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The previous rather abstract debate about sustainable development has been focused by the introduction of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 and the related European Union (EU) Green Deal (GD) in 2019. Restricting attention to agriculture, proposed targets and indicators are, however, not specific enough to allow a focus for developing innovative and sustainable management practices. Clarity is needed because farmers are suspicious of governmental actions. To confront these problems, the European Commission (EC) has presented the Mission concept that requires joint learning between farmers, scientists and citizens. For the soil mission, “living labs” are proposed that should evolve into “lighthouses” when environmental thresholds for each of at least six land-related ecosystem services are met. This presents “wicked” problems that can be “tamed” by measuring indicators for ecosystem services that are associated with the land-related SDGs in a given living lab. Thresholds with a character that is occasionally regional are needed to separate the “good” from the “not yet good enough”. Contributions by the soil to ecosystem services can be expressed by assessing soil health. By introducing the mission concept, the policy arena challenges the research community to rise to the occasion by developing effective interaction models with farmers and citizens that can be the foundation for innovative and effective environmental rules and regulations. We argue and illustrate with a specific example, that establishing Living Labs can be an important, if not essential, contribution to realizing the lofty goals of the SDGs and the Green Deal as they relate to agriculture.

Reaching the land-related UN-Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and similar goals articulated by the EU-Green Deal (GD) by 2030 presents a major challenge and requires a pragmatic approach to be focused on joint learning by land users (mostly farmers), researchers and other stakeholders in “Living Labs” and system experiments at experimental farms of research organizations. Defining specific indicators and thresholds for ecosystem services in line with land-related SDGs, are crucial to establish: “Lighthouses” that can act as inspiring examples if they meet the various thresholds. This exploratory paper discusses indicators and thresholds for an arable farm operating on marine, calcareous light clay soils in the Netherlands. Studies of a system experiment are used to discuss and test operational methodology to be widely applied when characterizing many “Living Labs” in future as planned by the European Union. The important role of soils, contributing to ecosystem services, is discussed in terms of soil health. Recommendations are made for innovative methodology to be associated with all land-related SDGs. Satisfying thresholds of ecosystem services, that will vary by soil type, region and farm-type, can be the basis for farm subsidies such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Research on Living Labs and in system experiments has to be judged by different criteria than those associated with traditional linear research. Important contributions by soils to achieve ecosystem services are framed in terms of soil health and are the most effective way to promote soil science in a by now widely desired inter- and transdisciplinary context.

New water-conserving irrigation technologies are vital in arid countries. We investigated the effects of (i) soil substrates made of Smart Capillary Barrier Wick (SCB-W), consisting of silt loam blocks surrounded by sand-sheathes and irrigated with a sand wick cylinder (WC) as compared to a control (homogenous soil irrigated by the same wick system, HW), (ii) WC diameters (2.54 cm vs. 1.27 cm), and (iii) 2-cm sand mulch layer on soil–water dynamics during wetting–drying cycles. Field experiments with pots and HYDRUS (2D/3D) modeling were performed in two consecutive phases (with and without sand mulch). Analysis of variance at p

International audience; Pedometrics, the application of mathematical and statistical methods to the study of the distribution and genesis of soils, has broadened its scope over the past two decades. The primary focus of pedometricians has traditionally been on spatial and spatio-temporal soil inventories with numerical soil classification, geostatistical modelling of spatial variation and mapping. The rapid development of remote and proximal soil sensing as well as data-driven statistical modelling techniques have had a major impact on pedometrics over the past decades. During this time, a general demand for quantitative digital soil information for environmental modelling and management has compelled pedometricians to address other soil-related questions from a quantitative point of view: soil genesis and utility and quality of soil. While scientific progress is largely an autonomous process that is difficult to steer, research efforts could benefit from an agenda with pressing pedometric research topics. This paper defines and discusses ten recent or longstanding pedometrics challenges, with the attempt to identify knowledge gaps and suggest new concepts and methods to overcome them. The ten challenges were selected through a collaborative effort and may serve as a guidance for future pedometrics research and to foster collaboration among soil scientists. The challenges discussed in this paper are also indicators of the current understanding and state of knowledge from which progress can be measured in the future.

