs and synergies between soils and other environmental domains, and integrating monitoring and modelling methods to ensure soil-based policies can withstand the uncertainties of the future.