Exciting news! Our SOILS4MED project’s latest research article has been published, marking an important milestone in our ongoing work and collaboration
Titled “𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗟𝗨𝗖𝗔𝗦 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆”, the study assesses the capacity of the LUCAS topsoil module to represent soil type diversity across Mediterranean Europe, from continental to sub-national scales, by comparing its sampling points with legacy soil maps.
Results show that at continental and sub-national scales, the LUCAS sampling design effectively captures soil type variability, performing best in maps with higher soil diversity, larger spatial extent, and a greater number of soil map units.
Findings highlight:
- the value of integrating local pedodiversity to reduce bias and strengthen compliance with the European Soil Monitoring Law, and
- that legacy soil maps are crucial for optimizing sampling design and for expanding harmonized soil monitoring to data-scarce regions such as the Near East and North Africa.
More details at the link: 
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2026.117735