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Episode 1: The invisible foundation of our ecosystem
48 Plays15 days ago
This episode aims to set the foundations of the series by exploring what soil really is: a living, complex, and fragile ecosystem that underpins our food systems, climate regulation, and biodiversity. Together, we will unpack why soil health matters today, why it is under pressure in Europe, and how science and policy are beginning to respond.
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Transcript
00:00:08
Speaker
Bye.
Introduction to Pired on My Planet Podcast
00:00:10
Speaker
Hello and welcome to Pired on My Planet podcast. I'm Anne-Charlotte, your host. In this new series, we're exploring something essential to our lives, yet often invisible.
Importance of Soil in Our Lives
00:00:21
Speaker
The vast, complex ecosystem living right beneath our feet, soil. Soil supports our food systems, regulates water, stores carbon and hosts an extraordinary share of Earth biodiversity. And yet more than 60% of European soils are degraded in one way or another.
Defining Healthy Soil and Restoration Efforts
00:00:40
Speaker
Throughout this series, we'll dive into what healthy soil really means, why it's under pressure, and how we can restore it. We'll explore how science and practice are connected on the ground, from farmers and land managers to EU level with the mission Soil Deal for Europe, also the challenges of soil pollution, and explore innovative business models for soil health.
Roberta Farina's Role and Projects
00:01:03
Speaker
To kick off this series, I'm delighted to welcome Roberta Farina, researchers at CREA, an Italian research organization dedicated to agri-food systems, coordinator of the Italian soil hub, and also involved in European-funded research projects such as Bioservices, which looks at how soil biodiversity supports ecosystem services. Roberta, welcome to Pardon My Planet.
00:01:28
Speaker
Thank you very much. I'm very happy to be here, ah very honored to be selected for your first podcast. ah And okay, let's start then. I love that enthusiasm. Welcome and thank
Understanding Soil as an Ecosystem
00:01:42
Speaker
you. we think When we think about soil, we often picture something quite static, the earth in our field or in the park, but that image doesn't really capture what soil really is.
00:01:56
Speaker
How would you describe soil to someone who has never thought about it beyond what's under our feet? Soil ah is an ecosystem. ah I mean, we have a lot of life under our feet. We don't know because ah most of the time it's microscopic life. So we have microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and also maybe some a small animals that we can see. And this biodiversity is incredible. ah There is a very, very important life. And you consider that in a spoon of soil, there is ah and a population of or of living organisms ah as the people living on Earth. So we are talking ah really, yes, ah to an an extreme ah level of life. ah This is ah important for many reasons ah because this biodiversity is so also giving a lot of of services, what we call ecosystem services ah to us. ah So cleaning the water, ah climate ah regulation, or ah even in the agricultural field, giving us ah the end the food. So it's where the food is born, the the soil. so
00:03:22
Speaker
It's very important to consider that this is ah like a hidden word, like the one I always say in Stranger Things, so where you have ah a word beneath your feet. ah In this case, it's a good word, and not not a bad one. ah and it's very nice, but we we cannot see it. We can imagine what is... So yeah, we there is a lot of things that we don't know. I do hope no no there is no no monsters like in Stranger Things, so that would be very scary. But some some of the soil animals are not very nice. But I mean, they they this is not... ah I mean, being ah ah ugly is means us not being bad, but
00:04:06
Speaker
sometimes being very good. And once we... So as you just said, it's a really, let's say, complex and complex and complete ecosystem in support to life on Earth.
Diversity and Complexity of European Soils
00:04:20
Speaker
Another thing also becomes clear beyond this complexity is that there is just one type of soil. When we talk about soil at the European level, what does that actually mean, given how diverse soils are well across all regions?
