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The application of hydrogels in soils is intended to enhance water-holding capacity, improve nutrient accessibility, and strengthen soil structure, thereby supporting plant growth and long-term soil sustainability. Therefore, we examined the impact of lignin-based hydrogel on the water evapotranspiration and wheat growth on four Polish soils: two forest soils (collected from Lasy Janowskie and Maziarnia) and two agricultural soil (from Grodzisko Górne and Lublin), as well as its degradation degree. Evapotranspiration measurements were conducted for 21 days, whereas wheat growth and hydrogel degradation were monitored at 1 day, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months. Wheat growth experiment was conducted in a phytotron, under drought conditions.Hydrogel degradation studies showed variability depending on soil type. The most pronounced increase in mass loss over time occurred in the soils collected from Lasy Janowskie and Maziarnia sites, while the soils from Grodzisko Górne and Felin-Lublin showed comparatively limited changes, indicating higher durability of hydrogel in agricultural soils. Evapotranspiration measurements showed that hydrogel reduced water loss over time in all soils. This phenomenon translated into increased height and dry mass of wheat shoots, especially in agricultural soils. For example, above-ground part of wheat grown in the soil from Felin-Lublin was 15.6 cm after incubation with hydrogel for 6 months, compared to the 10.5 cm in the not amended soil. On the other hand, a significant decrease of the height was observed for plants grown in the amended soil from Maziarnia (12.8 cm in the control, compared to 8.5 cm in amended soil).Overall, the obtained results suggested that the lignin-based hydrogel can reduce water evapotranspiration from the soil, which in turn improves wheat growth on the selected soils types. The research was founded by Polish National Agency for Academic Exchanges under Strategic Partnerships Program (BNI/PST/2023/1/00108).