Soil provides us with essential services. We grow our food in it, it filters rainwater before it reaches aquifers, it supports our buildings, it hosts diverse life forms. Europeans need multi-functional and healthy soils locally and globally to maintain this natural capital while satisfying the needs of a prosperous society. Soil must be safeguarded by urban and rural spatial planning and sustaining soil and land management based on applying the best available knowledge.

This Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) is based on research and innovation needs identified by over 500 stakeholders from across Europe in a unique bottom-up approach. These needs reflect genuine demand from end users. It is designed to encourage collaborative funding by public and private parties.
It will also ensure that knowledge is widely applied by public sector bodies, SMEs and large enterprises
wishing to innovate and contribute to a greener, more socially cohesive, smarter and more competitive Europe.