SSS12.2 | Soil Policy and legislation: the role of science, transdisciplinary research and data
Soil Policy and legislation: the role of science, transdisciplinary research and data
Convener: Elise Van EyndeECSECS | Co-conveners: Stephen M. BellECSECS, Cristina Arias-Navarro, Martin Thorsøe, Calogero SchillaciECSECS, Beatrice GiannettaECSECS, Petra StankovicsECSECS
Orals
| Thu, 27 Apr, 14:00–18:00 (CEST)
 
Room 0.96/97
Posters on site
| Attendance Fri, 28 Apr, 08:30–10:15 (CEST)
 
Hall X3
Orals |
Thu, 14:00
Fri, 08:30
Soils provide many ecosystem services, which makes it a crucial component to consider for a sustainable future and to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). During this session, scientific and transdisciplinary insights to support soil policies are presented, with a focus on soil health, carbon farming and the importance of soil data.

Presentations will show results that contribute to future soil health policies, or help to identify gaps in current policies. Attention will be given to the role of transdisciplinary research: how can the involvement of various stakeholders result in feasible and widely applicable principles to trigger positive improvement in soil management, and to increase soil literacy and engagement of the non-scientific community.

Organic carbon sequestration as an important soil ecosystem service, has gained prominence as a mitigation option to reach targets set in the Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal. Presentations in this session will discuss challenges and opportunities for designing robust Carbon Farming schemes that prevent greenhouse gas emissions from agri-food system, while at the same time being socially acceptable and economically viable. Particular attention will be given to the opportunities to develop result-based carbon farming schemes where payment levels reflect the actual impact of the management practices on carbon stocks (relative to a benchmark).

For policy design and monitoring, the generation of user-oriented high quality new and legacy data is crucial. The contributions to this session will address the potential of soil data, the efforts and challenges associated with soil data harmonisation across time and space, and how data can be used for decision support systems.

Orals: Thu, 27 Apr | Room 0.96/97

Chairpersons: Calogero Schillaci, Martin Thorsøe, Elise Van Eynde
14:00–14:05
Science for policies
14:05–14:25
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EGU23-16230
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SSS12.2
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solicited
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Highlight
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On-site presentation
Claire Chenu, Saskia Visser, Adam O'Toole, Saskia Keesstra, Anna Besse, and Line Carlenius

Driving effectively soil research towards practice and towards policy solutions requires that the involved stakeholders, i.e researchers, practitioners and both national and regional policy makers interact and share information and views. However, these communities rather function in isolation. The European Joint Co-fund programme, EJP SOIL (Towards climate-smart and sustainable agricultural soil management) developed an innovative instrument to this end in each of its 24 participating countries.

EJP SOIL National Hubs are committees of soil stakeholders (farmers, farmers advisors and farmers organisations, industry and agrobusiness, NGOs, local or national governance and policy implementing representatives, scientists), that were set either de-novo for the EJP SOIL or based on existing committees. Their mission is to (i) provide feedback to the EJP SOIL activities and outputs, (ii) voice national position and needs, (iii) contribute to and learn from the work done in research and iv) support in the dissemination of EJP SOIL outcomes

These entities appeared as precious assets for developing a science-policy-practice interface. As an example, the EJP SOIL National Hubs contributed to elaborating the roadmap of the programme and more recently were informed and provided feedback on the programme outputs on soil data harmonization and sharing and on soil monitoring in the perspective of the future European soil health law.

We performed an analysis of their composition and functioning gives insights on how to effectively create and use these entities, which is forecasted by the EU Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe” for all land uses.

How to cite: Chenu, C., Visser, S., O'Toole, A., Keesstra, S., Besse, A., and Carlenius, L.: A new instrument for contributing to the soil science - policy interface: the EJP SOIL National Hubs, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-16230, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-16230, 2023.

14:25–14:35
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EGU23-12848
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SSS12.2
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On-site presentation
Diego Soto Gómez, José Eugenio López Periago, David Fernández Calviño, and Paula Rodríguez Pérez

InBestSoil (IBS) project has been funded under the call "Incentives and business models for soil health" from the EU Missions program (Horizon Europe) — Grant Agreement n° 1010910990. The University of Vigo leads the project within a consortium of 19 partners from 10 countries with a 48-month duration.

The IBS aims to quantify the economic benefits of the different ecosystem services that healthy soils can provide and analyze the costs and benefits of the interventions to improve soil health. This economic valuation will facilitate investments in soil health and the generation of new businesses, incentives, and policies that help us to reclaim degraded soils or improve the quality of existing ones.

In IBS, we analyzed nine case studies across Europe with different land uses (agricultural, forestry, urban, and mining) across four different biogeographic regions (Boreal, Continental, Atlantic and Mediterranean). These long-term experiments have been running for years into an established network of stakeholders and businesses created to exploit improved soil quality benefits. In each case study, we will assess the outcome of soil reclamation actions by examining the actual soil quality indicators and comparing them with the antecedent indicators before the restoration process. Then, we will conduct an economic valuation of the soil quality differences by considering the potential income from the enhanced ecosystem services that have proved effective in improving soil quality indicators.

To develop a multi-actor approach, we will gather data and opinions from stakeholders about every relevant item in this transformation, i.e., from selecting soil indicators to creating new incentives and policies. These consultations will be done at each step of the project through a collaborative platform developed specifically for the IBS. The IBS partners come from a wide range of sectors (from universities to distribution companies of organic products), allowing us to create an extensive network of stakeholders to share information, feedback experiences, and diffusion of results.

With this information, we will first try to scale up by exporting to other areas the business models that were created around our case studies. Second, we will use the information obtained through the economic valuation to develop new business models. Finally, we will try to integrate the information obtained to develop a set of incentive support systems and new policies.

 

Acknowledgments: This study has been funded by the Horizon Europe Project InBestSoil (GA  101091099).

