Periodic Reporting for period 2 - TUdi (Transforming Unsustainable management of soils in key agricultural systems in EU and China. Developing an integrated platform of alternatives to reverse soil degradation.)
Período documentado: 2023-01-01 hasta 2024-06-30
TUdi is a cooperation project between European, Chinese and New Zealander teams addressing that despite decades of research in preventing and reversing soil degradation, this remains an unsolved issue, particularly in some agricultural regions. Despite the wealth of scientific knowledge on soil degradation processes, implementing effective solutions by land users is still a challenge. The lack of ready to use tools that allow end-users to appraise intensity of different soil degradation processes and orientate implementation of corrective actions adapted to the specific (biophysical and socio-economic) have contributed to this status. This is in a context in which most farmers have limited, or none, support of public extension services.
TUdi aims to contribute to address this challenge in European, Chinese and New Zealander cropping systems (cereal based rotations, tree crops and grasslands), with these specific objectives:
1- Document, at farm scale, soil degradation processes and soil restoration strategies, quantifying the effects of soil remediation and good fertilizers use.
2- Develop strategies for enhancing the quality of soils for food production in agricultural systems.
3- Develop and validate stakeholder-oriented solutions to evaluate soil status and its socioeconomic implications for key agricultural systems.
4- Develop a set of decision support tools at field scale to implement soil restoring solutions suitable for adaptation to EU and Chinese conditions integrating previous cooperative research.
5- Build and implement the project around the requests of a community of stakeholders following EIP-Agri and Open Science approach.
6-Create a community of soil care stakeholders and scientists for the main agricultural systems across EU, China and New Zealand.
TUdi integrates these objectives in the flagship goal of delivering eight multilingual digital tools to evaluate soil degradation and implement corrective actions at farm scale, usable by end users across EU China and New Zealand. This will consolidate a long-lasting cooperation among researches, SMEs and stakeholders in TUdi, providing the foundations for future exploitation of the project results and future collaboration.
TUdi aims to contribute to address this challenge in European, Chinese and New Zealander cropping systems (cereal based rotations, tree crops and grasslands), with these specific objectives:
1- Document, at farm scale, soil degradation processes and soil restoration strategies, quantifying the effects of soil remediation and good fertilizers use.
2- Develop strategies for enhancing the quality of soils for food production in agricultural systems.
3- Develop and validate stakeholder-oriented solutions to evaluate soil status and its socioeconomic implications for key agricultural systems.
4- Develop a set of decision support tools at field scale to implement soil restoring solutions suitable for adaptation to EU and Chinese conditions integrating previous cooperative research.
5- Build and implement the project around the requests of a community of stakeholders following EIP-Agri and Open Science approach.
6-Create a community of soil care stakeholders and scientists for the main agricultural systems across EU, China and New Zealand.
TUdi integrates these objectives in the flagship goal of delivering eight multilingual digital tools to evaluate soil degradation and implement corrective actions at farm scale, usable by end users across EU China and New Zealand. This will consolidate a long-lasting cooperation among researches, SMEs and stakeholders in TUdi, providing the foundations for future exploitation of the project results and future collaboration.
1- Beta versions of six, freely available, decision support tools (DSTs) to allow stakeholders to appraise soil degradation processes and to orientate on best practices that maintain and restore soil health have been developed. An additional tool, SEST, has also been developed. SEST is an economic toolbox to appraise of the cost/benefit implications of a given soil restoration technology at farm scale.
These DSTs have been co-created with the community of TUdi stakeholders, and cover: sustainable fertilization, soil compaction, soil erosion, soil organic carbon, soil structure and soil biodiversity, plus economic appraisal of the technologies. They form a suite of tools to help stakeholders to implement soil restoration actions and appraise its technical impact and economic implications. Two commercial versions of the DSTs for fertilization and erosion are now under current development.
