Soil and Climate: The Hidden Power Beneath Our Feet
Soil is much more than just the ground beneath our feet; it is a living system that directly influences the climate, the water balance, and biodiversity. In cities, rural areas and peri-urban spaces, it plays a vital role in maintaining functioning ecosystems and ensuring people can live in resilient, habitable environments.
Healthy soils store carbon, regulate water flows and provide habitats for countless microorganisms that recycle nutrients and enable plant growth. With climate change intensifying globally—bringing more frequent heat waves, heavy rainfall, and soil degradation—soil is playing an increasingly central role, becoming a key ally in the fight against climate change.SPADES pilot projects are just beginning to explore how these insights can be applied in practice. By integrating soil quality, structure, and performance into urban planning, it becomes possible to mitigate urban heat islands, reduce flooding, and manage green spaces more sustainably. At the same time, this approach fosters spaces that are both ecologically diverse and socially engaging.
A particularly exciting dimension is the link between soil and food production. Urban agriculture, community gardens, and rooftop farms all benefit from healthy soils that store nutrients and regulate water. These spaces also contribute to more resilient local food systems. Afterall, soil has always been the foundation of agriculture, both rural and urban and practices such as crop rotation, compost application, and reduced tillage can enhance soil health and increase farmers adaptability to climate variability while maintaining productivity also in urban and peri urban areas, not only in the fields. Beyond cities, soil continues to play a central role in climate regulation and ecosystem services. In fields, meadows, and forests, it controls water flow by retaining water in its pores, creating natural buffers against drought, and storing carbon. In Europe alone, soils are estimated to store between 34 and 75 Gt of carbon in the top 30 cm. Regarding soil biodiversity, it varies across locations, influenced by vegetation structure, soil age, and aridity, and these variations directly affect ecosystem stability and performance
Ultimately, soil governs how water moves through the landscape, how well plants grow, how much carbon is stored, and how habitats are maintained. Protecting and regenerating it allows us to create spaces that are ecologically robust, climate-adapted, and fit for purpose. Healthy soils are therefore an essential foundation for addressing the challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and sustainable urban development.
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