Structure & Work packages
The EJP SOIL work plan is in ten work packages, each targeted towards specific needs and objectives and to ensure a logical flow of activities.
The EJP SOIL workflow starts with the development of a roadmap for research on agricultural soil management in the EU. This includes the identification of aspirational targets at regional, national and European level, overview of the current situation of knowledge, identification of barriers and opportunities, synthesis of key soil related issues, and building and updating the roadmap and drafting calls scope.
WP1 Coordination
The aim of this work package is to establish sustainable management-based mechanisms, procedures and processes to enable integration, alignment and sustainability in the EJP SOIL consortium, which can be identified at three different levels: at the strategic level, at the operational level and at the organizational level with the specific task of being devoted to the EJP SOIL sustainability beyond its lifetime.
Work package leader: Claire Chenu
Contact: ejpsoilcoord@inrae.fr
WP2 Roadmap for research
The roadmap is developed for the domain of agricultural soil management and relevant to realise EU agricultural, climate and environmental policy goals. The roadmap will link to key stakeholders across EU. The activities will focus on streamlining current research within EU and among MS, whilst taking a forward look on identifying knowledge gaps that need to be closed.
This work package will develop in a stepwise approach a roadmap supporting strategic decision making on science, policy and implementation issues across Europe by stakeholders: identification of aspirational targets at regional, national and European level, overview of the current situation of knowledge availability and use, identification of barriers and opportunities by scenario development, synthesis of key soil related issues addressed by stocktaking activities, and building and updating the roadmap and drafting the calls scope.
Work package leader: Saskia Keesstra
Contact: saskia.keesstra@wur.nl
WP3 Internal Calls
Internal calls, the overall aim is to fund and monitor transnational research projects open to EJP SOIL partners and linked third parties. Research topics that will address the identified research and development gaps that have therefore been included in the roadmap. The WP will organize three internal competitive calls for research projects, monitor selected projects and ensure standardized reporting and delivery of outputs of the funded projects.
Work package leader: Johanna Leppälä
Contact: johanna.leppala@luke.fi
WP4 External Calls
The objective of work package 4 is to provide external funding calls for proposals, complementary to the internal calls, open to research actors outside of the EJP SOIL consortium (as well as EJP SOIL beneficiaries). This will widen participation and enhance the impact of the EJP’s activities.
External calls will furthermore allow integration of expertise which may not be present in the EJP SOIL consortium, but necessary to answer identified research questions.
Topics for external calls will be in the roadmap. Two external calls are foreseen during the implementation of the EJP SOIL. This WP involves the management of the entire call from defining the call text and securing of the financial commitment of research funders, preparing all call documents, managing an online submission system, running a Call office, organizing the evaluation and the selection of the proposals, and monitoring the selected projects.
Work package leader: Christian Breuer
Contact: c.breuer@fz.juelich.de
WP5 Education & Capacity building
Work package 5 will strengthen the training of emerging and established scientists working on agricultural soils across Europe and provide early career paths for scientists by performing:
- Synthesis on current available European soil science higher education.
- Foresight study for soil science professional needs - delivering a PhD/MSc course program - providing support for staff exchange /visiting scientist.
Work package 5 will contribute to capacity building of a larger audience such as farmer advisors, by organizing courses on new tools for soil management and publishing educational material on the EJP SOIL Website.
Work package leader: Jenny Barron
Contact: jennie.barron@slu.se
WP6 Soil data & Reporting
The objective of the work package is the development of an agreed knowledge base and database to improve the European contribution towards international reporting on soils, and the accuracy of European agricultural policies.
The work package will:
- Develop a prototype distributed system to integrate agricultural soil information across Europe and streamline the data flow to ESDAC
- Provide thematic databases and maps of agricultural soil indicators, properties, and maps of agricultural soil properties and management systems
- Set target values of agricultural SOC, agricultural soil degradation and fertility
- Develop methods to account, monitor and map agricultural soil carbon, fertility and degradation.
Work package leader: Maria Fantappiè
Contact: maria.fantappie@crea.gov.it
WP7 Synthesis & Knowledge
Access to infrastructures based on the results from all other work packages. Work package 7 will synthesize research activities for scientists and policy makers in particular regarding the development of a framework for climate-smart sustainable agricultural soil management in agriculture.
The purpose of work package 7 is to streamline a feedback loop of information towards the roadmap, develop online resources on Agricultural Soil Management for the Future, and design capacity building for farmers and advisors to upscale implementation of climatesmart sustainable soil management.
Long term, it will develop network of experimental fields to monitor soil changes under different agricultural soil management practices and facilitate the access to agricultural soil infrastructures (experiments, analytical resources) for researchers.
Work package leader: Sophie Zechmeister
Contact: sophie.zechmeister@boku.ac.at
WP8 Science to policy interaction
The overall aim of work package 8 is to support and strengthen the science-policy interface in the area of agricultural soil management and climate change mitigation and adaptation. The focus is on providing support for the implementation of soil C accounting and the delivery of soil ecosystem services.
The key objectives are to:
- Establish open dialogue and active engagement with policymakers.
- Understand and analyse policy makers needs for new research, data or resources.
- Support the implementation of C accounting and delivery of ecosystem services in the EU.
- Translate results into expert recommendations for policy.
- Disseminate and promote the work and outputs of the EJP SOIL to EU and international policymakers.
Work package leader: David Wall
Contact: david.wall@teagasc.ie
WP9 Dissemination & Outreach
This work package is responsible for the EJP SOIL communication strategy and communication plan for knowledge exchange, including mapping of key stakeholders, the network of national communication representatives, the EJP SOIL website and other communication and dissemination tools
Work package 9 is responsible for supporting dissemination and knowledge exchange activities in funded projects, organising EJP SOIL Workshops and annual science days for EJP SOIL funded projects.
Work package leader: Line Carlenius Berggreen
Contact: lcb@dca.au.dk