Soil-Improving Cropping Systems for Sustainable and Profitable Farming in Europe

Rudi Hessel, Guido Wyseure, Ioanna S. Panagea, Abdallah Alaoui, Mark S. Reed, Hedwig van Delden, Melanie Muro, Jane Mills, Oene Oenema, Francisco Areal, Erik van den Elsen, Simone Verzandvoort, Falentijn Assinck, Annemie Elsen, Jerzy Lipiec, Aristeidis Koutroulis, Lilian O’Sullivan, Martin A. Bolinder, Luuk Fleskens, Ellen Kandeler, Luca Montanarella, Marius Heinen, Zoltan Toth, Moritz Hallama, Julián Cuevas, Jantiene E. M. Baartman, Ilaria Piccoli, Tommy Dalgaard, Jannes Stolte, Jasmine E. Black and Charlotte-Anne Chivers
Additional contact information
Rudi Hessel: Wageningen Environmental Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
Guido Wyseure: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
Ioanna S. Panagea: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
Abdallah Alaoui: Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Hallerstrasse 12, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Mark S. Reed: Centre for Rural Economy, School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
Hedwig van Delden: Research Institute for Knowledge Systems (RIKS), Hertogsingel 11A, 6211 NC Maastricht, The Netherlands
Melanie Muro: Milieu Consulting SRL, Chau. de Charleroi 112, 1060 Brussels, Belgium
Jane Mills: Countryside and Community Research Institute, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham GL50 4AZ, UK
Oene Oenema: Wageningen Environmental Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
Erik van den Elsen: Wageningen Environmental Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
Simone Verzandvoort: Wageningen Environmental Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
Falentijn Assinck: Wageningen Environmental Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
Annemie Elsen: Bodemkundige Dienst van België, Willem de Croylaan 48, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
Jerzy Lipiec: Institute of Agrophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Doświadczalna 4, 20-290 Lublin, Poland
Aristeidis Koutroulis: School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Crete, Akrotiri Campus, Chania 731 00, Crete, Greece
Lilian O’Sullivan: Teagasc, Environment, Crops, Environment & Land Use Programme, Johnstown Castle, Co., Y35 TC97 Wexford, Ireland
Martin A. Bolinder: Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), P.O. Box 7044, 75007 Uppsala, Sweden
Luuk Fleskens: Soil Physics and Land Management Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
Ellen Kandeler: Institute of Soil Science and Land Evaluation, Soil Biology Department, University of Hohenheim, Emil Wolff Str. 27, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
Luca Montanarella: Joint Research Centre, European Commission, Via E. Fermi, 2749, 21027 Ispra, Italy
Marius Heinen: Wageningen Environmental Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
Zoltan Toth: Georgikon Campus Keszthely, Institute of Agronomy, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Moritz Hallama: Institute of Soil Science and Land Evaluation, Soil Biology Department, University of Hohenheim, Emil Wolff Str. 27, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
Julián Cuevas: Agronomy Department, CeiA3, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
Jantiene E. M. Baartman: Soil Physics and Land Management Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
Ilaria Piccoli: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Tommy Dalgaard: Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Blichers Alle 20, 8830 Tjele, Denmark
Jannes Stolte: Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Oluf Thesens vei 43, 1433 Ås, Norway
Jasmine E. Black: Countryside and Community Research Institute, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham GL50 4AZ, UK
Charlotte-Anne Chivers: Countryside and Community Research Institute, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham GL50 4AZ, UK

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 6, 1-27

Abstract: Soils form the basis for agricultural production and other ecosystem services, and soil management should aim at improving their quality and resilience. Within the SoilCare project, the concept of soil-improving cropping systems (SICS) was developed as a holistic approach to facilitate the adoption of soil management that is sustainable and profitable. SICS selected with stakeholders were monitored and evaluated for environmental, sociocultural, and economic effects to determine profitability and sustainability. Monitoring results were upscaled to European level using modelling and Europe-wide data, and a mapping tool was developed to assist in selection of appropriate SICS across Europe. Furthermore, biophysical, sociocultural, economic, and policy reasons for (non)adoption were studied. Results at the plot/farm scale showed a small positive impact of SICS on environment and soil, no effect on sustainability, and small negative impacts on economic and sociocultural dimensions. Modelling showed that different SICS had different impacts across Europe—indicating the importance of understanding local dynamics in Europe-wide assessments. Work on adoption of SICS confirmed the role economic considerations play in the uptake of SICS, but also highlighted social factors such as trust. The project’s results underlined the need for policies that support and enable a transition to more sustainable agricultural practices in a coherent way.

Keywords: soil quality; sustainable soil management; adoption; crop management; environmental dimension; sociocultural dimension; economic dimension (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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