On Friday, May 8, 2026, the final day of the EGU26, I attended a Special Programme Group session of the Soil System Sciences (SSS) division on Facing the last policy challenges in the EU: How soil scientists can contribute to the demands for scientific evidence to support EU policies. The session brought together scientists, policymakers, and representatives from European institutions, including m ...[Read More]
Tidal flats, the muddy reaches of estuaries unveiled at low tide, support rich ecosystems and fisheries worldwide. But these habitats are under threat from climate change, as sea level rise overwhelms the landscape and heavy rainfall scours away the sediment – impacts that scientists are only just beginning to explore. In an effort to understand how shellfisheries are affected by climate change, a ...[Read More]
Hello Elsa & welcome to GeoTalk! Before we dig deeper, could you introduce yourself to our readers? Hi! I’m Elsa (they/them). I’m a microbiologist/biogeochemist, and I just started a permanent position at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) one month ago. I work with one PhD student, Elisa Richard, and two postdocs, Mathilde Bourreau and Thomas Cortier, on my ERC Starting ...[Read More]
Happy International Soil Day (5 December)! Today, we’re celebrating the incredible capacity of soil organic carbon (SOC) to fight climate change. But hold the celebratory cake! A paper in the journal SOIL by Raza et al. (2025) has exposed an unexpected scientific blind spot, and it’s a bit surprising! The paper, titled “Missing the input: the underrepresentation of plant physiology in ...[Read More]
Next time you’re outdoors, in a park or anywhere where there is no pavement, look down at the patch of earth beneath your feet. To many people, it’s just mud, dirt, or maybe soil, something passive that things grow in. But to a soil scientist, that handful of soil represents a dynamic ecosystem that supports an incredible 95% of all the food we eat, filters every drop of our drinking water, ...[Read More]
Mangrove forests, rare tidal woodlands at the interface of land and sea, are extraordinary ecosystems that bridge freshwater and marine environments. These forests support rich biodiversity and invaluable nursery habitat for fish and crustaceans, while also providing food, shelter, and cultural resources to millions of coastal communities. Think of mangroves as sea walls: their dense, prop-root ne ...[Read More]
Imagine losing your land – little by little – to deep, destructive trenches carved by rain and flowing water. This is what gully erosion does, a problem that has been devastating several communities worldwide. Ethiopia’s Aba Bora Watershed, the subject area of a recent study published in the EGU open access journal, SOIL, is located in the Oromia region and is a part of the larger Baro ...[Read More]
Adriano, welcome to GeoTalk! As an Associate Professor of Agricultural Chemistry and Plant Biology, you work a lot on microbiology and chemistry related to soil management. Can you tell us a bit about how your work is relevant for society? Thank you, Chloe! It is a pleasure. My research in soil chemistry and microbiology directly contributes to understanding factors influencing crop yield and qual ...[Read More]
Ever wondered how fast our planet is losing its footing? Imagine this: every time you blink, four football fields’ worth of fertile soil vanish into thin air. According to the UN, that’s a mind-boggling 100 million hectares gobbled up by land degradation each year! But when this happens in dry regions, it morphs into something even more sinister: desertification. Karina Lima, a climate ...[Read More]
Hello Dan. Thank you for agreeing to this interview! Before we dig deeper, could you tell our readers about yourself and your career background in soil science? Absolutely, Simon, thank you so much for inviting me to this interview. Well, one of my earliest memories is being in the garden, ripping up the grass to poke my fingers into the soil beneath. That curiosity has fuelled a life-long passion ...[Read More]