First EMSL Community Science Campaign to Tackle Data Gaps for Critically Needed Soil Types
Researchers invited to submit soil sampling proposals for critically needed soil orders through Aug. 29
Junior Burks packs a soil core during sampling for the Molecular Observation Network. (Photo provided by Juinor Burks | Grady Welsh, Darthmouth College)
*Updated: Aug. 13, 2025
The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) is launching its first community science campaign focused on addressing gaps in soil molecular data and to improve Earth-systems models.
Through the campaign titled “Soil Organic Indicators at Large Scale for AI (SOILS-AI),” which is led by EMSL’s Molecular Observation Network (MONet) strategic science objective, researchers from academia, national laboratories, research institutions, and industry are invited to submit sampling proposals targeting critically needed soil orders within the MONet database. The soil orders include the following: Histosols, Inceptisols, Entisols, Ultisols, Gellisols, Andisols, Vertisols, Aridisols, Spodosols, and Oxisols.
The call for samples is open through Aug. 29. For more information and to submit a sampling proposal, visit www.emsl.pnnl.gov/proposals.
“Improving predictions of soil organic indicators will enable the upscaling of soil molecular properties to regional and continental scales,” said Odeta Qafoku, MONet outreach and engagement lead. “Community participation in MONet campaigns is critical for improving representation of soil processes in Earth-system models, with implications for energy and infrastructure resilience.”
This campaign will operate similarly to MONet’s previous soil function quarterly calls. EMSL users will submit a proposal to join the campaign and gain access to a soil sampling kit at no cost to them. The kit is used to perform soil sampling in selected regions, and samples are sent to EMSL for analysis using a range of capabilities.
By contributing to the campaigns with soil cores, participants gain access to MONet’s premier capabilities (Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance, X-ray computed tomography, metagenomics through a partnership with Joint Genome Institute, and other EMSL resources). Participants also receive high-quality, standardized, and AI-compatible datasets at no additional cost to them. After analysis, the data are uploaded into EMSL’s Science Central™ user portal.
The main difference with the SOILS-AI campaign compared to previous quarterly soil function sampling calls is that it features a focused scope on critically needed soil orders. The development of the science objectives for the campaign was led by a science community-selected principal investigator, Sakthi Kumaran of Central State University.
Kumaran was selected as the SOILS-AI principal investigator following a series of EMSL community science meetings and as part of a merit-review process.
Kumaran said a key barrier for scaling up soil organic carbon dynamics for predictive models is the inherent spatial variability of soils and the lack of standardized molecular-level data from local to regional scales. To address this and for the first community science campaign, Kumaran and his team proposed a science framework that integrates MONet data with the Soil Survey Geographic Database. In combination with AI modeling tools, they can predict soil organic indicators (i.e., carbon use efficiency and soil respiration at regional scales). This AI-guided approach helped identify critically needed soil taxonomies within the MONet database that are being addressed with the SOILS-AI campaign.
The SOILS-AI proposal call is the first in a series that will be open to the scientific community under the new SOILS-AI community campaign.
John Bargar, EMSL science area leader for Environmental Transformations and Interactions, said that, in addition to expanding the database for scientific research, the broader community can use the MONet data generated through community campaigns for foundational knowledge that supports Earth Science modeling and land use strategies for optimized siting and the development of new energy resources.
“With improved models, we can better predict where to place crucial energy infrastructure and the best places to grow bioenergy crops,” he said.
The SOILS-AI call closes on August 29. The sampling period will run from September 30, 2025, through December 30, 2025. For questions regarding the campaign, send an email to monet@pnnl.gov.
Additional MONet community science campaign calls on other topics will be announced throughout the year following additional community science meetings. Opportunities to participate will be announced in the coming months.
For more information on EMSL’s new community science campaigns, view the article about the launch of the campaigns.