Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42820210›Full record

ArticleSustainable microbiology2026

Developing global goals for soil health research and action: report on the "Soil Stars Heligan Summit," The Lost Gardens of Heligan, UK, March 2026.

Jo Handelsman, Bridget Emmett, Chris Schadt, Ian R Sanders, David Evans, Gwyn A Beattie, Jennifer B H Martiny, Thomas Crowther, Joana Falcão Salles, Mette Haubjerg Nicolaisen and 23 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Sustainable microbiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

33 authors.

Jo HandelsmanThe Soil Stars, Applied Microbiology International, Cambridge CB1 2LA, United Kingdom.
Bridget EmmettThe Soil Stars, Applied Microbiology International, Cambridge CB1 2LA, United Kingdom.
Chris SchadtThe Soil Stars, Applied Microbiology International, Cambridge CB1 2LA, United Kingdom.
Ian R SandersThe Soil Stars, Applied Microbiology International, Cambridge CB1 2LA, United Kingdom.
David EvansThe Soil Stars, Applied Microbiology International, Cambridge CB1 2LA, United Kingdom.
Gwyn A BeattieThe Soil Stars, Applied Microbiology International, Cambridge CB1 2LA, United Kingdom.
Jennifer B H MartinyThe Soil Stars, Applied Microbiology International, Cambridge CB1 2LA, United Kingdom.
Thomas CrowtherThe Soil Stars, Applied Microbiology International, Cambridge CB1 2LA, United Kingdom.
Joana Falcão SallesThe Soil Stars, Applied Microbiology International, Cambridge CB1 2LA, United Kingdom.
Mette Haubjerg NicolaisenThe Soil Stars, Applied Microbiology International, Cambridge CB1 2LA, United Kingdom.
Lucy HarperThe Soil Stars, Applied Microbiology International, Cambridge CB1 2LA, United Kingdom.
Mark StevensonThe Soil Stars, Applied Microbiology International, Cambridge CB1 2LA, United Kingdom.
Anna EdlundThe Soil Stars, Applied Microbiology International, Cambridge CB1 2LA, United Kingdom.
Peter ByckThe Soil Stars, Applied Microbiology International, Cambridge CB1 2LA, United Kingdom.
Matthew B SullivanThe Soil Stars, Applied Microbiology International, Cambridge CB1 2LA, United Kingdom.
Bill McGlashanOath Biome, San Francisco, CA 94129, United States.
Meredith LischerOath Biome, San Francisco, CA 94129, United States.
Kirsten BenjaminOath Biome, San Francisco, CA 94129, United States.
Jane FranchOath Biome, San Francisco, CA 94129, United States.
Martin VossOath Biome, San Francisco, CA 94129, United States.
Paul HawkenProject Drawdown, St. Paul, MN 55101, United States.
Jens HartmannOath Biome, San Francisco, CA 94129, United States.
Ginger Krieg DosierBIOME Consortia, United States.
Veronica GarciaAmerican Society for Microbiology, Washington, DC 20036, United States.
Michael SauerFederation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS), Delft, 2600 BA, Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0510-2447
Max M HäggblomFederation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS), Delft, 2600 BA, Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6307-7863
Evelyn DoyleFederation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS), Delft, 2600 BA, Netherlands.
Tim SmitThe Soil Stars, Applied Microbiology International, Cambridge CB1 2LA, United Kingdom.
Dan RyanThe Soil Stars, Applied Microbiology International, Cambridge CB1 2LA, United Kingdom.
Michael DepledgeThe Lost Gardens of Heligan, Pentewan, St. Austell, Cornwall, PL26 6EN, United Kingdom.
Philip MarsdenAnimal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Weybridge: Woodham Lane, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 3NB, United Kingdom.
Janet K JanssonThe Soil Stars, Applied Microbiology International, Cambridge CB1 2LA, United Kingdom.
Jack A GilbertThe Soil Stars, Applied Microbiology International, Cambridge CB1 2LA, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7920-7001

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Soil underpins food production, freshwater, carbon storage and biodiversity, yet over 40% of the world's soils are now degraded, eroding at rates up to 1000 times their formation rate. Microbial technologies have matured and can now aid soil recovery, but deployment has lagged due to absent shared targets, harmonized metrics, and coherent reward structures to mobilize solvers across academia, industry, philanthropy, and government. Building on major initiatives (e.g. A Soil Deal for Europe, the FAO Global Soil Partnership, etc.) a consensus has emerged on the need for actionable, transformative advances in soil health. To translate that consensus into coordinated action, The Soil Stars, a multidisciplinary coalition of scientists, communicators, investors, policymakers, and farming-systems leaders, convened the inaugural Soil Stars Heligan Summit in March 2026 at The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall, United Kingdom, with a public launch at the Eden Project's Anthropy 2026 forum. The summit combined a grand-missions hack-a-thon with roundtables on the climate-society interface, the soil carbon-fertility-microbiome nexus, and deployment hurdles. The primary outcome is the first draft of the Heligan Grand Challenges; seven XPRIZE-inspired challenges with concrete performance thresholds achievable within 24-36 months, alongside a path toward a formal Grand Challenges paper and five-year implementation roadmap.

Indexed as

biological fertilizersmicrobial inoculantsmission-led innovationregenerative agriculturesoil carbonsoil healthsoil microbiomeXPRIZE

Identifiers

PMID42820210
PMCPMC13626709

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.