HoliSoils training on forest soil sampling design and classification
The EU Horizon project HoliSoils, in collaboration with ISRIC - World Soil Information and the Thünen Institute, hosted a training course on soil sampling and classification in Eberswalde, Germany, on 25-27 September 2024. The event aimed at soil sampling for enhancing the harmonised monitoring of forest soils across Europe. It focused on the practical application of a soil sampling design and soil classification according to the World Reference Base (WRB), with a focus on carbon stock calculation for greenhouse gas reporting. The course was particularly aimed at people working on forest soil monitoring in the sector of Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF).
During the training, 36 participants from 21 countries acquired hands-on experience in soil sampling design and classification, with a specific focus on carbon stock calculation for greenhouse gas reporting. The two-day training course covered various aspects, including both disturbed and undisturbed soil sampling, humus form classification, sampling of the litter layer, and soil classification according to WRB. Participants were trained in a hands-on assessment and description of major soil horizons and the identification of the diagnostics of a soil as a basis for proper naming a soil in the WRB soil classification.
“The field training helped to plan soil monitoring campaigns and expand international soil networks.” - Törmänen Tiina, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke).
About HoliSoils
HoliSoils – Holistic management practices, modelling and monitoring for European forest soils – is an ongoing European Commission’s Horizon 2020 project to develop a harmonised soil monitoring framework. It identifies and tests soil management practices aiming to mitigate climate change and sustain provision of various ecosystem services essential for human livelihoods and wellbeing.
The HoliSoils project tackles gaps in knowledge on forest soil processes and aims to harmonise available soil monitoring information to support decision making towards climate and sustainability goals. HoliSoils identifies and tests novel soil management practices to mitigate climate change and sustain provision of various ecosystem services essential for human livelihoods and wellbeing.
ISRIC is a partner in the HoliSoils project [EU Horizon 2020 Grant agreement ID: 101000289], with a special focus on developing a harmonised dataset of forest soil properties to support mapping and modelling in Europe. The definitive soil property maps, and underpinning soil data, will be hosted on the Thünen-Institute Spatial Data Repository (TISDAR).