How to cite: Soto Gómez, D., López Periago, J. E., Fernández Calviño, D., and Rodríguez Pérez, P.: InBestSoil — Monetary valuation of soil ecosystem services and creation of initiatives to invest in soil health: setting a framework for the inclusion of soil health in business and the policy-making process (Horizon Europe Project), EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-12848, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-12848, 2023.

14:35–14:45
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EGU23-11131
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SSS12.2
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Highlight
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On-site presentation
Jacqueline Hannam, Carmen Sánchez-García, and Erik Button

Since withdrawal from the European Union a series of reforms of agricultural policy are under development in the United Kingdom. There is currently no dedicated soil policy in Wales and the reforms provide an opportunity to devise a new position on soils that sets an ambition for the sustainable use of soils for future generations. To maximise soil policy adoption, we learnt from previous unsuccessful attempts to launch soil policies and developed a completely different approach to co-designing soil policy. We reflect on our experiences as researchers working in placements directly within government policy teams as a mechanism for soil policy development. This involved several different aspects of policy development and a wide range of actors. Key activities included an independent evidence review to ensure current scientific knowledge provided the foundation for the draft soil policy statement. The embedded nature of the researchers within the policy teams meant effective and fluid dialogue, building trusted relationships and the opportunity to challenge the potential bias within the policy teams regarding key evidence. Building consensus towards a draft soil policy statement was a major barrier to overcome. We used the concept of co-design with the policy team and other stakeholders (other policy teams, regulatory bodies, non-governmental organisations, and farmers) to further the development of the draft soil policy statement and to select key objectives for sustainable soil management relevant to Wales. The main outcomes from the placements were: understanding the policy context and mechanisms for policy development; presenting clear and concise evidence; managing complex relationships and challenging institutional structures.

How to cite: Hannam, J., Sánchez-García, C., and Button, E.: Experiences from co-designing a national soil policy with researchers, policy teams and farmers in Wales, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-11131, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-11131, 2023.

14:45–14:55
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EGU23-435
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SSS12.2
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ECS
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Highlight
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On-site presentation
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Hannah Binner, Timothy Sullivan, and Maria McNamara

Urban soils are prone to accumulating metals over time. This is caused by the proximity of urban soils to roads and industry, among other sources. In Europe, many urban areas show metal enrichment linked to anthropogenic activity. The public are in contact with urban soils on a regular basis. This potentially has adverse effects on human health, especially in locations with enrichment of metals that are systemic toxicants, such as As, Cd, Cr, Hg and Pb. Despite this, most European countries lack dedicated policy on urban soils. In Ireland, data on urban soil metals exist for only two urban centres (Dublin and Galway), both of which show anthropogenic enrichment of metals. Cork city is an ideal target for study of urban soil metals because its history includes over 200 years of industrial development, and its urban parks include former brownfield and industrial sites. Here, we measured concentrations of urban soil metals for ten sites in Cork city using a portable XRF (X-ray fluorescence) analyser. In addition, two sites were selected for ICP-MS analysis in order to provide an independent test of the accuracy of the XRF data.  Our results show that at all ten Cork sites, Pb is highly enriched in soils, with concentrations up to ten times greater than natural background levels. Fe, Mn and Zn are moderately enriched at each of the ten sites, with concentrations typically between two to five times natural background levels. Metal concentrations are systematically higher at sites in the city centre than suburban sites. These patterns of metal enrichment are similar to those seen in urban soils elsewhere in Europe. Future EU policy is essential for the assessment of urban soils and for the remediation of contaminated sites. This research has already helped to inform the Geological Survey of Ireland and the Government of Ireland Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications to help facilitate the implementation of data-driven legislation. It is anticipated that a relevant soil policy will come into effect in the coming years, which will aid the assessment and remediation of contaminated urban soils across Ireland. 

How to cite: Binner, H., Sullivan, T., and McNamara, M.: The future of urban soil policy in Cork, Ireland, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-435, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-435, 2023.

14:55–15:05
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EGU23-1039
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SSS12.2
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On-site presentation
Jaroslava Frouzova, Vojtěch Čemus, Vojtěch Kotecký, Alena Peterkova, and Jan Frouz

Substantial majority of food used by humanity depends on soil. Human population as well as per capita consumption are growing, this growth requires development of agriculture. At the same time, increasing proportion of human population lives in cities which causes detachment of consumers from soil and food production. Agricultural intensification has increased crop production but at the same time may bring negative environmental effects. Food market chains are, with a few exceptions, driven by retailers who determine sales strategies, price structure, production standards etc. Price is one of the key factors determining customer decisions. Pressure for lower prices can contribute, together with decreasing labor force in agriculture and many other factors, to increased pressure on farm intensification which have negative feedback to environment, society but also to stability of food market supply chain as explained above.  However, an increasing number of food retailers and food and beverage companies view environmental impacts of intensification, including soil degradation, as a risk to stability of their supply chains. They seek options to ensure more sustainable food production. Businesses employ standards and other interventions to steer their suppliers towards preferred practices either as part of their direct contact with suppliers or by using various certification and monitoring schemes operated by third party. This concept is now well established in biodiversity and prevention of deforestation. Nevertheless, soil protection has been emerging as a priority topic as well. Business engagement in soil protection will require effective instruments that can be applied in supply chains. Here we summarize our experiences with development soil protection guidelines in cooperation with Czech Confederation of Commerce and Tourism. 

How to cite: Frouzova, J., Čemus, V., Kotecký, V., Peterkova, A., and Frouz, J.: Why food industry and retail need to control impact of their supply chains on soil and how to achieve that, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-1039, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-1039, 2023.

