Day 1 Annual Science Days 2022

Day 1 programme

Morning: “Soils in Europe: European outlook and EJP SOIL results” 9:00 – 12:20

WHO? Both physical and online events are open to a broader audience. Registration is required for both.

Time

What

9:00

Opening speech - Claire Chenu - EJP SOIL Coordinator

9:15

Keynote speaker-Rainer Baritz - EEA

9:35

European Soil Observatory and the EJP SOIL contribution - S. Schillachi (JRC) & M. Fantappiè (EJP SOIL)

10:05

Project results

10:05 - 10:15 SIREN

10:15 - 10:25 i-SoMPE

10:25 - 10:35 CLIMASOMA

10:35 - 10:45

Virtual Academy Presentation

Break

11:05 - 11:35

New internal & external projects

11:35 -12:05

Panel on carbon farming

12:05 - 12:20 Q&A

12:20

Lunch break


Afternoon: 13:30 – 17:45

BREAKOUT SESSIONS 1

WHO? EJP SOIL consortium + external call partners

Time

What

13:30 - 15:30

Parallel breakout sessions 1

Carbon sequestration and trade-offs (session A) - AULA 2

Projects represented: CarboSeq, SOMMIT, TRACE-SOILS, INSURE, STEROPES

  • CarboSeq project updates
  • TRACE-Soils project updates
  • Spatially explicit effects of land use change on organic carbon stocks of agricultural soils in Europe; Schneider, Florian 
  • Impact of agricultural management on topsoil structure, aggregates and associated organic carbon fractions: Analysis of long-term experiments in Europe; Panagea, Ioanna 
  • Why a project on soil organic carbon dynamics in inorganic carbon-rich soils?; Chevallier, Tiphaine 
  • Retrieving SOC content from space at the detailed scales of small regions: purposes and first results of the EJP-STEROPES project; Vaudour, Emmanuelle 
  • The effect of two different rotation systems on soil organic matter in organic forage cultivation; Erdai, U. and Celen, A.E.
  • Synergies and trade-offs of carbon sequestration in agricultural soils: a global literature synthesis; Sanchez-Moreno, Sara 
  • Soil carbon sequestration is possible without trade-offs; Keel, Sonja 

Soil indicators and assessing ecosystem services (Session A) - AULA 4

Projects represented: SIREN (not convening), SERENA, MINOTAUR, SCALE, SENSRES, ProbeField

  • SERENA project updates
  • MINOTAUR project updates
  • SIREN project updates
  • Evaluation of soil ecosystem services through soil quality indicators; Jaroslava, J.
  • Pedoclimatic contextualization of soil organic carbon content in Europe for soil assessment; Pacini
  • Participatory processes to involve farmers in the identification of Agricultural Soils-based’ Ecosystem Services and their Bundles at regional level. Experiences in the Valencian Community (Spain); Asins, S.
  • Soil ecosystem service bundles at regional scale: a case study from Emilia-Romagna (NE Italy); Calzolari, C.
  • Assessing dependencies between soil ecosystem services by copula modeling; Senga Kiesse, T. (presented by Blandine Lemercier)
  • Harmonized inventory of soil biodiversity data sources for conservation of European agricultural ecosystem; Murugan, R.
  • +SCALE project updates
  • Structural connectivity of sediment loads via surface runoff in different scales in agricultural lands of Finland; Tähtikarhu, Mika
  • The LANDSUPPORT “best practices tool”: identification of the trade-off between soil health and crop production; Acutis, Marco

15:30 - 16:15

Break + Poster sessions linked to breakout sessions 1 and 2

 16:15 -17:45

Parallel breakout sessions 2

Roots and carbon sequestration - AULA 2

Projects represented: MaxRoot C, MixRoot C

  • Increasing root carbon inputs to agricultural soils by optimized genotype selection; Heinemann, Henrike
  • Linking root biomass and traits with soil C and nutrients stocks and microbial activity down to 100 cm depth in a young Mediterranean agroforestry system; Siegwart, Lorene
  • Cover Crops Affecting Pool Specific SOC Sequestration in European Cropland – A Meta-Analysis; Fohrafellner, Julia
  • C accumulation in the roots and sequestration in the soils of different types and agro-ecosystems in Lithuania; Toleikiene, Monika
  • Potential of cover crops to sequester soil organic carbon in German croplands; Seitz, Daria

Climate change adaptation and innovative practices - AULA 4

Projects represented: i-SoMPE, CLIMASOMA

  • How to prepare your soil for climate change?; Blanchy, Guillaume
  • Decription, adoption and diffusion of innovative soil management practices across Europe; Vanwindekens, Frédéric
  • Soil management effects on soil organic matter properties and carbon sequestration, SOMPACS; Hewelke, Edyta
  • LIFE Nadapta: Soil-based indicators for the assessment of vulnerability and resilience in a regional adaptation strategy of soils agriculture to climate change.; Rodrigo, Anton
  • Arable interventions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions; Cardenas, Laura
  • The effect of tillage, manuring and mineral P-K fertilization on soil structural stability in three long-term field trials in the loess belt of Belgium; Hardy, Brieuc
  • Use of hemp stem residues for soil quality; Stulpinaité, Urté

