Sustainable Land Management

Sustainable soil management ensures the preservation and enhancement of the vital services that soil provides—such as support for ecosystems, food production, climate regulation, and cultural value. According to the FAO (2015), this is achieved without compromising soil functions or biodiversity. A sustainable approach allows agricultural soils to serve multiple purposes effectively.

At the onset of EJP SOIL, consultations with stakeholders highlighted key soil challenges faced by various countries and regions. These include:

  • Maintaining or increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) levels
  • Preserving optimal soil structure
  • Preventing soil erosion
  • Improving nutrient retention and efficient use
  • Avoiding soil sealing
  • Enhancing water storage capacity
  • Promoting soil biodiversity

Additionally, soil salinization was identified as a significant concern in Southern Europe and Turkey.
EJP SOIL has primarily concentrated its efforts on soil organic carbon stocks, soil erosion, soil structure and habitats for soil organisms.

Management Options Evaluation

Research and practice within EJP SOIL countries have highlighted several key soil-improving management strategies.

These include:

  1. Reduced or no-tillage techniques
  2. Crop rotations and the use of cover crops
  3. Application of organic fertilizers and soil amendments
  4. Efficient fertilization methods
  5. Drainage systems and irrigation scheduling

Peer reviewed articles

Alessandro, P., Enrico, C., Claudia, B., Alessandro, C., Maria, M. L., Isabella, D. M. 2024. C stocks in abandoned short rotation forestry (SRF) plantations in Central Italy. New Forests 55,
801–824 (2024). 

Angers, D. ; Arrouays, D. ; Cardinael, R. ; Chenu, C. ; Corbeels, M. ; Demenois, J. Farrell, M.; Martin, M., Minasny, B., Recous, S., Six, J. 2022. A well-established fact: Rapid mineralization of organic inputs is an important factor for soil carbon sequestration. European Journal of
Soil Science, 73(3).

De la Rosa, J.M.; Pérez-Dalí, S.M.; Campos, P.; Sánchez-Martín, Á.; González Pérez, J.A.;Miller, A.Z. 2023. Suitability of Volcanic Ash, Rice Husk Ash, Green Compost and Biochar as
Amendments for a Mediterranean Alkaline Soil. Agronomy, 13: 1097.

Policy Briefs and Notes

Keesstra, S. D., Munkholm, L. (Ed.), Zechmeister-Boltenstern, S. (Ed.), Taghizadeh-Toosi, A., Knadel, M., Nørgaard, T., Arthur, E., Lund Jensen, J., Pulido-Moncada, M., de Notaris , C., & Vervuurt, W, 2021. Towards climate-smart sustainable management of agricultural
soils: EJP SOIL Deliverable D2.6 Set of reports on State of knowledge in agricultural soil management . EJP SOIL Work Package 2 Deliverable. Wageningen University & Research.

Paz, A., Vervuurt, W., de Haan, J., Spiegel, H., Carranca, C., Miloczki, J., Gonçalves, C., Castanheira, N., Mihelič, R., Carrasco, M., & Vicente, C., 2021. Towards climate-smart sustainable management of agricultural soils: Deliverable 2.1 Synthesis of the impacts of sustainable soil management practices in Europe . EJP SOIL Work Package 2 Deliverable. Wageningen University & Research. 

Deliverables and Reports

BEZÁK, P. (2023). SMERNICA EÚ O MONITORINGU A ODOLNOSTI PÔD A VEDECKÉ PROJEKTY V RÁMCI EJP SOIL. Abstracts from the EJP SOIL seminar, Nov. 23, 2023, Bratislava.

Mano, R., & Rebelo, F. (2022). Analytical laboratories for soil fertility assessment, in Portugal. Revista de Ciências Agrárias, 45(4), 329-333.

Santín-Montanyá, I., Sánchez, F. J., Porcel, M. Á., del Mar Delgado, M., Rodríguez, J. A., & Gabriel, J. L. (2024). Efectos a largo plazo del manejo del suelo sobre la producción, malas hierbas y propiedades del suelo en un agroecosistema de secano. Revista de Ciências Agrárias, 47(1), 336-340. 

 

Datasets

Frédéric Vanwindekens, Olivier Heller, Claudia Di Bene, & Pasquale Nino. (2022). i-SoMPE Inventories A and B: open factor data (1.0) [Dataset].

Heller, O. (2022). Characterization of the Agroecological Zones of Europe (1.0) [Dataset].

Hugenschmidt, J., & Kay, S. (2023). Unmasking adaption of tree root structure in agroforestry Systems in Switzerland using GPR. Geoderma Regional, 34(e00659), 10.

Soil threats mitigation

EJP SOIL projects have concentrated on soil compaction and water erosion, particularly in relation to landscape connectivity. Subsoil compaction is notably resilient, with recovery strategies available, though they generally exhibit low effectiveness. Meanwhile, water erosion and sediment transport are significantly influenced by how water and sediment connect across landscapes. To address this, strategies were developed to integrate landscape connectivity into erosion models. Improved knowledge about soil erosion risks could also better inform policy making and regulations.