15:05–15:15
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EGU23-7840
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SSS12.2
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On-site presentation
Jess Davies, John Quinton, Roisin O'Riordan, Paul Hatch, Susanna Dart, Adam Birchall, Birgit Hontzsch, Charles Campion, and Noel Farrer

Soils are routinely undervalued, damaged and disposed of during construction and urban development. It is crucial that we not only stem the damage done to these vital ecosystems, but also actively consider how better planning and management of soil can result in environmentally and socially beneficial development. However, this is a significant policy and practice challenge. For example, currently in the United Kingdom, soils on construction sites fall within a gap in policy and legislation and government department remits. Large amounts of soil are being lost and damaged as a result. In 2018, 29.5 million tonnes of soil from construction sites were disposed of in landfill in the UK. Only 0.6 % of this was hazardous, which means a huge amount of this vital resource is being lost during construction. 

In this contribution, we will share evidence on the impacts of construction on soils and present a new set of guiding principles to help improve how soils and their multifunctionality are planned for and managed during construction and urban development. These principles were co-developed by a team spanning academia, local policymakers, master planners and landscape architects, and were formed in consultation with key policy and industry representatives. We will share insights generated through this process and reflect on what’s needed next for securing soil sustainability in planning and construction.

How to cite: Davies, J., Quinton, J., O'Riordan, R., Hatch, P., Dart, S., Birchall, A., Hontzsch, B., Campion, C., and Farrer, N.: Building on soil sustainability: Principles for soils in planning and construction, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-7840, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-7840, 2023.

15:15–15:25
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EGU23-9815
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SSS12.2
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ECS
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On-site presentation
Kyriaki (Korina) Koukoutsi, Vassilis Litskas, Nikolaos Monokrousos, George Zanakis, and Georgios Giannopoulos

We investigated the impact of soil organic carbon (SOC) and fertilizer use on NUE, Carbon footprint, and N₂O footprint from agrosystems within the context of EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and Green Deal (EUGD) for sustainable agriculture, GHG mitigation, and fertilizer use reduction.

We targeted 27 fields from the Imathia Plains in Greece, including cotton, maize, and tomato crops, and collected farmer and soil data. The collected data were used within the Cool Farm Alliance Tool to calculate GHG emissions, N₂O emissions, and NUE. Six scenario cases were studied: Scenario 1 used data collected from farmers, with original fertilizer use and current soil organic matter (SOM); Scenario 2 increased SOM by 20%; Scenario 3 involved the application of 20 ton/ha of fully aerobic compost containing 1% total N, resulting in an additional 200 kg N/ha in the soil; Scenario 4 reduced the use of fertilizers by 20%; Scenario 5 reduced fertilizers use by 20% and increased SOM by 20%; and Scenario 6 combined a 20% reduction in fertilizers with the co-application of 20 ton/ha of fully aerobic compost. Compost was added to Scenarios 3 and 6 to evaluate its impact and alignment with CAP and EUGD goals. We assumed that crop yield would be the same for all the scenarios.

The results showed that Scenarios 3 and 6 had NUE values between 30% and 80%. This suggests a low risk of soil mining or N losses. However, these scenarios also had significantly higher GHG (CO2-eqv) and N₂O kg emissions compared to scenarios without compost application. Additionally, increasing SOC by 20% (Scenarios 2 and 5) did not significantly impact NUE and GHG emissions for most crops.

The higher GHG and N₂O emissions in some scenarios may be due to the mechanical processes and fuel required for compost application. Additionally, the decomposition of compost can also produce GHGs, such as methane and carbon dioxide. It is important to consider that carbon fuels microbial activity in the soil, including the production of N₂O. While the addition of organic matter can improve soil health and increase NUE, it is necessary to carefully evaluate the potential impacts on GHG and N₂O emissions and identify strategies to mitigate these emissions if needed.

Based on the results of our research, one question that arises is whether the benefits of improved NUE and reduced risk of soil mining or high N losses are offset by the higher GHG and N₂O emissions in Scenarios 3 and 6. Trade-offs between different factors may need to be considered for sustainable and effective soil management. More research may be needed to understand the higher GHG and N₂O emissions in Scenarios 3 and 6 and identify ways to mitigate these emissions while improving NUE.

Funding: The MSc research work by Korina Koukoutsi was partly supported by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI) Post-Doctoral Grant #1053 awarded to Principal Investigator Dr Georgios Giannopoulos. This project was co-implemented with industrial partner Corteva Agriscience Hellas SA.    

How to cite: Koukoutsi, K. (., Litskas, V., Monokrousos, N., Zanakis, G., and Giannopoulos, G.: Impact of EU Policies on NUE, Carbon and N₂O Footprint: Do EU Policies mitigate GHGs Emissions?, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-9815, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-9815, 2023.

Carbon farming schemes
15:25–15:35
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EGU23-14245
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SSS12.2
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ECS
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On-site presentation
Morten Graversgaard

An extensive body of research has shown that land management practices can increase soil organic carbon stocks on agricultural lands. This knowledge has also gained interest among policy makers, and the concept of carbon farming is increasing in attention. Recently, the EU Commission published its proposal for a regulatory framework on carbon removals, in here the European Commission will set standards for certifying carbon farming activities.

Successful carbon farming presupposes that scheme design enables land users’ to effectively implement relevant carbon farming practices.  Despite these new legislative ambitions on carbon farming, key questions remain, and knowledge is needed on land-users' perceptions of strengths and weaknesses of different designs for carbon farming schemes. In this paper, we analyse 9 different partner countries in EU, that have facilitated focus groups with landowners on carbon farming and scheme design. The paper, presents and discuss the basis for designing schemes that are perceived as fair and effective by land-users. Implementing stakeholders’ preferences in scheme design is important for land-users’ support and uptake of such schemes.

How to cite: Graversgaard, M.: Land-users' perspectives on carbon farming and result-based schemes, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-14245, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-14245, 2023.

