Second Offline InBestSoil General Assembly Meeting, Vilnius (3-5 June 2025)

The InBestSoil project marked a significant milestone with its second Offline General Assembly (GA) meeting in Vilnius, hosted by Mykolas Romeris University at the beginning of June. Bringing together project partners from across Europe, the event facilitated an intensive exchange of progress, strategies, and future plans in reaching our goal: to develop an economic valuation system of the ecosystem services provided by healthy soil, as well as to assess the impacts of soil interventions and incorporate them into business models and incentives.

Below is a comprehensive overview of the key sessions and outcomes from this significant gathering.

Day 1 Highlights

The meeting opened with welcoming remarks by Paulo Pereira, Geographer and Full professor in Environmental Science at Mykolas Romeris University, the host institution, who emphasized the importance of projects like InBestSoil for future generations, highlighting their role in shaping sustainable soil management practices.

The agenda commenced with an overview of the project’s progress over the past year and upcoming milestones, presented by our Project Coordinator, Andrés Rodríguez Seijo, Researcher at the Department of Plant Biology and Soil Science at the University of Vigo (WP1).

• Key achievements included the development of soil health indicators (milestone M7) and the parameterization of food system models (M8);
• Future milestones focus on expanding soil health measurements and enhancing collaboration with initiatives such as Novasoil, SoilValues, SOILL, GOV4All, and WHEATWATCHER.

Next, Alba de Agustin from Zabala Innovation Europe outlined WP2’s progress on stakeholder engagement and co-creation within the IBS framework.

• Emphasizing the importance of integrating local to regional living labs (LLs), Alba discussed strategies for community involvement and collaboration opportunities.

Raúl Zornoza from UPCT provided insights into WP3’s work on the economic valuation of soil ecosystem services.

• This included measuring soil health indicators and conducting Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) of soil interventions, with preliminary findings emphasizing the variation of soil carbon stocks across different soil types and the importance of coordinated data collection to assess environmental impacts accurately.

Christian Grovermann of FiBL presented WP4’s analysis of the impacts and scalability of soil health interventions across Europe.

• His presentation covered practices such as erosion control and forestry interventions, alongside methodologies for assessing their effectiveness and potential for broader adoption through food system modeling.

The afternoon featured updates from various Living Labs and Living Houses (LLs and LHs), showcasing diverse initiatives – from climate protection through soil organic matter build-up in Switzerland to soil restoration projects in contaminated and industrial soils across Europe. These case studies exemplify the project’s multifaceted approach to improving soil health in different contexts.

A dedicated co-creation workshop closed the first day, where participants explored opportunities for collaborative innovation within the Soil Business Models (SBM) framework, fostering cross-project synergies.

Day 2 in the field

During the GA Meeting, we visited Lighthouse 5, an experimental site demonstrating the importance of optimal soil management. Here, Technosols are utilized – soils characterized by high compaction and artificially created conditions that may not mirror natural environments.

• In urban areas, soils are often imported, and while planting trees and creating green spaces might resemble natural forests, their functionality depends heavily on rainfall and proper management.
• A key takeaway: the capacity of soils to regulate their environment varies. Urban soils are frequently artificial, and their performance depends significantly on how they are managed and sourced. Compacted soils can conceal underlying issues despite their appearance, highlighting that effective management is crucial for successful outcomes.
• In the long term, urban gardens, forests, and grassy areas rely on careful soil supply and management to deliver ecological services and maintain biodiversity. An advantage observed at this site is that fertilization isn’t necessary due to frequent rainfall. 

Later in the day, we had the opportunity to explore the intriguing Trakai History Museum.

Day 3 Highlights

The last day opened with insights from CMCC on developing result-based methodologies for soil health certification under EU Carbon Farming policies, emphasizing the importance of region-specific indicators that can discriminate between management practices.

• The session also highlighted ongoing work on policy analysis, case studies, and integrating sustainability indicators into certification schemes. These efforts aim to create a coherent framework that aligns scientific assessment with policy objectives, ensuring soil health measures translate into tangible environmental and societal benefits.

WP7 team members from INXENIA, June Communications, and LGI presented on communication, dissemination, and exploitation activities.

• A key feature was the update on the Soil Community Platform, funded by the European Commission, under the BIOservicES and InBestSoil projects. The platform now hosts over 600 members, has hosted three webinars, and has recently developed new features – Connector & Knowledge Repository.

Highlights included also the launch of a new Soil Mission Cluster dedicated to Soil Business Models and online presentations from other projects devoted to soil health – SoilValues, NOVASOIL, MRV4SOC, and WheatWatcher. 

The session concluded with an announcement of the Stakeholder Advisory Board, aiming to foster ongoing engagement and strengthen project impact.

Wrap-up

The Vilnius GA was a comprehensive meeting for reviewing achievements, fostering collaboration, and setting strategic priorities for the InBestSoil project. The gathering underscored the critical role of multidisciplinary approaches, stakeholder engagement, and policy integration in advancing European soil health initiatives.