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Phoenix666 writes:

Ten years of planning and sampling has led to the creation of the largest harmonised European soil dataset, and the Joint Research Centre, the European Commission's science and knowledge service, is ready to carry out the most comprehensive assessment of soil biodiversity across the continent.
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Around 22,000 samples were collected from all European Union (EU) Member States in 2009-2012, while a further 23 000 samples were acquired in 2015 from the EU, Switzerland and Western Balkan countries.

Scientists are now concluding the process of analysing the physico-chemical soil properties of the second batch. Once completed, the JRC will be able to carry out assessments of how the impacts of EU and national land based policies—such as those designed to tackle climate change and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) - are manifested through changes in soil characteristics over time.

The assessment includes things like the physical and chemical properties of the soil, biodiversity, density, structure and pollutants present.

The dataset will give agricultural scientists, climatologists, microbiologists, geographers, and others the most fine-grained survey ever undertaken in Europe to inform their research.

Original Submission