15:35–15:45
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EGU23-16337
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SSS12.2
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On-site presentation
Jana Polakova, Josef Holec, Jaroslava Janku, Mansoor Maitah, and Josef Soukup

The aim of our study was to review agri-environment (AE) schemes in terms of outcomes for soil water requirements. It should be noted that the implementation of agri-environmental measures in Europe contributes to several ecosystem services and thus has several objectives; of these, the conservation of soil water and soil organic matter is a relevant agenda spearheaded to the heart of research because of the current climatic conditions. The link to carbon storage is relevant although not straightforward. The starting point was a large body of work on agri-environmental measures that examined the effects on biodiversity in narrow geographical areas and the sociology of stakeholder engagement with policy. However, our study proceeded to focus on the effects of agri-environmental measures on soil water and soil organic matter. This study focused on several neighbouring Member States. Two methodological approaches were applied. The quantitative approach was carried out in view of the assessment of expenditure related to agri-environment schemes. The data we used came from the archive of agricultural area per farm in the Eurostat country files, and the expenditure data were reconstrued from the documentation of rural development budget over fifteen years in an in-house archive set up from the sheets by the European Commission. Cost -effectiveness was modelled in a set of two agri-environment schemes. A qualitative approach was used to examine rural development programmes in Central and Eastern Europe ( the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia)  and thus to pinpoint the relevant measures for soil water effects. These analyses were anchored in an extensive set of literature reviews on the identification of soils that need to be protected because of inadequate levels of soil water.

We found that the costs of AE measures reflect thecosts of the particular agri-environmental practice and its constraints on commercial performance. It was found that agri-environmental practices with effect on soil water and soil organic matter are likely to be a precursor for fledgling carbon farming schemes in Central and Eastern Europe, although monitoring is much more a crux in carbon farming than in agri-environmental schemes.

Keywords: soil; water; arable farming; agri-environmental measures

How to cite: Polakova, J., Holec, J., Janku, J., Maitah, M., and Soukup, J.: Do Agri-Environment Schemes have a role for Soil, Water and Soil Organic Matter, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-16337, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-16337, 2023.

Coffee break
Chairpersons: Beatrice Giannetta, Stephen M. Bell
16:15–16:35
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EGU23-16595
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SSS12.2
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solicited
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On-site presentation
Bert Smit and Jennie van der Kolk

In the EJP Soil project ‘Road4Schemes’ (WP2), we have been working on an inventory of carbon farming schemes throughout Europe. This resulted in a list of 175 schemes, of which some however were located outside the EU. These schemes differed a lot in several characteristics, summarised in six overall themes: 1) documentation available, 2) Payment / Buyers Information, 3) MRV, 4) Safeguards for the society and the environment, 5) Transparency, and 6) Attractiveness. Each of the partner countries in the project selected 1-5 schemes from their national inventory, that they found promising in the light of the expected framework for Carbon Farming that would be outlined by the European Commission in December 2022 (which they actually did). The schemes selected were analysed using the method of a SWOT-analysis. In the SWOT-methodology Strengths and Weaknesses of each scheme were identified using a questionnaire with questions that covered the six themes listed. These questions already included the Opportunities and Threats that were expected to come up from the framework that was announced by the EC. For each theme a score 1, 2 or 3 was given, 1 indicating a very poor quality of that specific theme, 2 presenting an average quality and a score of 3 was given when the theme was (almost) perfectly addressed in the way the scheme had been organised. Each scheme in the SWOT-analysis received six scores in total and an overall score was calculated as the unweighted average of these six scores. The results of this method revealed large differences in quality between the schemes in the inventory. [1] Looking deeper into the results showed us, that a number of ‘overall methodologies’ for carbon farming including making schemes result-based and taking care of proper payments for the farmers can be discerned, that can serve as a basis for designing more or less perfect archetype carbon farming schemes.

At the EGU-session, we would like to present the methods and results of this study and discuss the relevance and consequences of these results for the way existing carbon farming schemes should be improved or future schemes should be designed.


[1] However, quite a number of schemes were still in a pilot phase and not all information was already available of decided upon. That may be partly a matter of time.

How to cite: Smit, B. and van der Kolk, J.: Carbon farming schemes throughout Europe, an overall inventory and analysis, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-16595, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-16595, 2023.

16:35–16:45
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EGU23-17445
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SSS12.2
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Highlight
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On-site presentation
Susanna Hönle and Claudia Heidecke

There is the expectation that carbon farming can contribute significantly to climate change mitigation by both sequestering carbon from the atmosphere and preventing the release of additional CO2-emissions from the soil. While it seems uncontroversial that measures to improve soil carbon provide many additional ecological benefits, it is rather challenging to integrate carbon farming activities into the existing climate policy frameworks. Apart from the usual concerns about the robustness of monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) and the permanence of the carbon farming result there are other unresolved questions regarding additionality, double-claiming and double-counting when combining state-based action with voluntary carbon markets, where private schemes sell their carbon-credits to companies for the offsetting of their emissions.

Within the scope of the EJP-Soil sub-project Road4Schemes our objective was to examine the current state of carbon farming policies in 9 European countries (including Switzerland and Turkey as non-EU members). Having collected questionnaires both at the level of policy makers and at the level of experts on national greenhouse gas inventories, we are able to make a first assessment of the relevance of carbon farming as a climate mitigation strategy in the individual countries, the reportability of different measures in national climate reporting and the role of private initiatives in achieving scalable climate change mitigation effects. It is furthermore of interest to compare countries’ policy approaches for enhancing carbon farming and integrating the different stakeholders and actors. In this way, this study aims to contribute to the current discussion on the potentials and obstacles of using carbon farming for climate mitigation.

How to cite: Hönle, S. and Heidecke, C.: Status and current considerations on carbon farming in selected European countries, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-17445, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-17445, 2023.

