Soils are increasingly recognised from multiple perspectives - including biochemical, ecological, technological, analytical, social, policy, and economic viewpoints. The EU Soil Strategy for 2030 establishes a framework and concrete actions to protect and restore soils while ensuring their sustainable use. It sets the vision of achieving healthy soils across Europe by 2050, with key milestones to be reached by 2030.
In parallel, the European Space Agency has long been committed to supporting soil monitoring and restoration through advanced Earth Observation technologies, particularly via the Copernicus Programme.
The ESA Symposium on Earth Observation for Soil Protection and Restoration aims to:
- Assess how EO can support soil protection, restoration and sustainable use as defined in European and international policies, including Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) frameworks.
- Demonstrate the capabilities of satellite remote sensing, alone and in synergy with in situ, airborne and modelling data, for monitoring, validation, reporting and verification of key soil properties (e.g. organic carbon, nutrients, minerals, moisture, salinity), as well as soil–vegetation interactions.
- Evaluate the potential of operational EO-based soil monitoring systems for improved estimation, mapping and long-term tracking of soil condition and function.
- Identify future requirements for EO-enabled soil information services, including methodological advances, data integration, operational sustainability and potential business models.
- Explore downstream applications that support national and European agencies in assessing soil health and land degradation, and in reporting against indicators such as SDG 15.3.1.
- Foster broad scientific and stakeholder participation through parallel sessions aligned with the European soil science and policy framework, highlighting the suitability and limits of EO methods for soil protection and restoration.
ESA aims to maximise the impact of this symposium by building on the growing momentum around soil protection driven by the EU Soil Strategy for 2030, the increasing integration of science and policy, numerous EU-funded soil research initiatives, and the expanding opportunities offered by new satellite missions for soil monitoring.