International audience; Since the turn of the millennium, digital soil mapping (DSM) has revolutionized the production of fine resolution gridded soil data with associated uncertainty. However, the link to conventional soil maps has not been sufficiently explained nor are the approaches complementary and synergistic. Further training on the digital soil mapping approaches, and associated strengths and weaknesses is required. The user community requires training in, and experience with, the new digital soil map products, especially about the use of uncertainties for risk modelling and policy development. Standards are required for public and private sector digital soil map products to prevent the production of poor-quality information which will become misleading and counter-productive. Machine-learning methods are to be used with caution with respect to their interpretability and parsimony. The use of DSM products for improved pedological understanding and soil survey interpretations requires urgent investigation.

This introductory chapter explains why organic waste composting is considered as one of the best examples to demonstrate the benefits of nexus thinking. Current literature is rich with information covering various aspects of composting process. However, it mainly represents two distinct fields: waste from the management point of view and soil/agriculture from the nutrient recycling point of view. It is hard to find information on how these two fields can benefit from each other, except for a few examples found within large agricultural fields/businesses. A policy/institutional framework that supports a broader integration of management of such resources is lacking: a structure that goes beyond the typical municipal or ministerial boundaries. There is a clear need to address this gap, and nexus thinking can help immensely close the gap by facilitating the mindset needed for policy integration. Good intention of being sustainable is not enough if there is no comprehensive plan to find a stable market for the compost as a product. Therefore, the chapter also discusses the strong need to have a good business case for composting projects. Composting can also support achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed by the United Nations. While directly supporting SDG 2 (Zero hunger), SDG 12 (Responsible consumption and production), and SDG 13 (Climate action), enhanced composting practices may also assist us reach several other targets specified in other SDGs. While encouraging waste composting as a sustainable method of waste and soil management, we should also be cautious about the possible adverse effects compost can have on the environment and public health, especially due to some non-traditional raw materials that we use nowadays such as wastewater sludge and farm manure. Towards the end, we urge for the improvement of the entire chain ranging from waste generation to waste collection/separation to compost formation and, finally, application to soil to ensure society receives the maximum benefit from composting.

The Available Soil Water Capacity (AWC) is standard data in most soil databases and expresses soil water contents in the rootzone between field capacity (FC;-33 kPa) and permanent wilting point (WP; -1500 kPa). Literature suggests that increasing the content of soil organic matter (SOM) of a given soil does not significantly increase AWC and this has important implications when estimating soil moisture supply to crops and evaluating the potential for climate mitigation. For most crops, the real FC values vary between -10 and -50 kPa in different soils and WP values between -800 and -1500 kPa. Thus standard values for AWC of FC and WP do not represent field conditions in many soils. When exploring AWC for six Italian soil series, ranging from clay to sandy, AWC values at increasing %SOM were lower in clay soils and higher in sand as compared with actual conditions, which could be explained by considering the shape of the corresponding moisture retention curves. Rather than focus on static AWC values to define moisture supply to plants, real or actual soil moisture supply capacities (MSC) can be obtained by dynamic modeling of the soil-water-atmosphere-plant system, including a “sink-term” indicating a continuous relation between water uptake and negative pressure head of soil water and evaporative demand. Also, only models allow exploration of the effects of future severe IPCC climate scenario RCP 8.5. Thus, studying MSC for the six Italian soil series showed that MSC values were: (i) on average 30% higher than the corresponding AWC; (ii) distinctly different for the six soils; (iii) affected by declines of 1-9% as a result of the effects of future climate scenarios.; (iv) not significantly affected by increases of %SOM when considering climate change, except for the sand. Generalizations as to the effect of future climate scenarios and %SOM on MSC can only be realistic when modeling is performed for soil series in different climate zones. The contribution has been published in Geoderma journal by Bonfante A., Basile A., and Bouma J. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2019.114079).

