Soils play a crucial role in the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, providing key ecosystem services such as carbon storage, water retention, nutrient cycling, biodiversity preservation, and protection against soil degradation processes (e.g., erosion, compaction, or fertility loss).

There is broad consensus that the implementation of management practices focused on soil conservation and restoration can help to improve soil functioning and resilience. The basis for building these resilience practices, lies halting the loss of soil carbon. For instance, agricultural practices such as no-till farming, cover crops, crop rotation and the use of compost. However, the dynamics of carbon change are a slow process in the medium and long term, which creates uncertainty in the short term. Furthermore, change sometimes begins with a negative response from the soil or with recommendations that have been proven in site-specific pedoclimatic contexts but cannot be scaled up to other contexts.

This raises the following question: how can science help to build confidence and reduce uncertainty whilst we await the anticipated changes in the medium and long term?

We strongly encourage submissions that include the evaluation of proven practices in operational contexts, ideas for communicating and sharing scientific knowledge, as well as access to useful data, user-friendly knowledge, tools and models to support decision-making, the valuation of ecosystem services, or resilient business models.

Acknowledgments: Project PID2023-146177OB-C22, funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Union.