Soil Sciences

The living skin of our planet: Why a world soil health index is our next great global scorecard

Asmae Ourkiya November 28, 2025

Soil water repellency by Antonio Jordán Source: Imaggeo

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]

Mangroves: Our coastal guardians of soil, biodiversity, and climate

Asmae Ourkiya July 25, 2025

Mangroves, Kilim Geological park Penang, Malaysia Source: Imaggeo

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]

Can we mend our Earth, one gully at a time? New research reveals that the answer is YES!

Asmae Ourkiya December 5, 2024

Picture taken by Elise Monsieurs in Kizin, Wanzaye, Ethiopia.

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]

GeoTalk: Adriano Sofo, soil chemist and microbiologist, National Geographic Explorer, and EGU Biodiversity Task Force member

Chloe Hill October 4, 2024

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]