Living Soil Partnership – 10th Soil Partnership Interim Meeting

The 10th Interim Meeting of the Regional Expert Advisory Working Group (REAWG) on Soil Partnership in Western Balkan countries was held online on 30 October 2025. The meeting brought together national experts, international advisors, SWG representatives and the researchers from Soilytix-Lab in Hamburg to receive and discuss their results from the biological soil sampling mini-model project 2025 in the Western Balkans (WB).

Soilytix presented the analysis and their methodological approach for analyzing the 16 samples from different spots in WB countries (4 each from Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina). Results here showed that land-use and soil-pollution have strong effects on the community composition and diversity of microbial biomass in the soil. It was concluded that analysis of microbial life in the soil - based on modern scientific methodology - can and should be more integrated into soil health assessments.
As Western Balkan countries continue their EU accession processes, these methodologies will likely become increasingly relevant.
This meeting marks another important step toward advancing soil health knowledge and fostering collaboration across the Western Balkans.