In a world where basic resources become limited and where 95% of all food and feed stems from soils, we focus on soil health and soil degradation in upland (oxic) as well as wetland (anoxic) soils. On small scale, we develop and apply isotopic (component specific as well as bulk), radiogenic and biomarker tracers. We use these tracers as indicators of wetland status (natural, drained or restored) as well as to asses soil degradation of upland soils with a focus on soil erosion. To bridge from small scale to large scale we apply modelling and remote mapping, ranging from local, regional to global scale. To achieve the latter, automated machine learning and geostatistics are used to interpolate remote tools (aerial photos, satellite data). To assess soil degradation, we include evaluation of nutrient budgets and export (especially phosphorus loss from soil ecosystems in the light of the imminent threat of peak phosphorus). More recently, we have added soil hydraulic properties in our assessments of soil health status. Soil – atmosphere interactions are considered in the evaluation of ice nucleation properties of soil and plant particles, as wind-blown soil dust has potentially a major effect in the atmosphere influencing climate and weather patterns by inducing the formation of ice in tropospheric clouds.