Citizen sciences for soil ecological quality

The intensification of agriculture and growing urbanization seen over the last century have been accompanied by numerous negative externalities: pollution, deforestation, soil sealing, erosion, loss of biodiversity and greenhouse gas emissions. Soils have been particularly degraded by intensive agriculture and urbanization, both quantitatively and qualitatively. These findings call for changes in the way we design, produce and manage these ecosystems, in particular by using nature-based solutions to reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture and our cities.

Since 2010, the agricultural world has initiated the "agroecological" transition, which is based on preserving the biodiversity of agricultural ecosystems in order to make better use of it, with the main aim of significantly reducing dependence on chemical inputs (pesticides, fertilization) and mechanization (ploughing). In urban ecosystems, the same desire has emerged with the deployment of a policy of "bringing nature back to the city". This dynamic involves the re-vegetation of towns and cities, and development practices designed to preserve soil and open spaces and host biodiversity at every scale, from the city to the building: green, blue, brown and black grids, ecologically designed and managed green spaces, urban agriculture, green roofs and facades, etc. (references [GE 1 015][GE 1 017][P 4 260] ). In each of these systems, the soil is the support for human activities (plant production, building materials, resources), and also the main habitat for a large quantity and diversity of living organisms (around 25% of terrestrial biodiversity) (ref [GE 1 051] , Qualité écologique des sols, PA. Maron and L. Ranjard) capable of providing ecosystem services. Soil is therefore a central matrix with high ecological stakes linked to its better understanding and...