00:04:38
Speaker
Yes, ah this is right. In fact, ah since soils are shaped by climates, ah and by origin ah of the the rocks ah that are ah the primary elements ah of soil formation, we have ah in Europe ah a very big variety of soils. ah For example, we have ah the um Mediterranean. So we have ah Mediterranean soils that are very low in organic carbon and very vulnerable to erosion and degradation. We have also, for example, in Northern Europe, ah we have soils with very high level of carbon because the climate does not permit ah the degradation of carbon due to temperatures and so on. So, I mean, we have really a very big variety. Consider that ah and if we ah use the normal classification of soils, we have 32 groups ah in the entire world. And of these 32 groups, 28 are represented in Europe.
00:05:53
Speaker
so i'm Very diverse then. Yes, very diverse soils. If we consider um and the soils at... a low level ah of classification. So if we consider the territory of Europe, we have ah even ah more than 300 of soils. ah So Europe is considered an hotspot for soil biodiversity. With that diversity you just described, how well do we understand how soil functions and what are the big, let's say, knowledge gaps that are still remaining? Because I guess there are some when it comes to such a huge, huge topic.
00:06:35
Speaker
Yes, yes. ah the The complexity of soils is ah is um ah due also to the fact that we don't see what happens in the soil. And so, for example, ah um the microorganisms of soils ah are cultivable, let's say between brackets, ah which means that we cannot take them and study them outside soil.
00:07:00
Speaker
They need to be in the soils for being studied. So there is this very big complexity that is now in some way, we we use ah the techniques of biotechnology to overcome this problem. ah But and nonetheless, ah this is a complexity that is very difficult ah to to overcome in itself. um And the the other problem ah in studying the soil, ah as already said, is the diversity of the soils. which means that some of the functions of the soils that are common, I mean, the functions I have already mentioned, it like the climate function regulation, the water regulation, and the production of food is common to all soils. But how this is... ah
00:07:53
Speaker
declined in each single soil, which organisms, ah species are involved in this process, ah we don't know yet ah in all the soil. In fact, the bioservices is... ah um studying different soils in different Europe and trying to understand ah if there is a a common ah and a common way to do ah some functions or if ah every type of soils in different climates will do the same functions but ah in different ways. So this is what we are studying and we are trying ah to find indicators ah connecting ah the diversity of soils and the biodiversity in soils ah to the functions so that the soil exerts. There must be a huge data set that you have for all these different types of soils. Very scaring.
00:08:46
Speaker
ah Indeed, I can only ah only imagine. And um we are saying that it takes around a century to form one centimeter of healthy soil, right? And today, like we said in the introduction, more than 60% of European soils are considered degraded in some way. From your perspective, what are the most concerning consequences of soil degradation today?
Challenges of Soil Degradation
00:09:14
Speaker
Well, um the the problem is that the the the function that the soil exerts at ecosystem level ah can be affected and are completely ampered by this degradation. and Just to mention some of them, for example, the erosion that is very common in Europe ah because ah um you know that ah in Europe we have a many slope regions and areas. Erosion is a problem because ah it takes out ah the first centimetres of soil that are ah the more ah ah the most ah
00:09:59
Speaker
and fertile ah and rich of ah biodiversity, microorganisms and life ah in soil. ah um In Italy, for example, we have measured ah in an experiment that only one rain event ah took out eight tons of soil, which means a centimeters of soil that are dislocated from a slope or where you do agriculture to the bottom ah of the of the the field. ah And this makes ah a lot of problems and ah in different ways. And so erosion is a real problem and it affects ah mainly Mediterranean ah and alpine and mountainous ah areas.
00:10:42
Speaker
Another important problem is also the contamination of soils. The contamination of soils is ah is ah determined by the use of substances ah that ah are ah not used well, for example, pesticides ah or also the use of soil ah as ah ah waste ah disposals. There is also the contamination. So it's a chemical contamination with the kind ah of substances that may affect ah negatively the life of microorganisms, but also also the plants. Or ah we have other type of degradations, that is the soil sealing.