The general concept of sustainable development has been specified in terms of goals, targets, and indicators by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, adopted in 2015, followed by the Green Deal of the European Union in 2019. The focus on targets and indicators does, however, not address the issue as to how these goals can be achieved for land-related SDGs in the real world, and attention in this paper is therefore focused on how land management can contribute to providing ecosystem services in line with the aims of the SDGs and the Green Deal. Agricultural production systems should at least produce healthy food (SDG2 and 3), protect ground- and surface water quality (SDG6), mitigate climate change (SDG13), avoid soil degradation, and support biodiversity (SDG15). The corresponding ecosystem services are discussed with particular emphasis on the role of soils, which are characterized in terms of soil health, defined as: contributing to ecosystem services in line with the SDGs and the Green Deal. Appropriate management, as developed and proposed by researchers working jointly with farmers in living labs, can only be realized when it is part of sound long-term business plans, supported by independent advice that is focused on farmers’ concerns based on the requirements for adaptive management. The research effort in living labs, addressing “wicked” problems, needs to be judged differently from classical linear research. As the development of successful ecosystem services requires an interdisciplinary research effort based on a systems analysis, SDG-oriented soil research in the future should be focused on: (i) presenting suitable data to the interdisciplinary effort beyond standard data to be found in existing databases; (ii) using soil types as “carriers of information” to allow extrapolation of results; (iii) providing data with a comparable degree of detail when analyzing the various ecosystem services, and (iv) revisit past experiences in soil survey and soil fertility research when contact with farmers was intense, as is again needed in future to realize ecosystem services in line with the SDGs and the Green Deal.

The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide an excellent channel to demonstrate the significance of soils when considering e.g., food production, water availability, climate mitigation and biodiversity preservation. For environmental sciences, including soil science, the SDGs provide &ldquo, a point at the horizon&rdquo, for future research. Progress to achieve the SDGs by 2030 will bureaucratically be monitored by targets and indicators but questions as to how effective research should be organized remain unanswered so far. The soil security concept, based on the five Cs (capability, condition, capital, connectivity and codification) can provide a clear guideline for soil science research, defining soil functions contributing to interdisciplinary ecosystem services that, in turn, can define measures to reach SDGs. A &ldquo, storyline&rdquo, is proposed linking the five Cs, emphasizing connectivity that becomes increasingly important in our modern &ldquo, fact-free&rdquo, world. The traditional linear research model does not apply when characterizing SDGs because of many conflicting interests that don&rsquo, t allow definition of specific &ldquo, solutions&rdquo, But different action-perspectives can be defined as a basis for decision making, creating much needed transparency in the decision process. Soil contributions are most effective when framed in the context of soil-water-atmosphere-plant models. Proper codification, including clear and candid communication with stakeholders, is essential to link science with society, a link that needs improvement.

Our current information society, populated by increasingly well-informed and critical stakeholders, presents a challenge to both the policy and science arenas. The introduction of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offers a unique and welcome opportunity to direct joint activities towards these goals. Soil science, even though it is not mentioned as such, plays an important role in realizing a number of SDGs focusing on food, water, climate, health, biodiversity, and sustainable land use. A plea is made for a systems approach to land use studies, to be initiated by soil scientists, in which these land-related SDGs are considered in an integrated manner. To connect with policy makers and stakeholders, two approaches are functional. The first of these is the policy cycle when planning and executing research, which includes signaling, design, decision making, implementation, and evaluation. Many current research projects spend little time on signaling, which may lead to disengagement of stakeholders. Also, implementation is often seen as the responsibility of others, while it is crucial to demonstrate – if successful – the relevance of soil science. The second approach is the DPSIR approach when following the policy cycle in land-related research, distinguishing external drivers, pressures, impact, and responses to land use change that affect the state of the land in the past, present, and future. Soil science cannot by itself realize SDGs, and interdisciplinary studies on ecosystem services (ESs) provide an appropriate channel to define contributions of soil science in terms of the seven soil functions. ESs, in turn, can contribute to addressing the six SDGs (2, 3, 6, 12, 13, and 15) with an environmental, land-related character. SDGs have a societal focus and future soil science research can only be successful if stakeholders are part of the research effort in transdisciplinary projects, based on the principle of time-consuming "joint learning". The internal organization of the soil science discipline is not yet well tuned to the needs of inter- and transdisciplinary approaches.