16:45–16:55
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EGU23-15630
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SSS12.2
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On-site presentation
Martin Thorsøe

Enhancing the potential of soils to store more carbon while maintaining existing SOC levels, especially on peatlands and other agricultural soils, is a key lever for mitigating climate change in the LULUCF sector. In late 2022, the European Commission announced a framework for a regulatory framework on carbon removals, which will set standards for future carbon farming activities. To meet the ambitions, the European Commission also emphasises that the forthcoming Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) that comes into effect from January 2023 should increasingly reward farmers environmental- and climate friendly performance through a more result-oriented model. In result-based schemes, payment levels reflect the actual impact of the management practices on carbon stocks (relative to a benchmark), may thus reduce the cost to attain a given environmental benefit.

However, designing effective schemes is a complex process, particularly in terms of (1) minimizing costs (of incentives and MRV), (2) and ensuring environmental performance (effectiveness, additionality and additional ecosystem services) and (3) social (fairness, legitimacy and land-user engagement). Further, optimizing schemes only according to the ability to sequester carbon or prevent emissions may lead to sub-optimal outcomes, rather it may be important to move beyond schemes that only optimize on one parameter. The EJP SOIL Road4Schemes project has gathered an inventory containing 170 European carbon farming schemes. While some of the identified schemes focus exclusively on carbon sequestration while other scheme designs support a wider number of ecosystem services. This presentation synthesizes the experience from these 170 schemes regarding opportunities and barriers for designing successful result-based carbon farming schemes that also include additional ecosystem services.

How to cite: Thorsøe, M.: Result-based carbon farming and multifunctionality, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-15630, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-15630, 2023.

16:55–17:05
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EGU23-17475
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SSS12.2
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On-site presentation
Irene Criscuoli, Ilaria Falconi, Andrea Martelli, Stefania Maurino, Maria Valentina Lasorella, Francesco Galioto, Tiziana Pirelli, Giovanni Dara Guccione, and Guido Bonati

Soil is an ecological system and a phylogenetic organism that evolved in response to stimuli and changes. It is a precious, fragile, limited and non-renewable resource, since it takes 100 to 1,000 years to produce one centimetre of fertile soil. Soil constitutes the largest existing organic carbon store and, consequently, plays a central role in the global carbon cycle and in the fight against climate change.

However, land degradation has progressed markedly around the world. In fact, studies show that about 33% of the world’s soils are moderately or strongly degraded. An estimated annual global loss of 75 billion tons of fertile soil is caused by erosion, pollution, unsustainable agronomic practices, change of use (e.g. deforestation or conversion from pasture to cultivated land) and sealing of land. More than 12.7% of EU soil is subject to moderate to severe erosion and degradation. Stocks of organic carbon in farmland and the extent of wetlands and peatlands are steadily decreasing.  

Moreover, carbon, in temperate and cold areas of the planet (such as the EU), is stored in greater quantities in the soil rather than in plants’ biomass, while in tropical areas the exact opposite occurs. Therefore, the protection of soil organic carbon is fundamental especially in Europe.

To maintain and increase soil C stocks, agroecological practices should be fostered by European policies and financial mechanisms. Carbon credits represent one of these financial mechanisms, being tradable certificates corresponding to 1 ton of CO2eq. The methodologies and standards used for the quantification of soil Carbon stocks, aimed at the issuing of corresponding carbon credits are defined as soil C accounting.

In this study, a detailed and critical analysis of soil C accounting initiatives implemented in EU and extra-EU countries has been conducted considering different scales of implementation, C assessment methods and potential barriers.

More specifically, this work aims to:

- in EU: describe the state of carbon accounting legislation and its level of implementation, case studies, relevant and successful EIP Operational Groups;

- identify the critical issues inherent in Carbon Farming (e.g. payment schemes, overlapping of EU public fundings with carbon credits, etc.);
- extra EU: report international case studies of carbon accounting and carbon credits schemes (Australia, Alberta in Canada, Brazil and the United States) to inspire proposals for possible implementation in the EU;
- provide recommendations for future European policies in order to avoid greenwashing and ensure environmental protection.

The outcome is a synthesis of “Lessons Learned” and recommendations for possible transferability of extra-EU initiatives to EU.

How to cite: Criscuoli, I., Falconi, I., Martelli, A., Maurino, S., Valentina Lasorella, M., Galioto, F., Pirelli, T., Dara Guccione, G., and Bonati, G.: A review of soil C accounting initiatives implemented in EU and extra-EU countries, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-17475, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-17475, 2023.

17:05–17:15
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EGU23-1747
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SSS12.2
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On-site presentation
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Jens Leifeld

Peatland rewetting is a nature based solution and considered a low hanging fruit that may substantially contribute to reaching the net zero goal. Its overall climate impact is very much determined by the interplay of CO2 and CH4 emissions that both strongly and non-linearly depend on water table depth. Rewetting peatlands acts instantaneously, and its overall climate effect depends on the considered time horizon.

In this study, which extends an approach developed for carbon sequestration in mineral soils (Leifeld & Keel 2022), the radiative forcing [W m-2] of peatland rewetting is calculated along a gradient of water table depths of between -60 and +2 cm, based on recently published parameterizations for the temperate zone (Tiemeyer et al. 2020; Evans et al. 2021), for a time horizon of up to 1000 years. Two metrics, the cumulated radiative forcing and the switchover time, are considered.

Switchover times, i.e. the length of time after which the positive radiative forcing due to increases in CH4 emissions at a restored peatland is overtaken by the cumulative negative radiative forcing due to CO2 uptake, range from 398 to almost 798 years, depending on water table. Switchover can only be reached when the system is a net CO2 sink, i.e. at water table depths of -7 cm or less. Both metrics, the cumulative radiative forcing and the switchover time, reveal optimum water table depths of between -6 and -2 cm (i.e., below surface). However, relative to a business-as-usual scenario with a water table of -60 cm, any water table raise improves the overall radiative balance of the rewetted system from the very beginning.

