The LUCAS Soil survey
The "Land Use and Coverage Area frame statistical Survey," more commonly known as the LUCAS Soil survey, is a unique initiative within the European Union (EU). This initiative emphasizes the harmonized and systematic collection of soil samples throughout the EU territory. Importantly, this survey encompasses all major land cover types. The current project utilizes environmental DNA sequencing to analyze the soil metagenome, providing insights into the microbial communities and their interactions in the soil. For additional information about the project, refer to the European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC) portal at https://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/projects/lucas.