Beneath our feet lies one of the most complex ecosystems on Earth, and one we rarely think about: soil.
Soil sustains the food we eat, regulates water, stores carbon, and supports an extraordinary share of life on our planet. Yet today, more than 60% of European soils are considered degraded, threatening ecosystems, climate resilience, and long-term food security.
In this special series of Pardon My Planet, we explore soil as a living system: how it functions, why it is under growing pressure, and how science, policy, and practice are working together to restore soil health across Europe.
Through conversations with researchers, practitioners, and policy experts, the series follows soil knowledge from lab to landscape, tracing how scientific understanding translates into farming practices, risk assessment, policy decisions, and investment choices shaping the future of land management.
Along the way, we explore what healthy soil really means, why it is under growing pressure, and what restoring it requires, addressing challenges such as soil degradation and pollution while highlighting emerging solutions and innovative economic approaches supporting long-term soil health.
This series is supported by several EU-funded research and innovation projects working on soil health across Europe, including BIOservicES, InBestSoil, ISLANDR and EDAPHOS.
New episodes will be released progressively, follow Pardon My Planet on Spotify or Apple Podcast to stay updated!
Episode 1: The invisible foundation of our ecosystem
Guest: Roberta Farina - Researcher at CREA, an Italian research organisation dedicated to the agri-food supply chains and also the coordinator of the Italian Soil Hub, a national network bringing together soil Living Labs across the country.
This episode aims to set the foundations of the series by exploring what soil really is: a living, complex, and fragile ecosystem that underpins our food systems, climate regulation, and biodiversity. Together, we will unpack why soil health matters today, why it is under pressure in Europe, and how science and policy are beginning to respond.
Links of the episode:
Episode 2: From lab to land: the realities of soil health
Guests: Chiara De Notaris, researcher at the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC) and Virginia Sanchez Navarro, soil and agronomy researcher.
In this episode, we focus on what happens once knowledge about soils leaves research papers and experimental plots and begins to shape real-world decisions, from farming practices to risk assessment and policy. The conversation explores how scientific understanding translates into action, where gaps and tensions emerge along the way, and what helps bridge science, practice, and decision-making.
The episode also reflects on scientific careers and representation in soil science, following the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, and highlights the experiences and perspectives of women working in the field today.Links of the episode: