Soil organic matter (SOM) is a critical ecosystem variable regulated by interacting physical, chemical and biological processes. Collaborative efforts to integrate perspectives, data, and models from interdisciplinary research and observation networks can significantly advance predictive understanding of SOM. We outline how integrating three networks – the Long‐Term Ecological Research, with a focus on ecological dynamics, the Critical Zone Observatories with strengths in landscape/geologic context, and the National Ecological Observatory Network with standardized multi‐scale measurements—can advance SOM knowledge. This integration requires improved data dissemination and sharing, coordinated data collection activities, and enhanced collaboration between empiricists and modelers within and across networks.

Soil contamination by trace elements (TEs) is a major concern for sustainable land management. A potential source of excessive inputs of TEs into agricultural soils are organic amendments. Here, we used dynamic simulations carried out with the Intermediate Dynamic Model for Metals (IDMM) to describe the observed trends of topsoil Zn (zinc), Cu (copper), Pb (lead) and Cd (cadmium) concentrations in a long-term (>60-year) crop trial in Switzerland, where soil plots have been treated with different organic amendments (farmyard manure, sewage sludge and compost). The observed ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt (EDTA)-extractable concentrations ranged between 2.6 and 27.1 mg kg⁻¹ for Zn, 4.9 and 29.0 mg kg⁻¹ for Cu, 6.1–26.2 mg kg⁻¹ for Pb, and 0.08 and 0.66 mg kg⁻¹ for Cd. Metal input rates were initially estimated based on literature data. An additional, calibrated metal flux, tentatively attributed to mineral weathering, was necessary to fit the observed data. Dissolved organic carbon fluxes were estimated using a soil organic carbon model. The model adequately reproduced the EDTA-extractable (labile) concentrations when input rates were optimised and soil lateral mixing was invoked to account for the edge effect of mechanically ploughing the trial plots. The global average root mean square error (RMSE) was 2.7, and the average bias (overestimation) was −1.66, −2.18, −4.34 and −0.05 mg kg⁻¹ for Zn, Cu, Pb and Cd, respectively. The calibrated model was used to project the long-term metal trends in field conditions (without soil lateral mixing), under stable climate and management practices, with soil organic carbon estimated by modelling and assumed trends in soil pH. Labile metal concentrations to 2100 were largely projected to remain near constant or to decline, except for some metals in plots receiving compost. Ecotoxicological thresholds (critical limits) were predicted to be exceeded presently under sewage sludge inputs and to remain so until 2100. Ecological risks were largely not indicated in the other plots, although some minor exceedances of critical limits were projected to occur for Zn before 2100. This study advances our understanding of TEs' long-term dynamics in agricultural fields, paving the way to quantitative applications of modelling at field scales.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a soil health indicator and understanding dynamics changing SOC stocks will help achieving net zero goals. Here we present four datasets featuring 11,750 data points covering co-located aboveground and below-ground metrics for exploring ecosystem SOC dynamics. Five sites across England with an established land use contrast, grassland and woodland next to each other, were rigorously sampled for aboveground (n = 109), surface (n = 33 soil water release curves), topsoil, and subsoil metrics. Commonly measured soil metrics were analysed in five soil increments for 0–1 metre (n = 4550). Less commonly measured soil metrics which were assumed to change across the soil profile were measured on a subset of samples only (n = 3762). Additionally, we developed a simple method for soil organic matter fractionation using density fractionation which is part of the less common metrics. Finally, soil metrics which may impact SOC dynamics, but with less confidence as to their importance across the soil profile were only measured on topsoil (~5–15 cm = mineral soil) and subsoil (below 50 cm) samples (n = 2567).

Since its first detection in 2013, Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca (Xfp) has caused a devastating Olive Quick Decline Syndrome (OQDS) outbreak in Southern Italy. Effective disease surveillance and treatment strategies are urgently needed to mitigate its impact. This study investigates the short-term (1.5 years) effects of thymol-based treatments on infected olive trees of the susceptible cultivar Cellina di Nardò in two orchards in Salento, Apulia region. Twenty trees per trial received a 3% thymol solution either alone or encapsulated in a cellulose nanoparticle carrier. Over two years, sap flux density and canopy-transmitted solar radiation were monitored using TreeTalker sensors, and spectral greenness indices were calculated. Xfp cell concentrations in plant tissues were quantified via qPCR. Neither thymol treatment halted disease progression nor significantly reduced bacterial load, though the Xfp cell concentration reduction increased over time in the preventive trial. Symptomatic trees exhibited increased sap flux density, though the treatment mitigated this effect in the curative trial. Greenness indices remained lower in infected trees, but the response to symptom severity was delayed. These findings underscore the need for longer-term studies, investigation of synergistic effects with other phytocompounds, and integration of real-time sensor data into adaptive disease management protocols.