Assessing soil health quantitatively at European scale considering soil genesis

Soil health degradation is a major threat to European food security, biodiversity, and climate stability. While scientists have debated how to define soil health during recent decades, a quantifiable framework for monitoring, management, and policy remains lacking. We introduce SHERPA (Soil Health Evaluation, Rating Protocol, and Assessment) as a framework and present a first assessment across Europe. Surprisingly, soil health of grasslands is as negatively impacted as cropland soils. Soil erosion, nutrient surplus, and pesticide risk are largely driving poor soil health aligning with reported high biodiversity loss in agricultural land. Forest soils are also surprisingly low in health, mainly because of nitrogen surplus, reflecting documented widespread forest decline from nutrient imbalances. Interactive maps highlight specific threats to soil health across Europe, offering valuable insights for targeted action.