World Soil Day 2025

Every year on December 5th, the international community celebrates World Soil Daya day dedicated to highlighting the crucial importance of soil for life, ecosystems, and the planet’s future. This year’s theme, «No Soil, No Future», reminds us that without healthy soil, there is no food, no clean water, no biodiversity — and no climate balance.

Soil: the foundation of the biosphere

Soil is a finite and extremely valuable natural resource. It functions like a living organism, regulating the operation of terrestrial ecosystems. Its health directly influences food security, water quality and climate changeProtecting soil and studying its properties systematically is essential for achieving a sustainable future.

The institutional commitment behind World Soil Day

World Soil Day was established by the UN General Assembly in 2014 to raise global awareness and promote sustainable soil management. Today, pressures such as climate change, intensive agricultural practices, and environmental degradation make the role of the scientific community more important than ever. Educational and research institutions like the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA) stand at the forefront of this effort.

Tradition & Digital Innovation at AUA

The Laboratory of Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry of AUA, with a history dating back to 1920, has been a stable pillar of scientific knowledge for over a century. In parallel, the GIS Research Unit, with 35 years of activity, pioneers the use of geospatial technologies, spatial analysis, and geostatistics that support modern digital approaches to soil assessment and management.

World Soil Day 2025 Event at AUA

The Agricultural University of Athens is hosting a special event on Friday, 5 December 2025, at 10:00, at the Central Library Amphitheatre , coordinated by the GIS Research Unit of the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry.

Honored Guest 2025

This year’s honored guest is Professor Emeritus Nikolaos Iasoglou, a distinguished scientist who has made a significant and lasting contribution to Soil Science.

Participants

The event will bring together representatives of the academic, scientific, and institutional community, including:

• University Soil Science Laboratories

• Research Institutes

• Representatives of the Ministry of Rural Development & Food

• Scientific and professional associations

• Stakeholders of the agri-food sector

Through short briefings, participants will present strategies, proposals, and actions aimed at protecting and sustainably managing Greece’s soil resources.