Soils are the foundation of agricultural production, ecosystem functioning and human well-being. Bridging soil knowledge gaps and improving the knowledge system is crucial to meet the growing EU soil policy ambitions in the face of climate change and the ongoing trend in soil degradation. The objective of this article is to assess the current state of knowledge, knowledge use and knowledge gaps concerning sustainable soil management in Europe. This study is based on interviews with 791 stakeholders and 254 researchers and on a comprehensive review of >1800 documents carried out under the European Joint Programme on agricultural soils. Despite differences in stakeholder groups, the conclusions are rather consistent and complementary. We identified major knowledge gaps with respect to (1) soil carbon stocks, (2) soil degradation and fertility and (3) strategies for improved soil management. Transcending these three areas, particularly the loss of soil organic carbon, peatland degradation and soil compaction, are most critical, thus, we stress the urgency of developing more models and monitoring programmes on soils. Stakeholders further report that insufficient transfer of existing soil research findings to practitioners is a hindrance to the adoption of sustainable soil management practices. In addition to knowledge production, soil knowledge gaps may be addressed by considering seven recommendations from the stakeholders: (1) raising awareness, (2) strengthening knowledge brokers, (3) improving relevance of research activities and resource allocation for land users, (4) peer-to-peer communication, (5) targeting advice and information, (6) improving knowledge access, and (7) providing incentives. We argue that filling and bridging knowledge gaps should be a priority for policymakers and the insights provided in the article may help prioritise research and dissemination needs enabling a transition to more sustainable soil management in Europe.

中文翻译：

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可持续土壤管理：欧洲土壤知识的利用和差距

土壤是农业生产、生态系统功能和人类福祉的基础。面对气候变化和土壤退化的持续趋势，弥合土壤知识差距和改进知识体系对于满足欧盟不断增长的土壤政策雄心至关重要。本文的目的是评估欧洲可持续土壤管理的知识现状、知识使用和知识差距。这项研究基于对 791 名利益相关者和 254 名研究人员的访谈，并对欧洲农业土壤联合计划下进行的 1800 多份文件进行了全面审查。尽管利益相关者群体存在差异，但结论相当一致和互补。我们确定了以下方面的主要知识差距：(1) 土壤碳储量、(2) 土壤退化和肥力以及 (3) 改善土壤管理的策略。超越这三个领域，特别是土壤有机碳的流失、泥炭地退化和土壤压实是最关键的，因此，我们强调开发更多土壤模型和监测计划的紧迫性。利益相关者进一步报告说，现有土壤研究成果向从业者的转化不足阻碍了可持续土壤管理实践的采用。除了知识生产之外，还可以通过考虑利益相关者提出的七项建议来解决土壤知识差距：(1) 提高认识，(2) 加强知识经纪人，(3) 提高研究活动和土地使用者资源分配的相关性，(4 ) 点对点沟通，(5) 有针对性的建议和信息，(6) 改善知识获取，以及 (7) 提供激励措施。我们认为，填补和弥合知识差距应该是政策制定者的首要任务，文章中提供的见解可能有助于优先考虑研究和传播需求，从而使欧洲能够向更可持续的土壤管理过渡。