A symposium on soil health indicators
The Fonds de Dotation Roullier is a partner of the Adebiotech think-tank’s June 25-26 conference on “Operational biological indicators of soil health: scientific assessment and technical, economic and political prospects”, at Biocitech Paris-Romainville.
The aim of this event is to take stock of the bio-indicator tools for soil quality that have been validated by research and are available to develop a technical diagnosis that can be used by the various users of soils: farmers, but also technical advisors, urban planners, managers of polluted sites, etc. These tools will then be used as a basis for the technical diagnosis of soil health and form the technical basis for developing local, national and European regulations, and guiding policies to preserve and restore soil health.
A theme in the spotlight for French soils
France plays a pioneering role in this field of research, having developed networks for observing and monitoring the quality of its national soils over more than 20 years, which now enable it to benefit from national inventories of soil biodiversity. This knowledge is now being put to good use to better identify the agronomic levers in rural areas and urban planning in cities that can preserve or rehabilitate soil biodiversity.
Over the course of two days, more than 40 speakers will address these issues: researchers in the field, users of bio-indication tools from the agricultural, urban and industrial worlds, private technical service laboratories, consultancies, legal experts and political figures involved in soil health regulations. The event will feature plenary lectures, round-table discussions and scientific poster presentations.
Soil health, a vital issue
Our soils are of prime importance in certain areas of activity, and perform very important functions that underpin many of our societies’ services:
- They are an agricultural issue, enabling us to feed the earth’s population: 95% of our food production is supported by soils.
- They are our main solution for mitigating climate change, representing the largest reservoir for storing carbon in the atmosphere.
- They regulate the water cycle and guarantee water quality.
- They support the foundations of our habitats and infrastructures.
- They are a reservoir of biodiversity, hosting almost 60% of our planet’s total biodiversity.
Putting soil health back at the heart of the debate
Despite all these assets, our soils have been poorly considered and even abused since the beginning of the industrial era: water and the atmosphere have always been considered as common goods, whereas soil is considered as a private and personal good, an inert support for production or construction. Regulations concerning soil protection are often inadequate. Today, it is clear that two-thirds of soils are physically and biologically degraded, both nationally and across Europe (over-intensive agricultural use, development policies that pay little heed to soil conservation, contamination of industrial soils, etc.).
The Adebiotech symposium on “Operational biological indicators of soil health: scientific assessment and technical, economic and political perspectives” aims to mobilize soil users, as well as national and European local and regional authorities, to put soil health back at the heart of the debate.