Among natural resources, soils are often forgotten and poorly represented in ecosystem service frameworks and decision making processes, even though they are a non-renewable resource and the foundation of terrestrial ecosystems’ function and health. This study used a novel methodology to (i) quantify the ecosystem services provided by dairy-based agro-ecosystems on two contrasting soils in New Zealand using a process-based model, (ii) determine the economic value of each service using on-farm built capital substitutes, and (iii) explore the merits of incorporating an ecosystems approach into land evaluation and resource management. Ecosystem services quantification proved insightful in distinguishing and quantifying the inherent differences in the capabilities of two contrasting soils to contribute to service provision by translating them into differences in performance under the same use, before calculating economic values. The economic value of the services provided by the system with Horotiu was on average 35% greater than the economic value of the services provided by the same land use on the Te Kowhai soil, with differences in the provision of some services (provision of food, flood mitigation, and the filtering of nutrients and contaminants) more pronounced between the two soils than others (provision of support, recycling of wastes). Regulating services had greater economic values than provisioning services for both agro-ecosystems. Existing limitations of land evaluation processes can be addressed by an ecosystems approach through increased emphasis on inclusive, quantitative assessments that reflect society’s desired outcomes as informed by stakeholder input.

Last century, during the ‘Green Revolution’ the use of synthetic fertilizers contributed to increased agricultural production. However, their use did not reflect local soil and water conditions because recommendations were developed for larger agro-ecological zones. They only focused on increased productivity, neglecting any adverse environmental consequences. Largely, this legacy remains and recommendations are still made using ‘top-down’ procedures based on limited data and generic, empirical relations between soil nutrient contents, fertilization rates and yields. Using soil sensors in agriculture can fundamentally change this approach by allowing innovative ‘bottom-up’ approaches that characterize local soil and environmental conditions in space and time, improving the efficiency of production to maximize farm incomes and minimize environmental side effects. The sensed information can be used to build site-specific databases of relations between soil and plant condition and growth. Recent technological developments in sensing coupled with ongoing advances in information and communication technologies have given ground to a renewed interest in soil sensing and its use in different applications at different spatial scales. Soil sensing can facilitate the measurement and monitoring of the soil's physical and biochemical attributes (e.g. nutrients, water) to better understand their dynamics, their interactions with the environment while considering their large spatial heterogeneity. The new sensing methods can also be used to effectively monitor soil organic carbon and be central to the adoption of best agronomic practices that also allow carbon sequestration and a reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Thus, sensing can help us to better articulate the potential of soil to meet the world's needs for food, fiber, climate adaptation and environmental sustainability allowing the design and implementation of innovative management practices and policy aimed at sustainable development.

Climate change and the development of new plant hybrids raise questions about future agricultural land use potentials that cannot be answered by expert knowledge based on past experience. This case study for maize cultivation in the Destra Sele region in southern Italy applied therefore the SWAP (Soil- Water- Atmosphere-Plant) simulation model to explore the effects of limited water availability under future climate conditions on growth of eleven maize hybrids. Five selected soil series were analysed. Compared with optimal water availability by irrigation, results were significantly different for 80% and 60% water availability with respect to different hybrids and soil series. The soil series are distinguished by stable criteria, allowing, in principle, their use as "class pedotransfer functions" not only in space but also in time, reflecting effects of climate change by 2050. Presenting alternative land use options by simulations rather than empirical conclusions about limitations or suitabilities is attractive for land evaluation, allowing a pro-active and interactive approach by soil scientists vis-a-vis farmers, hydraulic engineers, crop breeders and policy makers.

The seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) present a major challenge to soil scientists that have, so far, not been involved with defining SDG targets and indicators. Soil functioning contributes to ecosystem services (ES) that, in turn, are important to achieve land-related SDGs, including: (1) biomass production (SDG2); (2) improving ground- and surface water quality (SDG6):(3) carbon capture for climate mitigation (SDG13); (4) limiting greenhouse gas emissions (SDG13) and (5) biodiversity protection and enhancement (SDG15). Pedological expertise, based on the study of soils in their natural environment, is valuable when defining the role of soils in inter- and transdisciplinary programs aimed at assessing ESs that, in turn, define SDGs by providing: (i) data from soil types, considering soil profile characteristics, such as occurrence of macropores and particular soil horizons, as no soil is homogeneous nor isotropic. This should include effects of management as expressed by phenoforms, and (ii) a developing “storyline” for a particular soil type based on successive determinations of ESs, obtained at different locations. Storylines are important for communication purposes addressing stakeholders, the public at large and the policy arena. Current empirical soil survey interpretations are inadequate to assess ES but modeling of the soil-water-atmosphere-plant system can provide relevant ES data, also by exploring future effects of climate change as is illustrated in three case studies..

