Soil is our basis for the production of healthy food. However, many of our soils are subject to severe stresses such as an oversupply of nutrients, compaction or erosion. In addition, soil stores a significant amount of carbon in the form of humus, which can be lost through inadequate management and thus contribute to climate change by releasing climate-active gases.
The European Joint Programme EJP SOIL aims to provide solutions to these challenges. In close cooperation with European partner organisations, a knowledge base for "climate-smart" agriculture is being developed. Key questions of current and future agricultural land use are to be answered in topic-specific individual projects.
Soil management and cropping systems that enhance soil quality may be key to supporting the sustainable adaptation of agriculture to climate change. CLIMASOMA has synthesised existing knowledge from scientific literature on this subject.
EOM4SOIL: The addition of external organic matter (EOM) such as manure increases soil fertility. Here we look at the potential contamination of EOM and how legislation can deal with this.
Agriculture can make an important contribution to climate-change mitigation. But how can we create incentive systems that reward farmers for their efforts? What systems already exist, and what is the best way to design them?
