Overview
The project helps farmers and land managers measure soil health using artificial intelligence without requiring laboratory analysis. It aims to accelerate soil health data collection and use across Europe to support the Soil Deal for Europe and EU Soil Observatory.
In the news
- The countdown to Soil Health Now has started ⏲️ In-person tickets have sold out but virtual tickets are available until 30th November 🏃♀️ Get your ticket for access to three days packed with talks, workshops and discussions, from 7th to 9th December. Join online to follow all conference rooms over livestream, plus switch freely between parallel sessions. Take part in the discussion from wherever you are and share your questions with our speakers in Q&As. Explore topics including: 🌱 AI-powered soil monitoring and digital
- Surveying subterranean soil life is a rigorous process—but computer vision is making it smarter. As part of the AI 4 Soil Health project, researchers are streamlining biological soil monitoring by bridging field methodology with advanced imaging technology. Accurately evaluating earthworm populations requires precise, multi-step field protocols. Scientists extract a standardized soil block, carefully isolate the earthworms, and wash them clean before recording. While traditional methods rely on manual weighing to calculate
- What does seven generations of farming teach you about making it last? 🌱 David Oates’ family has farmed in Cornwall for over 250 years, regeneratively, without ever calling it that. Almost all the land he farms today is rented, spread across small fields on slopes, down lanes too narrow for a three-metre drill. Rosuick Farm is beautiful, with the coast on three sides, but it’s not an easy farm to make work. But his approach is simple: cut what doesn’t pay, add only what does, and use technology that fits the farm rather than the
- What if we could listen to the soil just as clearly as we hear the wind, birds, or insects? Now, we can. As part of the AI4SoilHealth project, researchers are leveraging ecoacoustics to listen to the vibrant, hidden soundscapes thriving beneath our feet. By inserting a small probe equipped with a contact microphone directly into the ground, scientists can eavesdrop on subterranean life without disturbing the ecosystem. This non-invasive technology opens up exciting new possibilities for soil health assessment: 🪱Subsurface
- The NHS puts a number on a year of healthy human life: £30,000. That's what they call a quality-adjusted life year — a QALY. It's the threshold the health system uses to decide whether a treatment is worth funding. Extend someone's life by one healthy year, and the willingness to pay is £30,000 per person. Antony Yousefianfian asked a simple question at #Groundswell: what if food could deliver that? Food as measurable, preventative #healthcare with a price attached, an outcome tracked, and a value that institutions already know
- Assess soil quality on site in under an hour ⌛ Healthy soil is the foundation of sustainable agriculture, but waiting weeks for laboratory results on soil biological health can slow down crucial management decisions. AI4SoilHealth is testing innovative, on-site methods to assess soil biological activity directly in the field, side-by-side with local farmers. How it works on farm: 🚜 Fast & practical: using compact portable readers and standardised reaction plates, sample preparation takes only a couple of minutes in the
- This is tomorrow! Register now.
- Want to know more about how to assess soil health in the field, at your desk or in the lab? 🌱 AI 4 Soil Health has created a collection of educational materials to help you. These resources – ranging from how-to videos to podcasts – have been designed with soil science students in mind but are available to anyone who wants to improve their knowledge on the topic. Watch and listen to them to be informed on the latest techniques for analysing soil health and new scientific thinking around soil monitoring: bit.ly/AI4SHedumaterials
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