Cereals production is becoming a challenge in the Agriculture of the Bekaa valley in Lebanon. Lack of water is the driving force of agricultural research which is mainly focused on introduction of drought resistant cultivars, application of conservation tillage and supplemental irrigation. In this context, within of ACLIMAS demonstration project within the Sustainable Water Integrated Management Program (SWIM) of the European Commission, a field experiment on barley and durum wheat crop responses to different treatments (conservative and conservation soil tillage and supplemental irrigation) was realized. Forty-eight experimental plots were laid out for three years in a statistical split plot design. The statistical analyses showed that aboveground biomass and yield were significantly affected by supplemental irrigation for barley but not for the yield of durum wheat. A soil survey indicated that the implicit assumption of soil homogeneity of the agronomic design was correct for soil surface soil but that two different soil types (Cambisols and Fluvisols) had to be distinguished considering subsoil conditions and corresponding rooting patterns. Then, a simulation modelling analysis on crop responses under climate change, considering the soil spatial heterogeneity was done. This last by means the use of the simulation model SWAP, validated for local conditions using measurements of soil water contents, aboveground biomass and yield of wheat. The validated model was applied to estimate yields focusing on the application of supplemental irrigation. Yields for "Mikii3" a durum wheat cultivar are expected to increase by 14% in both soils due to climate change. More importantly, only 3 supplemental irrigations would be needed for the deep soil requiring 5% more water as compared with current climate trend, while the shallow soil needs 35% more water.

The soil genoform vs. soil phenoform distinction was suggested twenty years ago by Droogers and Bouma to recognize management-induced differences among pedons with the same long-term pedogenesis and included in the same soil map unit, these changes being sufficient to cause important and persistent differences in soil functions. To support the recent increased interest in soil change and soil health, we propose conceptual and operational definitions of soil genoforms and soil phenoforms, and suggest techniques to identify and map them. We define soil genoforms as soil classes as identified by the soil classification system used as the basis for detailed soil mapping in a given area. This avoids the difficulty of defining when human intervention has been sufficient to create new genoforms – by definition this is when new lowest-level classes are recognized in the classification system, based on diagnostic horizons and properties. We then define soil phenoforms as persistent variants of a genoform with sufficient physical or chemical differences to substantially affect soil functions. Soil phenoforms must be persistent enough that substantial management interventions are necessary to change them, thus seasonal and rotational variants are excluded from the concept. Soil phenoforms can be identified by measurements of indicator soil properties at locations within a soil genoform with different management and investigating if these are different enough to affect soil functions, notably soil hydrology and crop yield. Digital mapping of soil phenoforms will likely use maps of current and historical management as predictors. In areas with intensive or changed management, mapping should be repeated every few years to identify areas of changed soil phenoforms and new genoforms.

Soil security can only be achieved when the global soil resource is maintained and improved, requiring a reversal of current degradation processes. This demands a major effort by soil scientists in at least four directions by: (i) demonstrating the importance of soils in inter- and transdisciplinary programs focusing on food, water, climate, biodiversity and energy problems, which are environmental issues that are widely acknowledged to be important; (ii) focusing research on the seven soil functions to demonstrate the importance of soil for widely recognized Ecosystem Services (ES) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG); (iii) reframing reporting of soil studies by not only including technical data but embedding this in human-interest storylines, building on the deep emotional links between soil and man, and (iv) educating and involving knowledge brokers that can link science with societal partners not only during a given project but also in the preparatory and implementation phase. Scientists c...