00:11:24
Speaker
And this is a very, very important problem because... the housing ah and the the building, they just ah affect ah forever the soil because ah you build ah a a layer of and not permeable to water layer.
00:11:45
Speaker
And this is ah a degradation where the soil ah is ah taken out ah for the natural cycles. ah So we don't have any more a living soil. And when this happens, normally it's also in very ah fertile areas, for example, the plains ah where ah you make ah you could make a good agriculture or also in areas where you have forests and you take ah take out the forest. This happens, for example, we know in the, not in Europe, but in the the Amazonian forest and there, ah when you take out ah the vegetation, ah ah since ah ah the the climate ah is very extreme for rains, for temperatures, the soil ah in ah very few years will become ah sterile, not anymore usable for anything. And this is because ah the conditions also in Europe are becoming more and more extreme. We see this ah
00:12:46
Speaker
more every every
EU's New Soil Health Legislation
00:12:48
Speaker
year. And given these challenges, well, Europe has has started to respond, let's say, more systematically with, the for example, the EU soil monitoring law that is described as a turning point. What does it change in in practice, this ah this law for you?
00:13:08
Speaker
Well, this law was... expected to to be approved many years ago because we started this process ah of a monitoring law in almost 20 years ago.
00:13:23
Speaker
um And what we expect for this law is that we have a a ah coherent ah ah framework, sorry, picture of the soils in Europe. ah So far, ah the monitoring of soils was ah only made at national level with different methodologies, with different indicators of quality. And even when using the same ah indicators, maybe with the thresholds, values, ah very different between countries. ah That's why having policies ah regarding soils at national level European level was very difficult. ah Now this law is trying to have ah this picture by setting up ah a series of different things ah to be included in a monitoring law. So it's using common soil health indicators that include ah For example, the soil organic carbon, the biodiversity, the soil compaction, which is another problem, ah important problem because ah it does not allow a good exchange ah of water and air within the soil. So it affects the roots of the plant, but also the microorganisms and the soil sealing, etc. And there is a definition of healthy soil because in this way we can identify which are the degraded areas and we can act to try to restore these degraded areas, ah but it can also identify policies
00:15:22
Speaker
that at national or European level can be used, at the land policies can be used to restore the soils ah or to stop the degradation, because not always so we will be able to restore the quality of the soil ah in Europe.
00:15:40
Speaker
ah times and compatible with our life on Earth, our our um our mia me and you. i mean so It's very slow, right? Very slow because it takes, as you said, the even centuries to build at one centimeter of soils. When you use a caterpillar in just ah one second, um you can destroy everything. So that's why the the times of the nature and the time ah of the man not always ah are ah the same.
00:16:10
Speaker
But I think this is a good start. ah i mean, to identify which are the problems, so we will have a common ah way to do this. It's like, ah I mean, ah when you consider the and the man health, you have common indicators. You have the fever, you have, ah for example, the blood analysis, ah and there are standards ah ah on this. ah ah Now we are trying to build ah This also for the health of soil, so identify common ah indicators ah of health.
00:16:46
Speaker
So this approach is done at the let's say European level. It's translating also at a national level and this is exactly where SoyHub in Italy, right your you're coordinating, this is exactly where it intersects.
Coordinating Soil Management Efforts in Italy
00:17:04
Speaker
What's the role of SoyHub in Italy and why also is national kind coordination so important?
00:17:12
Speaker
and Well, it's important because ah soil ah is at the basis ah of many different ah actor actions. ah and So it's not only research that is important, I mean, is focusing on soil, but there are many activities that impact on soil. For example, like the most municipalities, they have... ah and the possibility with the urban plans to affect the the soil ceiling. For example, they decide to put ah the new houses this ah on on in that ah part ah of the city. and in this way, they will decide the ah the fate ah of the soil. We have the river basin authorities because they to regulate ah
00:18:02
Speaker
the water and also the flood risk, ah they are very important. So their decision affected the soil in a way or another. We have the regions and the provinces so because they plan agriculture, and they plan environment, they make the spatial planning, they decide where to put the roads. And we have the the national ministries, environment, industry and agriculture, of course. ah Then, i mean, we have the research institutions ah and agencies that are involved the in the research and monitoring the soil.
