TUdi Decision Support Tool: integrating nutrient management and organic matter dynamics for sustainable soil management

The growing threats to soil health, particularly in regions increasingly impacted by climate change, demands innovative, science-based solutions. Organic amendments offer a pathway for improving soil health while enhancing SOM content. Addressing these challenges requires a comprehensive approach that bridges nutrient management practices with a deeper understanding of soil organic matter (SOM) dynamics. Therefore, farmers, as key actors in this process, need operational tools that not only highlight potential risks, but also provide strategies to ensure the long-term soil productivity and resilience. To support this, the TUdi Decision Support Tool (DST) combines crop nutrient requirement assessments with SOM evolution forecasting, using nutrient inputs as a factor in modeling SOM dynamics. This DST was designed as a practical decision-support tool for farmers and land managers, enabling informed decision-making to combat soil degradation and support sustainable land management practices.

In this study, we applied the TUdi DST in highly vulnerable region to soil organic matter (SOM) loss of Europe, to evaluate cereal and woody crop management. Under favorable (SOM > 2.5%) and unfavorable (SOM < 2%) scenarios of crops growing conditions were assessed to explore tailored strategies for mitigating SOM decline and enhancing carbon sequestration.

Acknowledgments: this work was supported by the research project TUdi (Horizon 2020, GA 101000224).