Healthy soil is the hidden ingredient

Summary

Soil quality is crucial for sustaining production in vineyards, such as this one near Montilla in southern Spain.Credit: JORGE GUERRERO/AFP via GettyWhen it comes to the land, the European Union faces a reckoning: 60–70% of its soils are considered unhealthy, resulting in soil degradation. That costs €50 billion (US$55 billion) annually because of the loss of essential services and the effect on human health. Spain has the highest rates of soil degradation in Europe, with an average of 14.2 tonnes of soil lost per hectare to erosion each year1. Although its importance is often overlooked, quality soil is essential for sustaining agriculture and crucial ecosystems. Its importance was highlighted in the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, with soil health named as a key factor in achieving several of the goals.Nature Spotlight: SpainHaving studied soil erosion in vineyards across Europe, Jesús Rodrigo Comino, a geographer at the University of Granada, Spain, is hoping to unearth a solution. Now he works with farmers, researchers and policymakers to test and use more-sustainable soil-management practices in vineyards and more broadly. Rodrigo Comino speaks to Nature about his research programme and why healthy soils are important for Spain’s cultural heritage and economy.Tell us about your work in soil science.I was always a curious kid, but my passion for soil science began with my studies at the University of Malaga in Spain and at Trier University in Germany. My home region of Andalusia in Spain has some really beautiful landscapes, but some areas are heavily degraded because of soil erosion and other factors. I felt compelled to find solutions to these problems. When I came back to Spain in 2021 after doing my PhD and a postdoctoral position in Germany, I started a project to assess soil erosion and degradation in vineyards using geographical mapping systems and artificial intelligence (AI). Soil erosion is caused by natural factors, such as extreme ...