From organo-mineral interactions to soil and carbon policies: bridging science and policy for soil health and climate action

Soil organic carbon (SOC) plays a central role in climate mitigation, ecosystem functioning, and soil health. Its prominence in recent European and international policy frameworks, such as the European Climate Law, the Soil Monitoring and Resilience Directive and the Carbon Removal Certification Framework, has created new demands for actionable, policy-relevant science. This paper reviews how advances in the understanding of organo-mineral associations can inform soil carbon policies, with a particular focus on the estimation of C sequestration potential in soils and the design of meaningful soil health indicators. It examines different approaches to estimate SOC storage potentials, including carbon saturation concepts and data-driven pedoclimatic benchmarking, and discusses the strengths and limitations of proposed indicators such as the SOC/clay ratio. The importance of terminology consistency, methodology harmonization, and stratification of results per pedoclimatic context is highlighted throughout. We argue for tiered and context-sensitive approaches to support robust, fair, and operational frameworks for soil monitoring and carbon accounting. By aligning scientific tools with the diversity of European landscapes and policy objectives, we can ensure that the rich and evolving understanding of organo-mineral interactions continues to shape credible, effective, and fair soil and carbon policies.