Key soil properties to assess and safeguard Mediterranean agro-environments

Unsustainable management in food production has led to the degradation of fertile and biodiverse soils in agricultural and forestry areas of the planet, reducing the supply of ecosystem services and the quality of human life. Therefore, it is a priority to establish policy that promote productivity, as well as the stability and biodiversity of agricultural soils, in congruence with their regional and local geographic conditions. In the framework of the Horizon 2020 SOILGUARD project, that aims to assess the soil biodiversity status in different countries with different management practices and the effects of climate change, this work seeks to identify changes in key properties of soil quality and health in Mediterranean environments under different degradation and management scenarios. Using a raster model of soil degradation obtained through the LUCAS soil information repository, and verification in field though visual soil assessments, plots with two levels of degradation were identified. We worked on 10 plots with traditional management and 10 with organic management, in agricultural Mediterranean area (Murcia, Spain) being considered organic those without using inorganic fertilization for more than ten years. Soil samples were taken from each plot and analyzed for some soil properties such as: organic matter content, microbial biomass carbon, basal soil respiration and some enzymatic activities, also available phosphorus, bulk density, and coarse fragments. One of the main SOILGUARD hypothesis is that soils under organic management have more biodiversity and this makes then more resilient to the climate change. By understanding the changes in soil quality and health, it will be possible to establish more precise recommendations for the establishment of agricultural management policies for Mediterranean environments. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 Research & Innovation programme under the Grant Agreement no. 101000371. SOILGUARD Project https://soilguard-h2020.eu/