The introduction of information and communication technology (ICT) has fundamentally changed the flow and role of data and information in our increasingly digital society and this also strongly affects soil science. Stakeholders become more knowledgeable and critical. This issue paper raises the question as to how the scientific community, and particularly soil science, can best deal with the implications of the ICT revolution. Problems are evident when studying sustainable development, presenting ”wicked” environmental problems that defy simple, straightforward solutions because many stakeholders are involved with contrasting opinions and interests, only allowing development of alternative options. A suggestion is made to establish Communities of Scientific Practice that interact with societal partners and the policy arena in a long-duration joint learning mode, promote and safeguard science quality and offer broad career perspectives for soil scientists.

Capability, a term that has been well defined in welfare economics, can be applied to soil by defining the intrinsic capacity of a soil to contribute to ecosystem services, including biomass production. Seven soil functions are used to define capabilities, and combining different functions in storylines provides integrated expressions for capability considering the different functions. Applied to biomass production in a sustainable production system, potential production (Yp) is defined as a function of radiation, temperature, CO2 and plant physiology. Yp is independent of soil and provides an absolute point of reference. Yw represents water-limited yield, reflecting actual water regimes and assuming that soil fertility is adequate and pests and diseases don’t occur. Ya represents actual yield. A soil capability index (SCI) is defined as SCI = (Ya/Yw) × 100 for a biomass production storyline for rainfed production systems. Some examples are presented. Using simulation modelling, Yp can be simulated for a given climate and Yw can be simulated for a given soil in a probabilistic manner using weather data for 30 years as a form of quantitative land evaluation. Ya can be measured. Not only capability, as such, is important, however, but also the way in which capability can be realized under practical conditions. Then, a management support system is needed to guide a farmer real time through the growing season, also taking into account long-term effects. Capability is defined for a given type of soil (the genoform), but sometimes management has had significant effects on soil properties, requiring a phenoform approach, as is illustrated.

Maintaining cereal production in the Bekaa valley in Lebanon presents a serious challenge. Lack of water is the driving force of agricultural research which is mainly focused on introduction of drought resistant cultivars, application of conservation tillage and supplemental irrigation. In this context forty-eight experimental plots were laid out for three years in a statistical split plot design. The statistical analyses showed that aboveground biomass and yield were significantly affected by irrigation for barley but not for the yield of durum wheat. Effects of soil tillage practices and introduction of new cultivares were not significant. A soil survey indicated that the implicit assumption of soil homogeneity of the agronomic design was correct for surface soil but that two different soil types (Cambisols and Fluvisols) had to be distinguished considering subsoil conditions and corresponding rooting patterns. Therefore, the main objective of this paper was to determine the effects of different soil types on crop response and, in addition, to assess how physically-based modeling can predict future effects of climate change on crops and soils. Simulation model SWAP was validated for local conditions using measurements of soil water contents, aboveground biomass and yield of wheat. Considering two rather than one soil type for the experimental area resulted in different conclusions for both crops as to the effectivity of both conservation tillage and irrigation, demonstrating that a distinction of only one soil type results in misleading results. The validated model was applied to estimate yields considering climate change, focusing on the application of supplemental irrigation. Yields for “Mikii3” a durum wheat cultivar are expected to increase by appr. 14% in both soils due to climate change. More importantly, only 3 supplemental irrigations would be needed for the deep soil requiring 5% more water as compared with current climate trend, while the shallow soil needs 13 irrigations, corresponding with a need for 35% more water. This is highly significant from an economic point of view and supports the relevance of distinguishing two soil types. It was demonstrated the synergy of joint research by the agronomic and soil science community and the need for executing a soil survey in future when planning agronomic experiments, including a hydrological soil characterisation.

Accelerating future water shortages require development of operational water governance models, as illustrated by three case studies: (1) upstream–downstream interactions in the Aral Sea basin, where science acts as problem recognizer, emphasizing scoping policies; (2) impact and adaptation of climate change on water and food supply in the Middle East and North Africa, where science acts as a mediator between perspectives, emphasizing scoping and a start of implementation policies; and (3) green water credits in Kenya, where science acts as advocate, emphasizing scoping and implementation policies in close interaction with stakeholders, including impulses from applied to basic research.