Peer reviewed articles

Makovníková, J. , Kološta, S. and Pálka, B. 2024. Factors Influencing the Acidification Trends in Agriculture Soils: A Case Study of Slovakia. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 12, 269-282. 

Alberto Sanz-Cobena et al. 2023. Fertilization strategies for abating N pollution at the scale of a highly vulnerable and diverse semi-arid agricultural region (Murcia, Spain). Environ. Res. Lett. 18: 064030. 

David Ramler, Erich Inselsbacher, Peter Strauss. 2023. A three-dimensional perspective of phosphorus retention across a field-buffer strip transition. Environmental Research, 233: 116434.

Policy briefs and notes

Bakema, G., & van Balen, D. J. M. 2024. Preventie en herstel van bodemverdichting: Aanbevelingen voor ondersteunend beleid. EJP SOIL policy brief.

Bakema, G., & van Balen, D. J. M. 2024. Prevention and recovery of compacted soils: Recommendations for Dutch policymakers. EJP SOIL policy brief.

Bakema, G., & van Balen, D. J. M. 2024. Prevention and recovery of compacted soils: Recommendations for EU policymakers. EJP SOIL policy brief.

 

Datasets

Natural Resources Institute Finland, & Räsänen, T. (2021). Erosion susceptibility of agricultural lands, 2021. CSC – IT Center for Science.

Scheper, S., Kitzler, B., Weninger, T., Strauss, P., & Michel, K. (2022). TASOW – A tool for the automated selection of potential windbreaks. In MethodsX (1.0.0, Vol. 9, p. 101826).

Webinars & Educational Materials

Pulido-Moncada, M., Petersen, S. O., & Munkholm, L. J. (2022). La compaction des sols augmente les émissions du gaz à effet de serre N2O. EJP SOIL snack card.

Schmaltz, E. M., Johannsen, L. L., Thorsøe, M. H., Tähtikarhu, M., Räsänen, T. A., Darboux, F., & Strauss, P. (2024). Du risque à la résilience – Défis politiques pour contrôler l’érosion des sols. EJP SOIL snack card.

Status and Role of Soil Biodiversity

The current status and trends in soil biodiversity across Europe are poorly known. EJP SOIL projects focused on modelling and mapping soil biodiversity patterns and functions across Europe, and on the soil microbiome in the rhizosphere and on symbiotic microorganisms or inoculated microorganisms

Peer reviewed articles

Cangioli, L., Tabacchioni, S., Visca, A., Fiore, A., Aprea, G., Ambrosino, P., Ercole, E., Sørensen, S., Mengoni, A., Bevivino, A. 2024. Genome Insights into Beneficial Microbial Strains Composing SIMBA Microbial Consortia Applied as Biofertilizers for Maize, Wheat and Tomato.
Microorganisms 2024, 12(12), 2562.

Clagnan, E., Costanzo, M., Visca, A., Di Gregorio, L., Tabacchioni, S., Colantoni, E., Sevi, F., Sbarra, F., Bindo, A., Nolfi, L., Magarelli, R. A., Trupo, M., Ambrico, A. and Bevivino A. 2024. Culturomics- and metagenomics-based insights into the soil microbiome preservation
and application for sustainable agriculture. Frontiers in Microbiology, 24 October 2024, Sec.  Terrestrial Microbiology, 15.

He, X. J., Liu, S. J., Nakamura, A., Ellwood, M. D. F., Zhou, S. Y., Xing, S., Li, Y., Wen, D. Z. 2024.
Intraspecific Functional Traits and Stable Isotope Signatures of Ground-Dwelling Ants Across an Elevational Gradient. Soil Ecol. Lett. 6, 240230 (2024).

 

Policy Briefs and Notes

Mocali, S., Bispo, A., Pérès, G., Aponte, C., Murugan, R., Hedde, M., Bevivino, A., Brennan, F., D’Avino, L., Edlinger, A., Iavazzo, P., Jacomini, C., Lumini, E., Markéta, M., Suhadolc, M., van der Heijden,, M., & Jack. (2025). Soil biological indicators for monitoring soil health

Datasets

D’Avino, L., Bigiotti, G., Vitali, F., Tondini, E., L’Abate, G., Jacomini, C., Cassi, F., Menta, C., & QBS-ar SISS working group. (2023). QBS-ar and QBS-ar_BF index toolbox for biodiversity assessment of microarthropods community in soil (2.0).

Webinars & Educational Materials

Liu, X., Le Roux, X., & Falcao Salles, J. (2022). The legacy of microbial inoculants in agroecosystems. EJP SOIL snack card.

Find the complete list of publications here.

Illustration of a tractor on agricultural soil. By Laura Laroche

Illustration by Laura Laroche

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