Guest blog post from Dr. Anna Krzywoszynska, Associate Professor at the University of Oulu
Soil is at the heart of life on Earth, but protecting and restoring it requires more than just scientific and technical solutions. The Horizon Europe Mission “The Soil Deal for Europe” (hereafter Mission Soil), the largest funding program for soil research in the EU today, recognizes that soil health is deeply intertwined with social, cultural, and political factors. Achieving soil health demands, therefore, not only changes in land management but also a transformation of social relations with soil, at all levels and in all contexts. How can soil research engage with this challenge?
This is the topic of the recent report Social Sciences, Humanities and the Arts in the EU Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe” published by a working group of the Advisory Board of the Mission Soil, and led by Dr Anna Krzywoszynska. The report argues that soil research needs to integrate more strongly social sciences, humanities, and the arts (SSHA), and provides recommendations for achieving that. The report also reviews previous calls under Mission Soil from the perspective of SSHA incorporation.
From understanding how land use was shaped historically to identifying factors shaping land workers’ decision-making, from shaping policies to finding ways to reconnect societies with soils, SSHA disciplines provide crucial insights into the human-soil relationship. However, too often, SSHA are treated as secondary to natural sciences in soil research. The Mission Soil program is an opportunity to change that. By fully integrating SSHA into research and innovation, particularly within its Living Labs, the program can foster truly transdisciplinary approaches. This means not just engaging communities but also ensuring that social research shapes research questions, framings, and methods.
Why Social Sciences, Humanities, and the Arts Matter in Soil Research
Soil science has long been dominated by natural and technical disciplines, but the role of SSHA in soil research is gaining recognition. Understanding and improving human-soil relationships requires insights into social structures, cultural values, governance systems, and historical land use—areas where SSHA excel.
What Does SSHA Research Look Like?
SSHA scholars explore how societies interact with their environment, including soil. They investigate belief systems, economic structures, governance models, or historical land management practices to understand why people interact with soil the way they do and how these practices can change. Disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, geography, history, political science, artistic research, or ethics provide vital perspectives on soil use and conservation.
These diverse disciplines help explain not just what is happening in relation to soil but also why certain patterns persist and how they might be transformed. Researchers in SSHA usually use qualitative methods (interviews, ethnographic studies, archival research) and at times quantitative techniques (surveys, economic modeling, demographic analysis). Artistic research, including visual and performance arts, offers creative ways to engage research topics, generating new research questions and insights. For example, an SSHA study might explore how historical land policies have led to soil degradation in certain regions or how farmers’ actions are curtailed by economic or policy structures. These insights are crucial for designing policies and interventions that are both effective and socially just.
SSHA’s Role in Transdisciplinary Soil Research
Soil research also increasingly embraces transdisciplinary approaches, where scientists work directly with communities, policymakers, and industries to co-create knowledge and solutions. Traditional top-down science communication—where findings are simply shared with stakeholders—has proven insufficient for driving real change. Instead, research must integrate social understanding to create new cultural narratives, economic models, and governance structures that support soil health.
SSHA scholars have been at the forefront of transdisciplinary research, developing methods such as participatory action research, citizen dialogues, and co-production of knowledge. These approaches help uncover diverse perspectives, mediate conflicts, and develop practical solutions tailored to specific social and ecological contexts.
The Mission Soil program embraces this vision by embedding transdisciplinary research into its Living Labs and Lighthouses—innovation spaces where scientists and local communities collaborate in real-world settings. This ensures that soil research is not just about scientific discovery but also about social transformation.
Challenges and the Path Forward for SSHA in soil research
Despite their importance, SSHA disciplines remain underfunded in environmental research. Natural sciences receive nearly 770% more funding than social sciences and humanities in environmental studies, leaving critical gaps in our understanding of human-soil relations. Soil-focused SSHA research is still emerging, and greater investment is needed to support its growth. We need more studies on the social and economic forces driving soil use—like land ownership laws, financial systems, and cultural beliefs. We also need to understand how people’s relationships with soil have changed over time and what might encourage more sustainable practices today.
To truly integrate SSHA into soil research, structural changes are necessary. Funding models should account for the time and expertise required for transdisciplinary collaboration. SSHA researchers must be seen not just as facilitators but as equal partners in shaping research questions and methodologies.
By embracing SSHA perspectives, soil science can move beyond technical solutions and create meaningful, lasting change in how societies care for and interact with the land. SSHA researchers also need a seat at the table when decisions are made about soil research funding and policy. Without their insights, we risk missing the bigger picture—how people, power, and culture shape our land. If we want healthy soils by 2050, we need SSHA on board.
Cover image: a panel on the importance of social sciences, humanities, and the arts to soil research was held at the last Mission Soil Week in Brussels in November 2024, you can see the presentations here European Mission Soil Week 2024 | Mission Soil Platform
