SOILUTIONS’ Post

#AgricultureMdpi - 2021 Highly Cited Paper Title: Building Bio-Districts or Eco-Regions: Participative Processes Supported by Focal Groups ✍ Authors: Raquel S. Dias et al. Link: https://lnkd.in/gU2H8kvZ #Cilento #sustainableterritory #organicfarming #agro_ecologicalpractices #focalgroups

🚩 We are delighted to be involved in the new 3-year #NSmartSystems Green ERA-Hub (GEH) project with our #colleagues from Hochschule Geisenheim University, Department of Vegetable Crops (Jana Zinkernagel) and partners from Aarhus University, Denmark (Davide Cammarano) and Natural Resources Institute Finland / Luonnonvarakeskus (Luke) - Matti Pastell who will coordinate this project. 🔎 In this project, we will focus on developing different methods and open source tools that will help to optimally combine diversification and #precision fertiliser management, enabling farmers to improve their profitability and reduce negative environmental impacts. This is important as cropping system diversification supports #sustainability, climate resilience and #ecosystem services, and will be considered in the context of #precisionagriculture in NSmartSystems. ✏️ The general focus of the NSmartSystems will be on the following tasks, of which our group will be responsible for points 2 and 3. The specific objectives are: ✅ (1) Development of the decision support systems (DSS) for cropping system diversification through crop rotation and intelligent use of intercrops. ✅ (2) Improved decision making for variable rate N fertilisation through user-centred, multi-parametric tools. ✅ (3) Optimization of in-field variable rate N application through improved coordination of the application system and the spreader. ✅ (4) Develop the tools for farmers to analyse and monitor the impact of their management decisions over time. ✨ So we are excited to get started and Dimitrios S. Paraforos sends greetings from Helsinki, Finland where we met with our partners for the first #kickoffmeeting. ❗️ The project is taking place in the framework of the Green ERA Hub (GEH) for the coordination of different national and regional research programmes. The GEH has brought together the research and innovation priorities of different ERA-Net initiatives to launch this call. #partnership #newproject #digitalfarming #sustainableagriculture  #transparency #research 

In 2022, better management of water resources is not a question of technology, it's a question of survival. Faced with this challenge, modelling tools such as those in our ATARA programme can provide concrete solutions. We urgently need to deploy them before it's too late. Jordi Prats, who is in charge of the RISO project, won't disagree. This modelling tool for managing rice paddies in Catalonia is fully in line with our ATARA programme, all the details and challenges of which - as you will have realised - are explained in this article: 👉 https://lnkd.in/enYftGcu #SEGULA #innovation #watersaving #modelling #watermanagement #biodiversity

During the annual meeting of ECO-READY project in Rome, Professor Michael Bourlakis – Work Package 6 leader, provided an update on the current progress of Work Package (WP) 6. The objective of this WP is to develop and implement numerous effective dissemination and communication approaches to key stakeholders of ECO-READY and the Observatory, value co-creation plans between stakeholders, and ultimately a business and sustainability plan for ensuring ECO-READY long-term vitality. Two on-going tasks in WP6 are Task 6.1 and 6.2. For the former (Task 6.1), led by the task leader ProQuantis, various communication channels (including website, LinkedIn, Youtube channel, X – formerly Twitter, etc) were developed and maintained, establishing the presence of ECO-READY on the web. Through our channels, the public is constantly updated about ECO-READY objective and progress. In the upcoming months, Task 6.1 has exciting plans to promote our project further with social media activities, pod casts, and videos. 2024 will also be a key milestone, as our scientists will engage in numerous conferences and events to discuss key issues in food system and how ECO-READY can contribute to the solutions. For the latter (Task 6.2), foundational works have been conducted by the task leader – Wageningen University & Research. This task will focus on the set up of an Advisory entity to the Observatory, representing a broad spectrum of societal interests. A co-creation process among key stakeholders is being designed to maximise the sustainability impact through the wider usage of the ECO-READY Observatory. Later on in the project, Tasks 6.3 and 6.4 will take place to align ECO-READY with other European Commission tools and platforms, and construct a business plan for longevity of the project. ENEA | IUCN | Wageningen University & Research | Czech University of Life Sciences Prague | Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) | Migros Ticaret A.Ş. | Confagricoltura | Alternet | IFOAM Organics Europe | Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops | Cyprus University of Technology | Foodscale Hub | Cranfield University | The University of Edinburgh | Eklipse | White Research #ecoready #europeancommission #horizoneurope

