Celebrate the importance of soils, from forests to cities
The wellbeing of our planet, its ecosystems, and its people is deeply connected to soils. In the HoliSoils project we are very familiar with how forests, soils enable the growth of trees, host rich biodiversity, help mitigate climate change, and provide countless other ecosystem services. However, the importance of soils holds true across all landscapes. In cities, beneath asphalt, buildings, and streets lies soil that (when permeable and vegetated) absorbs rainwater, regulates temperature, stores carbon, and improves air quality.
On 5 December, we celebrate World Soil Day 2025 under the theme “Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities.” Urban soils deliver essential ecosystem services: they support food production; filter water; store carbon; regulate temperatures; and sustain biodiversity. This day is a call to action, inviting policymakers, scientists, city leaders, civil society, and citizens everywhere to reimagine urban spaces through their soils, ensuring that people and nature thrive together in healthy, green cities.
Since 2014, every 5 December, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), within the framework of the Global Soil Partnership (GSP), has organised World Soil Day to highlight the importance of healthy soils and their sustainable management. Explore all the initiatives of World Soil Day 2025, including the results of the World Soil Day 2025 video contest and activities for young scientists proposed for the Tiny soil detectives challenge.
Seize the opportunity of this World Soil Day to explore HoliSoils’ key messages and discover what the project has learned about forest soils in the past 4.5 years!
