The UC San Diego Soil Health Center at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (est. 2025) serves as a keystone for soil health research, education, and outreach in Southern California by leveraging biological, chemical, physical, and social expertise on soil quality and connected ecological and human health.
Soils are living ecosystems, the functioning of which can have dramatic impacts on agricultural productivity, water resources, carbon sequestration, food security, and human health. Soil management practices influence the production of healthy and nutritious food; soils can act as a reservoir and vector for plant, animal, and human pathogens; and soil ecosystems can contribute to the mitigation or exacerbation of environmental issues including climate change and nutrient runoff.
We are building the engine to understand mechanistic drivers of soil health, develop effective interventions, and move them into application and adoption. In everything we do, we work toward not just developing new technologies that are effective in the lab and leverage cutting-edge technology with world experts, but that can make an impact in real-world settings. This necessitates an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates social, cultural, and economic aspects from beginning to end.
The overarching goals of the Soil Health Center are to build and maintain soil health while mitigating global warming, supporting food security, and improving societal resilience to climate change.
Contact: soilhealth@ucsd.edu
