There is a demand to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase soil organic carbon in the agricultural sector to mitigate climate change. Further, there is an interest in improving soil health to improve productivity and resilience of crop- and grasslands. Different EU initiative/programs (e.g. GreenDeal; EU Soil strategy for 2030, 4 per mille, Soil Mission) underpin the relevance and political interest in these topics. Therefore, applicable solutions for agriculture are required to achieve one or some of these targets.
Due to the complexity and heterogeneity of the processes generic solution can have locally diverse impacts and optimum solution might differ based on local conditions. Clear advice for farmers requires an excellent data basis for impacts of management practices under diverse conditions and low uncertainty. Therefore, a better understanding about the impacts of smart agricultural solution in the field is required to improve the understanding of the variety of options.
The objective of the session is to provide an overview about available options to improve agriculture to mitigate climate change by reducing emissions or increasing soil organic carbon. Beside climate change mitigation, farmers have a major interest in improving soil health to increase the resilience of the system, improve the quality of the products or increase yield. Therefore, we invite applications for studies, which analyse management practice changes for climate change mitigation options, including their impacts to the wider agricultural system. This includes studies using field or laboratory measurements, or modelling, in croplands or grasslands, in organic or conventional systems. Studies that include multiple aspects of the agricultural system are of most interest, although studies that focus on one of these aspects are also welcome.