Towards enhanced adoption of soil‐improving management practices in Europe
2 CREA - Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria = Council for Agricultural Research and Economics
3 CRA-W - Centre wallon de Recherches Agronomiques [Belgique] = Walloon Agricultural Research Centre [Belgium]
4 LAMMC - Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry
5 INIAV - Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária = National Institute for Agrarian and Veterinary Research [Oeiras, Portugal]
6 Agri Food and Biosciences Institute
7 ATK TAKI - Institute for Soil Sciences and Agricultural Chemistry
8 Olive Research Institute
9 National Agricultural and Food Centre
10 Grassland and Mountain Agriculture Research Institute
11 Info&Sols - Info&Sols
12 Aarhus University [Aarhus]
13 Teagasc - Crops, Environment and Land Use Programme
14 Teagasc - Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority
15 IUNG - Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation
16 IRNASA - Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology of Salamanca
17 CSIC - Spanish National Research Council [Santiago de Compostela]
18 Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES)
19 Institute of Climate-Smart Agriculture
20 LUKE - Natural Resources Institute Finland
21 WUR - Wageningen University and Research [Wageningen]
22 Walloon Agricultural Research Centre
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Résumé
Abstract Sustainable agricultural soil management practices are key to restore, maintain and improve soil health. The European Joint Programme for SOIL (EJP SOIL) has identified twelve main soil challenges in Europe. To assess the potential and eventually increase the adoption of soil‐improving management practices, it is necessary to know (i) the current levels of adoption of the practices, (ii) socio‐technical barriers influencing their adoption, and (iii) their bio‐physical limits. This study compiled an inventory of soil‐improving management practices relevant to European conditions, and used a survey among soil scientists to assess the levels of adoption of these practices in Europe. In total, 53 soil management practices were identified that address one or several of the soil challenges. The adoption of most practices was low or spatially heterogeneous across Europe, highlighting region‐specific limitations to sustainable soil management. Qualitative interviews were conducted to explore the importance of socio‐technical aspects of adoption. Using conservation agriculture as an example, factors that can hinder adoption included the availability of knowledge and adequate machinery, financial risks, and farming traditions. Through a modelling approach, 54% of arable land in Europe was found to be suitable for cover cropping, indicating that the adoption of soil management practices is frequently limited by climatic constraints. We propose a region‐specific approach that recognizes the importance of identifying and overcoming socio‐technical barriers, and by acknowledging bio‐physical limits that may be expanded by innovation.