In case of non-permanence of rewetting (e.g., accidental drainage), radiative forcing calculations can be used to derive suitable, biophysically based risk buffer accounts for carbon markets. For example, keeping a peatland rewetted for only 30 instead of 100 years as contractually settled still yields a 51 % climate benefit relative to a business-as-usual. The implications of these findings are discussed in the light of the carbon farming schemes proposed by the EU.

 

References

Evans, C.D. et al., 2021, Nature 593, 548–552. Leifeld, J. & Keel, S.G., 2022, Geoderma 423, 115971. Tiemeyer, B. et al., 2020, Ecological Indicators 109, 105838.

How to cite: Leifeld, J.: Assessing the climate benefit of rewetting peatlands: Analysis of suitable metrics and implications of non-permanence for carbon farming schemes, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-1747, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-1747, 2023.

17:15–17:25
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EGU23-11766
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SSS12.2
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Highlight
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On-site presentation
Andreas Baumgarten, Hans-Peter Haslmayr, Michael Schwarz, Marcel Schwarz, Robert Jandl, Philipp Maier, and Herbert Formayer

The potential for carbon sequestration (CSP) in soils is limited by several factors like the geological provenience, the climatic conditions and the land management. Based on the methodology provided by FAO, a national map has been developed for Austria. Additionally to the climatic and topographic data provided by FAO, more detailed data sources have been used to increase the accuracy of the map.

To model the CSP, scenarios with increasing carbon inputs have been used: Business as Usual (BAU),  plus 5% (low), 10% (medium) and 20% (high) carbon input, projected to 2038 and 2040.  The Austrian Soil Organic Carbon (ASOC) map was used as the starting point for the Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) stocks of the soil in the model.

The carbon stocks of Austria's agricultural soils range for the most part between 43 and 103 tC/ha in the BAU scenario, between 43 and 104 tC/ha in the "Low" scenario, between 44 and 105 tC/ha in the "Medium" scenario and between 45 and 108 tC/ha in the "High" scenario. The modelling based on the detailed Austrian data showed the smallest increases in each case (BAU: 43 - 70 tC/ha; Low: 43 - 71 tC/ha; Medium: 44 - 72 tC/ha; High: 45 - 74 tC/ha). The differences between the individual scenarios were also not very pronounced.

An evaluation of the results at the regional level allows a basic interpretation of the sequestration potential based on soil and climatic conditions and can be used as a basis for estimating the possible effect of measures that either stabilise or increase the humus content.

How to cite: Baumgarten, A., Haslmayr, H.-P., Schwarz, M., Schwarz, M., Jandl, R., Maier, P., and Formayer, H.: Possibilities of Carbon Sequestration in Austrian Soils, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-11766, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-11766, 2023.

Soil data availability and harmonization
17:25–17:35
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EGU23-16833
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SSS12.2
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On-site presentation
Simone Sala, Ester Miglio, Dharani Dhar Burra, and Austin Hopkins

Healthy soil is critical to the growth of nutritious food and to farmers’ livelihoods. However, one-third of global soil is already affected by moderate to severe degradation by diverse processes. The reduction of soil degradation is one of the most important policy objectives, but policymakers and local planners require guidance in choosing  the most effective interventions, both scientifically and economically, to reduce soil degradation.  

The complex interconnections between agriculture, the natural environment, and social well-being increase the need of researchers to access and use comprehensive soil data sets. Our ability to manage and support soil depends on the data we collect and the information and knowledge that we generate from them. Nevertheless, soil data accessibility and sharing are currently low and represent one of the major barriers to making better decisions in agriculture. A critical first step to capitalize on the opportunities offered by agriculture science and technologies is thus the standardization, organization, and the making of the multitude of specialty datasets generated by studies and projects publicly available to the global community. 

To address this challenge, Varda is creating an interactive soil digital platform that allows surfacing and comparing existing soil data across the globe in order to facilitate soil data sharing and interoperability. Moreover, the platform highlights soil data gaps across regions through a soil data gap index, and particularly soil health data gap through another ad hoc index developed by Varda and Aberdeen University. Such indexes will allow multilateral organizations, governments, and agribusiness stakeholders to fill some of these data gaps through ad-hoc soil sampling and data collection campaigns.

How to cite: Sala, S., Miglio, E., Burra, D. D., and Hopkins, A.: A Soil Data Platform to Inform Soil Health Investment, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-16833, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-16833, 2023.

17:35–17:45
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EGU23-13190
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SSS12.2
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Highlight
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Virtual presentation
Anne Marechal

Life on Earth depends on healthy soils. Soil provides food, clean water and habitats for biodiversity while contributing to climate resilience. They are at the centre of many of the most pressing societal challenges of this century. Knowing the state of soil health, its current pressures and its trends is essential for the soil community (e.g. policy makers, researchers or practitioners) to know about where, when and how to better protect, improve or restore soils. The Dashboard of the EU Soil Observatory (JRC Unit D3) aims to do just this. Tapping into the wealth of soil data produced by the JRC and other international research institutions, it provides a clear picture of the state and trend of soil health in the EU. It will also report on the state of implementation of EU soil policy. A focus in the Dashboard is to present soil data spatially. In particular, the EUSO Dashboard uses the ‘convergence of evidence’ methodology to map the likely occurrence of soil degradation processes in the EU and the UK. Through visuals (graphs, maps, infographics, etc.) the EUSO Dashboard aims to be the reference point providing a clear up-to-date assessment of the state of soil health and the policy actions taken at EU level to improve it.

How to cite: Marechal, A.: The Dashboard of the EU Soil Observatory – making soil data speak to policy-makers and society, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-13190, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-13190, 2023.

