Multifunctional Soil Biodiversity: Unlocking Potential for Healthy Cropping Systems

ongoing

MultiSoil’s goal is to co-create, test, and demonstrate agricultural practices that improve soil and plant health factors and thus maintain soil functional biodiversity. This in turn helps control pests with less chemicals, in line with Horizon Europe’s Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe” specific objectives to reduce soil pollution, enhance restoration, and improve soil structure to enhance soil biodiversity and crop production. Soil organic amendments, microbial inoculants, and diversified cropping systems are co-developed with local actors into innovations to complement Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices. Their site-specific effectiveness is analysed, and sustainability is assessed in experimental field trials and demonstration sites covering 6 European pedoclimatic zones (7 countries). Innovations are tested and demonstrated with a range of commercially important crops (potato, sugar beet, maize, winter rye, olives, wheat). This will be supported by existing data, collected from other projects, existing field trials, and ongoing Living Labs, to monitor the long-term effects of the practices. MultiSoil is created with farmers and implements a multi-actor approach to ensure continuation of the good practices after the project timespan. Activities will include sharing knowledge, capacity building and training focusing on the tools and expertise developed by MultiSoil. The project will reach out to relevant R&I initiatives and projects, maximising knowledge exchange, and seeking synergies and collaboration. By the end of the project, local actors will have a Toolbox of tailored best practices, and guidelines on how to improve soil health and support soil biodiversity. Data on the social, economic and environmental impacts as well as the risks of the developed practices will support decision making.