Food production, water availability and energy production are important ecosystem services of the Upper Tana basin (Kenya) and they decline due to upstream erosion affecting downstream water users. The effect of 11 soil conservation measures on soil erosion and the three ecosystem services was estimated by a modelling approach to assess agro-ecological processes and benefit/cost relations. Soil water available for evaporation and transpiration (‘green water’) functioned as a unifying concept to express the effects of erosion and the impacts of soil and water conservation measures that result in: (1) increased water availability for crops; (2) increased fluxes towards aquifers, thereby increasing water supply and regulating streamflow, and (3) a reduction of erosion and siltation of reservoirs used for hydroelectricity. Modelling indicated that the three ecosystem services could be improved, as compared with the base level, by up to 20% by introducing appropriate conservation measures with benefit/cost relations of around 7. However, farmers were unable to make the necessary investments and much effort and many institutional studies were needed to achieve progress towards implementation by initiating the Green Water Credits (GWC) programme intended to arrange payments by downstream businesses to upstream farmers. A timeline analysis is presented to illustrate the slow, but persistent, development of transdisciplinary activities as a function of time using connected value development as a guiding principle.

The United Nations effort to define Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s), emphasizing local goals and capacity building, offers a unique opportunity for soil science to demonstrate the role it can play when focusing on these goals. Several strategic reports have presented key issues for sustainable development: food security, freshwater and energy availability, climate change and biodiversity loss are issues most frequently being listed, not soil degradation. Focusing on soil contributions towards interdisciplinary studies of these key issues, rather than emphasizing soils by themselves, is therefore bound to be more effective for the soil science profession. But this is still inadequate when studying land-related SDG’s, requiring a broader ecosystem approach that can be achieved by a direct link between soil functions and corresponding ecosystem services. Thus, the key issues are not considered separately but linked as part of a dynamic ecosystem characterization following a narrative as is demonstrated for food security, that can be well addressed by precision agriculture. As all key issues and at least five of the ten SDG’s are directly land-related, soil science can potentially play an important role in the suggested interdisciplinary studies. But in addition, the current information society with knowledgeable stakeholders requires innovative and interactive transdisciplinary scientific approaches by not only focusing on knowledge generation but also on co-learning with stakeholders and, important, on implementation. The soil science discipline can become more effective in the transdisciplinary context by: (1) reconnecting the knowledge chain, linking tacit with scientific knowledge both ways, (2) simplifying soil terminology, (3) learning to deal with “wicked” environmental problems for which no single solutions exist but only a series of alternative options for action, balancing economic, social and environmental considerations, (4) educating “knowledge brokers”, linking science with society in land-related issues, acting within a “Community of Scientific Practice”, and (5) modernizing soil science curricula. Transdisciplinary approaches are crucial to achieve SDG’s, linking science and society. There is a need for specific results on the ground illustrating with hard data the key role soils can play in realizing SDG’s.

Many studies convincingly document the importance of soils when dealing with the global environmental sustainability issues of today, such as food, water and energy security, climate change, ecosystem service delivery and biodiversity protection. Even though international agencies have supported the claims by the soil science community, recent strategic environmental reports hardly mention soils. Soils need to be “re-framed”, realizing that most issues are land-related. This includes introduction of the concept of “Soil Security”, including elements of safety, risk and anxiety, and the metaphor of soils as a possible “keystone” connecting the various environmental issues mentioned above. In addition, there is a need for active participation in interdisciplinary research programs, while particular opportunities can be found in transdisciplinary programs actively involving stakeholders and policy makers striving for connected value development. Soil scientists can be effective “knowledge brokers” (Extension 2.0, in which participatory joint learning replaces linear knowledge transfer in traditional extension). Current developments in the policy arena, with more focus on participatory rather than top-down approaches in environmental regulations also offer particular opportunities for soil science. Effective framing does not need more diagnostic studies nor alarming declarations or conceptual action plans, but should focus on the presentation of specific case studies demonstrating the l role of soils when confronting the major environmental issues of today. Benefit/cost analyses are essential to demonstrate that good soil management often represents good business. The “Green Water” study in Kenya is presented as an example of this approach.