17:45–17:55
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EGU23-13165
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SSS12.2
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ECS
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On-site presentation
Fuat Kaya, Calogero Schillaci, Gordana Kaplan, and Levent Başayiğit

A centuries-long research area continues to develop on determining diversity in the heterogeneous environment in which the soil is inherently located. As a result of open data sharing, accessible datasets can be easily used by the scientific community and can be of great benefit to the soil science community and policy stakeholders and improve the learning process for early career researchers. Through bibliometric analysis, this study aims to evaluate the scientific outputs obtained from Web of Science databases produced using the Land Use and Coverage Area frame Survey (LUCAS) soil module dataset between 2000 and 2022. A search was made using the words “LUCAS”, “Soil”, and “European” in the title/abstract/keywords field, and over 100 studies have been found and evaluated. Preliminary results showed that the dataset had been used with interest in the scientific community since the first open access date of 2013 in around 100 peer-review papers. LUCAS has been expanding over the years, and international integration has increased. As a result of bibliometric analysis, many colleagues produced scientific outputs using the LUCAS datasets. Review analysis provides insights into the future use of LUCAS, an open-access dataset, in the scientific community. Results enable academics in this field to give references and quick access to regional soil data information on the principal physical, chemical and selected biological properties.

How to cite: Kaya, F., Schillaci, C., Kaplan, G., and Başayiğit, L.: Review of the usage of LUCAS soil data for soil modeling and mapping via bibliometric analysis, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-13165, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-13165, 2023.

17:55–18:00

Posters on site: Fri, 28 Apr, 08:30–10:15 | Hall X3

X3.192
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EGU23-1775
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SSS12.2
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ECS
A method of evaluating safe operating space: focus on geographic regions, income levels and developing pathway
(withdrawn)
Yajuan Zhang, Shuangcheng Li, Feili Wei, and Ze Liang
X3.193
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EGU23-12627
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SSS12.2
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ECS
Calogero Schillaci, Diana Vieira, Luca Montanarella, Arwyn Jones, and Piotr Wojda

The Integrated Administration and Control System IACS consist of several digital and interconnected databases, notably: a system for identifying all agricultural plots in EU countries called the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS), a system that allows the farmers to graphically declare the agricultural areas for which they apply for aid (the geospatial application GSA). To improve the IACS data availability, EC DG AGRI, in collaboration with the EC DG JRC, has established an IACS data-sharing process to be implemented by the Member States. Thanks to the underpinning INSPIRE Directive and its infrastructure, we are starting to have now millions of parcel data available. These data might be further used within climatic, environmental and soil-related domains, as well as provide additional insights together with precision agriculture data. However, to date, there is not a unique usable platform providing EU-wide IACS data to improve data availability and data reuse further. IACS data are being used and tested in many soil-related use cases, notably in the “land degradation indicator” that will provide a high-resolution agricultural spatial data time series and implement these products into the SDG 15.3.1 indicator geospatial framework. It includes aggregated statistics and actionable recommendations to show what can be done with them to deepen our knowledge of farms and how they can be used for policy support and development. Co-designing usage of IACS data will provide broader understanding of the role of IACS in the frame of the European Commission soil policy development. The analysis carried out in this soil use case provided an application of the UNCCD SDG 15.3.1 indicator at the NUTS3 scale using global and EU available datasets for the three sub-indicators, additionally for the sub-indicator land cover IACS data provided high-resolution information on land cover changes that might cause degradation or improvement in delivering ecosystem services. The SDG 15.3.1 LD indicator calculation has been carried out using the Trends.Earth software; in particular it implies the reclassification of LC from an equivalent level 3 in CORINE to an equivalent level 2, which reduces the quality of the information (cropland includes arable land, permanent crops and mixed classes with over 50% of crops; grassland includes natural grassland and managed pasture land; rangelands include shrubland, herbaceous and sparsely vegetated areas; forestland includes all forest categories and mixed classes with tree cover greater than 40%). IACS data substantially improved the LD assessment in the timeframe (2010-2020) by adding a high-resolution land cover change layer. Now, only the spatial information derived by GSA was used. However, the integration of parcel topography and climatic proxies can reveal patterns and provide useful information for the early detection of LD and the correct management of degraded areas. This system can contribute to better detection of Land degradation drivers.

How to cite: Schillaci, C., Vieira, D., Montanarella, L., Jones, A., and Wojda, P.: The Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) data as a source of detailed land cover changes for the SDG 15.3.1 land degradation indicator, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-12627, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-12627, 2023.

X3.194
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EGU23-12747
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SSS12.2
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Highlight
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Francesca Assennato, Nicola Alessi, Daniela Smiraglia, Nicola Riitano, Rocco Labadessa, and Cristina Tarantino

Land degradation processes have undergone towards a significant increase in recent decades which is likely to further increase if no actions are taken. The need of adopting practices to contain, mitigate and restore degraded land have been stressed by the new Soil Strategy. In order to guide actions, through a common and effective framework, a cost and time efficient approach is needed. Experiences from six pilot sites in southern European countries, selected within the NL4DL LIFE project, were examined and monitored with both available field data and satellite-acquired data, in order to be replicated, improved and transferred to similar degraded sites. The heterogeneity and complexity of degradation processes resulted from the pilot sites highlighted issues and necessities of harmonization and standardization of ecological/physical indicators, especially those derived from satellite observations, when used as proxies of land degradation.  

The aim of the tool is to provide a reference procedure to be applied to monitor restoration activities based on nature-based solutions on degraded lands, once the degradation processes has been identified. Variables considered in the tool include processes of degradation, physical indicators derived from remotely sensed approaches and most common practices of nature-based solutions. Connections between these variables, which form the basis of the relational map of the tool, have been initially collected through the internal knowledge of the project and will be further deepened trough expert-based questionnaires to experts of different disciplines in the field of soil and environmental sciences. 