ARTIGOS EM REVISTAS COM ARBITRAGEM CIENTÍFICA - INIAV Do we speak one language on the way to sustainable soil management in Europe? A terminology check via an EU-wide survey European soils are under increasing pressure, making it difficult to maintain the provision of soil ecosystem services (SESs). A better understanding of soil processes is needed to counteract soil threats (STs) and to promote sustainable soil management. The EJP SOIL programme of the EU provides a framework for the necessary research. However, different definitions of soil-related terms potentially lead to varied understandings of concepts. Furthermore, there are numerous indicators available to quantify STs or SESs. As unclear communication is a key barrier that hinders the implementation of research results into practice, this study aimed to answer the question about whether the terminology of large-scale initiatives is adequately understood within the soil-science community and non-research stakeholders. An online questionnaire was used to provide definitions for 33 soil-related terms in both scientific and plain language, as well as indicators for seven SESs and 11 STs. Participants were asked to rate their agreement with the definitions and indicators on a seven-grade Likert scale. The level of agreement was calculated as the percentage of ratings above 4, the neutral position. The survey was available from June to September 2023 and was distributed by a snowball approach. More than 260 stakeholders assessed the survey; 70% of respondents were researchers, and 15% were practitioners. Mean agreement levels for the definitions and indicators were generally high, at 85% and 78% respectively. However, it was apparent that the lowest agreement was found for terms that are relatively new, such as Ecosystem Services and Bundle, or unfamiliar for certain subgroups, such as ecological terms for stakeholders working at the farm scale. Due to their distinct majority, the results of this study primarily reflect the opinions of scientists. Thus, broad conclusions can only be drawn by comparing scientists with non-scientists. In this regard, the agreement was surprisingly high across all types of questions. The combined outcomes indicate that there is still a need to facilitate communication between stakeholders and to improve knowledge distribution strategies. Nevertheless, this study can support and be used by future projects and programmes, especially regarding the harmonization of terminology and methods. Coautora: Nádia L. Castanheira (#INIAV) Aceda aqui ao artigo: https://lnkd.in/dbPDkSRw #INIAV #artigo #investigação

🧶Meet the ECOSYSTEX members🌿 CALIMERO HE Project aims to identify the gaps in current methodologies in five bio-based industrial sectors, including textiles, model concrete processes and propose optimisations. The consortium's experts highlight environmental shortcomings, paying particular attention to the temporal dimension of greenhouse gas emissions, the lack of quantification of impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services, the risks of shortages of biobased raw materials, and the toxicity of certain chemical substances. In terms of social and economic impacts, factors such as safety at work, job creation and investment and operating costs are not taken into account, highlighting the need for a more comprehensive comparison. The ultimate aim is to re-evaluate the processes using an 'enriched' LCA methodology in order to propose more sustainable processes. Learn more about the CALIMERO HE Project ⬇  https://lnkd.in/dJbXzHfx

Introduced by the European Union in 1992, the LIFE program offers co-funding for projects proposed by member countries on environmental issues. As part of this co-funding FertiGlobal was able to drive forward their ENVision project which ran from 2019-2023. The ENVision project brought to market FertiGlobal’s breakthrough EnNuVi Technology, which is aimed at changing the impact agriculture has on the environment while supporting the growing demand for food and higher yield productivity. 🌱 View our After Life Plan on the success of the projects below.⬇️ https://bit.ly/3Tc9CKr #ENVision #LIFEProgramme #FertiGlobal