Soil Improving Cropping Systems for Sustainable and Profitable Farming in Europe

• Other Authors: Wyseure, Guido (Editor), Cuevas González, Julián (Editor), Poesen, Jean (Editor)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2023
• Subjects: Research & information: general; Environmental economics; soil quality assessment; sewage sludge; long-term effect; Mediterranean soils; soil erosion; soil-improving crop systems; sustainable land management; sustainable agriculture; soil improving practices; crop response; weather conditions; Podzol soil; Bland-Altman statistics; soil organic carbon; soil-water content; no-till; reduced tillage; manure; compost; soil care; nitrous oxide; N2O; carbon dioxide; CO2; greenhouse gas; compaction; earthworms; direct drilling; bulk density; conservation agriculture; no tillage; minimum tillage; principal component analysis; soil quality index; scoring function; deliberative democracy; q-methodology; regenerative agriculture; soil conservation; Pisum sativum L.; organic manure; NPK; pH; SOM; macronutrients; nutrient content; degree of compaction; soil penetration resistance; relative normalised density; air-filled porosity; tillage; straw incorporation; bio-drilling crops; subsoiling; crop productivity; crop residue; crop rotation; crop yield; environmental effects; irrigation; nutrient management; resource use; soil-improving cropping systems; soil quality; agriculture; sustainability frameworks; socio-economic and environmental indicators; soil land management; agricultural advisory services; soil health; governance; agricultural advisers; sustainable soil management; soil policy; advice; compacted subsoils; mechanized agriculture; smallholder agriculture; soil bulk density; sustainability framework; overall sustainability; costs and benefits; cover crops; adoption; crop management; environmental dimension; sociocultural dimension; economic dimension; large-scale modelling; Europe; SOC stocks; scenarios
• Online Access: DOAB: download the publication; DOAB: description of the publication

A major challenge for the future is combining both the profitability and sustainability of agriculture. The European H2020 project SoilCare aims to identify, test, and evaluate soil-improving cropping systems (SICS) which contribute to the implementation of agricultural solutions across Europe (See: https://soilcare-project.eu/en/ for the project website). The project includes 16 study sites distributed across Europe. Each study site implemented short-term experiments during the duration of the project, and most also ran long-term experiments comparing soil quality as a function of different treatments, such as soil amendments, tillage, cover crops, nutrients, and organic matter inputs. In addition, eight work-packages assess different aspects encompassing reviewing the soil-improving cropping systems, the participatory analysis of implementation and selection, methodology and analysis, upscaling at the European level, policy analysis and support, and dissemination and communication. In this way, SoilCare works on a providing a holistic approach to soil quality, spanning from biophysical to human interactions at different scales. In this Special Issue, we aim to compile scientific findings on soil-improving cropping systems (SICS) based on field experiments, including the study of policy, upscaling, and dissemination.