The decision-making tool provide a workflow to guide the end users in the field of environmental management and planning, through the identification of land degradation processes, the selection of monitoring indicators viable and the most suitable nature based solution for that particular degraded land. The tool will be used as an input base for an action protocol at local and regional scale for environmental management and planning

How to cite: Assennato, F., Alessi, N., Smiraglia, D., Riitano, N., Labadessa, R., and Tarantino, C.: A Decision Support Tool based on field and Earth observation to support restoration activities in degraded land based on Newlife4drylands  Pilot Sites, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-12747, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-12747, 2023.

X3.195
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EGU23-16694
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SSS12.2
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ECS
Ester Miglio, Simone Sala, Anahita Nafissi, and Sandeep Pandit

The management of our soils plays a crucial role in addressing some of our greatest challenges, such as food security and climate change. Working together across national borders is essential for securing the health and quality of our soil in the future. With multi-stakeholder processes, language and the use of language is very important since the capability of understanding each other is critical. Developing a common language facilitates learning together, trust-building, defining common viewpoints, resolving disagreements, and arriving at technically sound and practical solutions.  

This document represents the initial attempt to create a common soil domain ontology and data model to support the creation of a user-friendly infrastructure in accordance with FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data principles for uploading, managing, and providing comparable soil data at global scale. To meet these requirements, the review and application of accepted and widely used standards, conventions, and guidelines for the ingestion, organization, and sharing of soil data is necessary. The document should be regarded as a living document that evolves along with the progress of the project and in response to stakeholder feedback.  

This project began with the development of an ontology for the soil domain and the identification of representational terms. This was done by following a data-driven approach, which allowed the determination of relevant entities by making strategic decisions based on data analysis and organization, while facilitating a modular expansion of the knowledge base. Next, a standardized soil vocabulary was defined to facilitate data sharing and discovery. 

Furthermore, soil analytical information is collected and modelled across a variety of data sources, as well as SI units and non-SI units accepted for use with the International System of Units. Finally, a list of relevant conversion factors, regressions, and pedotransfer functions was collected to facilitate data comparison across different data bases.  

How to cite: Miglio, E., Sala, S., Nafissi, A., and Pandit, S.: Soil Data Harmonization to Create a Global Soil Data Platform, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-16694, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-16694, 2023.

X3.196
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EGU23-12465
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SSS12.2
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ECS
Calogero Schillaci, Iustina Popescu Boaja, Edita Baltrėnaitė-Gedienė, Ester Miglio, Simone Sala, Fenny van Egmond, Maria Fantappiè, Benoit Pereira, Lachezar Flichev, Sara Di Lonardo, Paul Henning Krogh, Michaela Hrabalikova, Estela Nadal-Romero, Anna Ladenberger, and Marc van Liedekerke

In the context of work at the EU Soil Observatory (EUSO), an attempt is made to make a survey of EU supranational soil-related datasets in the EU, stemming from various sources. This work describes efforts made in the EUSO Working Group on Soil Data to find such data availability from a systematic literature search. Understanding the soil data availability due to research and innovation (R&I) investment is crucial to enhance the knowledge capacity and limit anthropogenic disturbance on soil dynamics in current global climate changes. When working at supranational scales, the international peer review literature reveals the data availability. Therefore, most research papers rely on datasets collected under supranational institutional efforts, rigorous laboratory standards and high representativeness of sample-to-population scale variability. On soils, we based all our main productive activities. Increasing our knowledge of soil properties, mapping and modelling its processes helps to quantify the capacity and define thresholds of pressures that need to be respected to prevent irreversible changes. To this end, a systematic bibliographic search was carried out using Scopus and the Web of Knowledge (WoS) and their research performance assessment tools which provide extreme value in understanding the data impact on the scientific community and the related output to the policy development and practical benefit for the society. The main objective of the present work is to prepare an inventory of the produced soil-related EU-wide data related to soil, published in the international peer review literature. A simple query was used to collect the vast majority of peer-review scientific contributions in Scopus and WoS. The search is limited to the topic areas of soil science, geomorphology, geology, agricultural sciences, ecology and other related environmental sectors. From the original search (WoS=481, Scopus=260) we identified 616 articles, with 125 duplicates. The contribution shows how to merge results from citation and abstract databases (SCOPUS and WoS). The screening process of the resulting database was carried out in collaboration with the Sub-WG data from EU projects. Practically, soil datasets were listed and counted following inclusion and exclusion criteria using the spreadsheet developed in the EUSO Working Group on soil data. Data from the bibliometric analysis were further analysed in R through the Bibliometrix R package. The metadata analysis shows that 85% of soil datasets used in publications for soil assessment at the EU scale belong to i) Land Use and Coverage Area frame Survey (LUCAS) soil module followed by ii) Geochemical Mapping Of Agricultural And Grazing Land Soil (GEMAS), and iii) World Soil Information Service (WoSIS)which represent the harmonized collection of legacy soil profiles. This indicates that harmonization procedures among the primary sources are still needed to increase data numerosity and improve models and estimations. In a future extension of the work, we will provide the list of publications with the related soil datasets and metadata. This work contributes to a common ground for a future EU soil data infrastructure and monitoring system (EU and national collaborations) linked to the European Soil Observatory EUSO.

How to cite: Schillaci, C., Popescu Boaja, I., Baltrėnaitė-Gedienė, E., Miglio, E., Sala, S., van Egmond, F., Fantappiè, M., Pereira, B., Flichev, L., Di Lonardo, S., Henning Krogh, P., Hrabalikova, M., Nadal-Romero, E., Ladenberger, A., and van Liedekerke, M.: Soil data sharing in EU, a survey of available soil datasets found in the scientific literature, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-12465, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-12465, 2023.