SOILGUARD will co-create a conceptual and analytical framework with the potential to become the global standard for future assessments of soil biodiversity status and its contribution to soil multifunctionality and human well-being. This framework will be validated in an innovative experimental design, combining multiple study sites across biomes and regional land degradation gradients with in-situ climate change simulations. Thus, creating the evidence to fill the gaps of knowledge and quantify the environmental, economic and social consequences of unsustainable soil management.