17:45

End of Day 1


List of breakout sessions 1

Carbon sequestration and trade-offs (Session A)

(This session will be split into two sessions, more information on the concept will soon be available)

  • Session conveners: Felix Seidel (Thuenen, CarboSeq project), Alessandra Lagomarsino (CREA, SOMMIT project)
  • Internal EJP SOIL projects with main link to this theme: CarboSeq, SOMMIT, TRACE-SOILS, INSURE
  • Description
    Carbon sequestration in agricultural soils is a strategy that can contribute to mitigate climate change. The key for soil carbon sequestration is having a positive balance between carbon inputs and outputs. Enhanced inputs of organic matter to the soil can be achieved by improved management options, such as minimizing soil disturbance, use of cover crops, incorporation of crop residues, addition of organic matter, or optimization of varieties with increased root biomass. In cultivated peat soils, rewetting is needed to decrease carbon outputs and therefore achieve carbon sequestration.

    Increasing soil organic carbon has several co-benefits, beyond climate change mitigation, including improvement of soil health, fertility and water holding capacity. On the other side, agricultural strategies aimed at increasing carbon sequestration affect soil N2O, CO2 and CH4 fluxes, and N leaching. These trade-offs of carbon sequestration may hamper climate change mitigation efforts. Thus, the overall effect of management practices needs to be evaluated to appropriately quantify their environmental impact. 

    In this session, we welcome contributions that give insights into the topic of soil carbon sequestration in agricultural lands. A special focus will be given to management practices affecting this process, as well the trade-offs (especially N2O and CH4 fluxes as well as N and P losses) associated with changes in soil carbon.

Soil indicators and assessing ecosystem services (Session A)

  • Session conveners: Isabelle Cousin (INRAE, SERENA), Stefano Mocali (CREA, MINOTAUR)
  • Internal EJP SOIL projects with main link to this theme: SIREN, SERENA, MINOTAUR
  • Description 

    Soil functions contribute to provide (soil-based) ecosystem services (ES), here defined as the benefits human obtain from the ecosystem. Although most of these functions are related to the soil biological activity, the current status and trends in soil biodiversity across Europe are poorly known, and adequate taxonomical and functional indicators are needed to evaluate the vulnerability of soils and its ES to climate change. Thus, in order to assess the health status of soils, i.e. its capacity of continuous provision of ecosystem services, there is the need to define robust indicators for assessment and monitoring, in joint programming with participating Member States' national policy and programmes for soil quality monitoring, with taking into account not only biological processes but embracing all the bio-chemical-physical processes occurring in soils. As soil-based ecosystem services co-occur in space and overlap interacting at different spatial and temporal scales, their spatial distribution, as well as their spatial synergies and trade-offs must also be known. 

    The aim of this call is then collecting contributions on functional indicators their modelling and mapping, as well as methodological approaches and applications aimed to the characterization of bundles of soil ES and soil threats The definition and evaluation of indicators including specific references to soil biodiversity and target values for healthy soils are particularly welcome. 

 


List of breakout sessions 2

Roots and carbon sequestration

  • Session conveners: Rebecca Hood-Nowotny (BOKU, MaxRoot C), Isabelle Bertrand (INRAE, MixRoot C)
  • Internal EJP SOIL projects with main link to this theme: MaxRoot C, MixRoot C, CarboSeq T9.2
  • Description
    Roots are the hidden part of plants. Because they i) decompose slower than aerial plant parts, ii) produce C through rhizodeposition and turnover, and iii) colonize subsoils, they drive soil microbial activity and contribute to soil fertility and mitigate climate change through C sequestration in soil.


    Despite the importance of these processes, our current knowledge on soil-root interactions in agroecosystems is poor. How root biomass and traits relate to soil nutrients and C contents in shallow and deeper soil horizons needs to be better investigated. What are the main root traits related to SOC? Are the predictors different in mixed versus single species agroecosystems? How varietal selection may impact root biomass, C stocks and drought resistance? Do cover crops increase C stocks in the different soil horizons? Do diversified agroecosystems have a higher potential for soil C sequestration, what is the relative contribution of roots? In different agroecosystems what are the main tradeoffs between root C inputs and yield? How to model root C contribution to soil? All these research questions still need to be addressed.

    In this session we will welcome all results focusing on soil and root interactions in agroecosystems. Contribution from students are highly welcome.

Climate change adaptation and innovative practices

  • Session conveners: Frederic Vanwidekens (CRAW, i-SoMPE), Guillaume Blanchy (ILVO, CLIMASOMA)
  • Internal EJP SOIL projects with main link to this theme: i-SoMPE, CLIMASOMA, SoilCompac
  • Description: Sustainable agricultural management practices are needed to improve ecosystem services and minimise threats on soil and water ressources in the context of climate change adaptation. This session will focus on three main aspects of this topic: (i) the development of innovative or established agricultural practices, their expected benefits and possible limitations (e.g. case studies); (ii) the evaluation of the effect of innovative practices and systems of practices on measured productive and environmental variables; and (iii) the dynamics of dissemination of these practices and the identification of the drivers and barriers related to their adoption by farmers.