EJP SOIL: A Collaborative Approach to Climate-Smart Soil Management

EJP SOIL aims to transform agricultural practices by fostering sustainable soil management across Europe. Its primary goals include enhancing soil health to combat climate change impacts like droughts, compaction, and erosion, while aligning research with both EU-wide policies and local farming needs. The initiative seeks to bridge gaps between scientists, policymakers, and farmers by developing practical tools, harmonized data systems, and training programs. By integrating research, education, and stakeholder engagement, it ensures solutions are scalable, regionally adapted, and policy-relevant. Ultimately, the project strives to build a resilient agricultural sector capable of mitigating climate risks while improving food security and ecosystem stability.

Keywords: Soil health, Climate-smart agriculture, Soil compaction, Carbon farming, Stakeholder collaboration, Soil monitoring, Drought resilience, Policy alignment, Knowledge transfer, National Hubs

The Crisis of Degrading Soils in a Changing Climate

Soil degradation poses a growing threat to Europe’s agricultural productivity, biodiversity, and climate resilience. Intensifying climate hazards—such as erratic precipitation, droughts, and heatwaves—accelerate issues like soil compaction, erosion, and carbon loss, reducing land’s ability to support crops and store greenhouse gases. Current estimates suggest 60 to 70 percent of European soils are unhealthy yet monitoring and management practices remain fragmented across countries. Farmers lack access to standardized, region-specific guidance on preventing degradation, while policymakers struggle with inconsistent data to inform regulations like the EU Soil Monitoring Directive. Without coordinated action, these challenges will worsen, undermining food security, rural livelihoods, and climate mitigation efforts. The disconnect between research, policy, and on-the-ground practices further delays solutions, leaving soils vulnerable to long-term damage.

A Dynamic, Stakeholder-Driven Research Framework

EJP SOIL adopts a flexible, collaborative approach to address soil health challenges through annual adjustments and multi-level engagement:

1. Stakeholder Mapping & Needs Assessment
   The project starts by identifying key stakeholders—farmers, soil advisors, scientists, and policymakers—through National Hubs (country-specific working groups) that meet regularly to discuss challenges and knowledge gaps. Surveys, literature reviews, and stakeholder consultations (e.g., on soil health barriers) help prioritize research topics like carbon farming, compaction recovery, and climate adaptation.
2. Roadmap Development & Research Prioritization
   Using stakeholder input, EJP SOIL creates a 10-year strategic roadmap for climate-smart agriculture, aligning with EU policies (e.g., Soil Monitoring Directive) and guiding annual funding calls. This roadmap ensures projects address urgent issues like soil compaction, carbon sequestration, and harmonized monitoring, with 44+ research projects funded across themes like mitigation and adaptation.
3. Collaborative Research & Knowledge Integration
   The program funds cross-border research and integrates findings mid-program to avoid silos, using tools like literature syntheses and technical. Results are grouped by themes (e.g., drought resilience, soil data harmonization) to ensure practical applicability.
4. Knowledge Transfer & Capacity Building
   Findings are shared via policy forums, training programs, and platforms like the European FarmBook and EJP SOIL’s knowledge hub. National Hubs act as ambassadors, disseminating tailored tools to farmers, advisors, and policymakers to drive real-world adoption.

Strengthening soil health and climate resilience across Europe

The European Joint Programme (EJP) SOIL aims to deliver measurable improvements in soil health, directly addressing the 60–70% of degraded soils across Europe. By synthesizing research from 14 field experiments, the program provides evidence-based guidelines for preventing and mitigating soil compaction—a growing issue due to intensifying precipitation patterns. These findings empower farmers to adopt proactive measures, such as tailored recovery techniques for clay-heavy soils, reducing long-term productivity losses. For policymakers, the harmonization of soil health indicators ensures consistent monitoring, supporting the EU Soil Monitoring Directive and enabling data-driven decision-making.

The program also bridges knowledge gaps by mapping 162 carbon farming schemes, offering a foundation for the EU Carbon Removal Certification framework. This helps farmers access incentives for carbon sequestration while mitigating climate risks like droughts and heatwaves. Through National Hubs, EJP SOIL fosters collaboration among scientists, advisors, and regional planners, ensuring research translates into practical tools for land stewards. Training initiatives, including PhD schools and soil-sensing courses, build capacity among students and professionals, securing long-term expertise in sustainable soil management. Ultimately, healthier soils enhance ecosystem resilience, benefiting agriculture, biodiversity, and urban drainage systems alike.

Unique Selling Proposition

EJP SOIL merges EU and national funding with real-time stakeholder input to deliver locally tailored, science-backed solutions for climate-smart agriculture and soil health across 24 countries. Its adaptive, collaborative model ensures research stays relevant to evolving threats like droughts and compaction while building a lasting network of 4,000+ scientists, farmers, and policymakers.

This hybrid approach bridges gaps between global policies and on-the-ground needs, making it a first-of-its-kind framework for sustainable land stewardship in Europe.

This article was generated with the support of artificial intelligence. While it has been reviewed and edited for clarity and accuracy, the primary content was generated by an AI tool.

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