00:18:42
Speaker
And we have the farmers and the stakeholders, ah which are ah the land managers. And how do you interact with them? That that was the problem because all these ah entities were ah like,
00:18:58
Speaker
being ah out ah of control ah and without taking the decision harmonized. So we decided ah to build ah this soil lab that ah is mainly composed by the ah research organization in Italy. So all the research organization dealing with soil are involved in soil lab. So the the universities, ah the National Council ah for Research, ah ah the CNR ah and other different organizations, the regions so are involved ah and through specific actions, so we are going ah to involve ah the municipalities, we are going to involve, ah because you know it's not possible to involve in a project 80,000 municipalities in Italy, 20 regions. ah So we have ah one representing for the regions ah and these ah are like ah and the Trojan horse. ah They help us ah to penetrate, ah I mean, this ah type ah of stakeholders. ah and of course, ah we have ah also the agronomists that are ah directly connected with the farmers. ah
00:20:19
Speaker
And every now and then we have also some farmers that we involve in specific ah um initiatives. ah and we are doing also preparing courses ah for making both agronomists and farmers ah to know more about soils, its ah fragility, but also the All the opportunities ah that ah can be came born from soil, ah including, for example, the now the carbon farming or including ah other possibility for the farmers so to use in a good way. And in those moments of interaction, your work in projects bioservices, as you mentioned, ah it comes also into action. Having all this knowledge and this data in something that is harmonized, does it help this whole process up until the, let's say, you farmers and the managers
00:21:22
Speaker
Yes, ah of course, ah your knowledge ah is your asset ah that you bring with you. But it's very important to listen also, because if you don't have ah um the capacity to listen to the farmer, to their problems, ah they know the soil very well. i mean, the soil, they know by the practical ah point of view.
00:21:48
Speaker
but they know it. So it is important to put together the two different knowledges ah and doing this, ah ah it comes out something different. That is not my original knowledge, it's not their original knowledge, but with this approach, ah we are obtaining very good results. ah And we we see that they, in some way, they now consider us ah good ah people to talk about their farms ah and the use of soils. Of course, ah this trust ah has to be built ah also, like taking out ah our research ah status ah and being human people. i mean
00:22:38
Speaker
human person that try to do together something good for the soil and for the farms. I'm i'm an agronomist originally, so of course ah my my knowledge is also on farming and this is I think something important also for the farmers. Also with National Hub but we are trying ah to keep the relationship ah with the landowners and also to to build ah to transmit in some way this new knowledge ah from farmers, researchers to policy. So it's about data, but not only about, let's say, ah you know data harmonization and so on. It's human, it's living like soil, right? Exactly, exactly. We have to build the same network. ah In the soil, ah all the organisms are connected, all the organisms... are doing ah something for the others. ah they They are like ah a part ah of a process. ah And we have to do the same, to build a network ah and to consider ah ourselves ah not the master, not the boss, and not the best, but...
00:23:55
Speaker
a part in a network and a process. If not, that you are ah not connected. Roberta, thank you very much for this conversation. It's been the perfect way to open, I think, this series and to understand this whole ecosystem about soil. In the next episode, we'll ah actually follow soil knowledge beyond research into practice, into policy decision making through the perspective of two scientists. This series is produced through as several funded projects mobilized on soil health ah in Best Soil, Bioservices, of course, Highlander, and Edaphos.
Accessing More Information and Podcast Platforms
00:24:34
Speaker
You can find all the details at lgi.earth slash podcast. And you can also listen to all of our episodes or take them with you on the go on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Thank you for listening. Until next time.
00:24:49
Speaker
Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Thank you very much to you.