Effective management of soil health is essential to managing widespread soil degradation. Current frameworks for defining and assessing soil health are limited, focusing on agricultural contexts and relying on expensive, impractical lab analysis. Our socio-ecological framework offers a way forward, grounding soil health in ecological perspective and using modern sensing and data-driven technologies for rapid, scalable, policy-relevant assessment.

Olive groves face severe soil erosion, threatening their sustainability. This study reviewed existing research to understand how and why erosion happens and why results often seem contradictory. We found that: (a) differences mostly come from how and where erosion is measured, not from disagreement about the problem and (b) soil management is decisive. Keeping the ground covered with vegetation consistently cuts soil loss by over half. This urges the adoption of soil conservation practices.

We explored how a portable tool can quickly and affordably test city soils for harmful metals like lead and arsenic. Traditional lab methods are accurate but slow and costly. By reviewing 84 studies, we found that portable X-ray fluorescence tools work well when properly used and calibrated. This can help identify contaminated areas faster, making urban gardening safer and helping communities grow food in healthier soil.