{"type": "FeatureCollection", "features": [{"id": "10.3390/su17115042", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-20T16:19:14Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2025-06-02", "title": "Citizen Science for Soil Monitoring and Protection in Europe: Insights from the PREPSOIL Project Under the European Soil Mission", "description": "<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><article><p>Citizen science (CS) is increasingly recognized as a complementary approach for addressing soil health challenges\u2014including erosion, pollution, nutrient imbalances, and biodiversity loss\u2014by harnessing public participation to broaden spatial and temporal data collection. This review synthesizes findings from the following: (i) a systematic analysis of peer-reviewed literature and grey sources, (ii) a database of 96 CS initiatives compiled by the European PREPSOIL project, and (iii) questionnaire surveys and workshops conducted in five Living Labs across Europe. Our analysis indicates that volunteer-driven monitoring can enhance the volume and granularity of soil data, providing critical insights into parameters such as organic carbon content, nutrient levels, and pollutant concentrations. However, persistent challenges remain, including inconsistencies in data validation, volunteer attrition, and concerns regarding digital literacy and data privacy. Despite these challenges, ongoing efforts to standardize protocols, integrate remote sensing and sensor-based validation methods, and employ feedback mechanisms improve data reliability and participant engagement. We conclude that sustained capacity-building, transparent data governance, and stakeholder collaboration, from local communities to governmental bodies, are essential for fully realizing the potential of citizen science in soil conservation. This work is framed within the context of the European Soil Mission, and CS is demonstrated to meaningfully support sustainable land management and evidence-based policymaking by aligning public-generated observations with established scientific frameworks.</p></article>", "keywords": ["community stewardship", "remote sensing", "[SDV.EE] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology", " environment", "volunteer engagement", "soil health", "soil monitoring", "citizen science", "open data", "data validation", "policy integration", "biodiversity"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/11/5042/pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.3390/su17115042"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Sustainability", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.3390/su17115042", "name": "item", "description": "10.3390/su17115042", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.3390/su17115042"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2025-05-30T00:00:00Z"}}], "links": [{"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "This document as GeoJSON", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=data+validation&f=json", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "alternate", "type": "text/html", "title": "This document as HTML", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=data+validation&f=html", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection URL", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"type": "application/geo+json", "rel": "first", "title": "items (first)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=data+validation&", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "last", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "items (last)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=data+validation&offset=1", "hreflang": "en-US"}], "numberMatched": 1, "numberReturned": 1, "distributedFeatures": [], "timeStamp": "2026-09-21T13:46:33.635148Z"}