Learning about soil health in a unique and fun way? Getting knowledge to all farmers in the Netherlands? That is the goal of a new tear-off calendar, which is launched today!

The EU Soil Observatory (EUSO) has conveyed its second Stakeholder Forum, an annual event organised by the JRC whose purpose is to actively engage and exchange with the soil community, in a broad sense - from policy makers, soil and soil-related scientists, local actors, civil society representatives and citizens. The recordings are now available.

In July, EJP SOIL researchers defied the heatwave to sample roots in winter wheat and maize - and thereby quantify root biomass of 10 different varieties across Europe. The purpose was to assess if an optimized variety selection for more root biomass could increase soil carbon.

The actions in higher education and capacity building under the EJP SOIL program have provided a baseline for capacity building needs and initiated a set of cross-European activities to strengthen especially early career soil scientists skills and knowledge.

Since April 2021, it has been possible to apply for EJP SOIL grants for travels in relation to workshops, summer schools, conferences and more - and almost all of the applications have been successful. Furthermore, applications for funding used for getting access to infrastructure have often received a positive response, since the first call opened back in September 2021. This is of specific importance to early-career researchers.