2- A meta-database, containing 40 sites and 350 recorded experiments, encompassing a diverse set of studies from participant countries has been developed. These studies include experiments and commercial farms with ongoing experiments for several years, encompassing examples of good management and soil restoration practices, and studies on soil degradation problems. It incorporates metadata to identify the technical and socioeconomic information contained. They are been used, among other purposes, to test de DSTs.
3- A catalogue of twenty seven different soil restoration strategies that combine enhancement of soil quality with agricultural production is available. It has been developed combining through a detailed review of available technical and scientific literature, results of the techniques tested in the TUdi meta-database, and tacit knowledge not reported in the literature identified in cooperation with the TUdi stakeholders’ network.
4- A permanent network of stakeholders, one by country connected in GA meetings by national representatives has been consolidated. They are regularly convened for technical consultations and to ensure that the project is steered according to the stakeholders needs. Engagement with this network has been complemented by networking with existing EIP-Agri operational groups to disseminate key project results, including dissemination through the tools provided by the EIP-Agri (within EU CAP Network).
5- TUdi has gathered and analyzed socioeconomic information from different farming typologies across participating countries, performing a cost-benefit analysis and an evaluation of business opportunities for the soil restoring solutions covered in TUdi. This information is been used to determine the barriers and opportunities for the soil restoring solutions studied under specific conditions, and to provide advice to decision makers on how to best introduce them.
6- As a cooperation project aimed at reinforcing ties and creating lasting collaborations among teams and stakeholders across Europe, China, and New Zealand, TUdi has made significant contributions. A consolidated network for cooperation among different team has been stablished, with multiple activities completed. They include celebration of an international Conference in China in 2023, several exchanges of researchers for technical visits in Europe and China, exchange of PhD students, sign of cooperation agreements, and application for new research projects and training activities.
These DSTs have been co-created with the community of TUdi stakeholders, and cover: sustainable fertilization, soil compaction, soil erosion, soil organic carbon, soil structure and soil biodiversity, plus economic appraisal of the technologies. They form a suite of tools to help stakeholders to implement soil restoration actions and appraise its technical impact and economic implications. Two commercial versions of the DSTs for fertilization and erosion are now under current development.
2- A meta-database, containing 40 sites and 350 recorded experiments, encompassing a diverse set of studies from participant countries has been developed. These studies include experiments and commercial farms with ongoing experiments for several years, encompassing examples of good management and soil restoration practices, and studies on soil degradation problems. It incorporates metadata to identify the technical and socioeconomic information contained. They are been used, among other purposes, to test de DSTs.
3- A catalogue of twenty seven different soil restoration strategies that combine enhancement of soil quality with agricultural production is available. It has been developed combining through a detailed review of available technical and scientific literature, results of the techniques tested in the TUdi meta-database, and tacit knowledge not reported in the literature identified in cooperation with the TUdi stakeholders’ network.
4- A permanent network of stakeholders, one by country connected in GA meetings by national representatives has been consolidated. They are regularly convened for technical consultations and to ensure that the project is steered according to the stakeholders needs. Engagement with this network has been complemented by networking with existing EIP-Agri operational groups to disseminate key project results, including dissemination through the tools provided by the EIP-Agri (within EU CAP Network).
5- TUdi has gathered and analyzed socioeconomic information from different farming typologies across participating countries, performing a cost-benefit analysis and an evaluation of business opportunities for the soil restoring solutions covered in TUdi. This information is been used to determine the barriers and opportunities for the soil restoring solutions studied under specific conditions, and to provide advice to decision makers on how to best introduce them.
6- As a cooperation project aimed at reinforcing ties and creating lasting collaborations among teams and stakeholders across Europe, China, and New Zealand, TUdi has made significant contributions. A consolidated network for cooperation among different team has been stablished, with multiple activities completed. They include celebration of an international Conference in China in 2023, several exchanges of researchers for technical visits in Europe and China, exchange of PhD students, sign of cooperation agreements, and application for new research projects and training activities.
To validate and disseminate six DSTs and one socioeconomic toolbox, to help farmers and technicians to implement solutions to deliver healthy soils for 75% of the acreage of the three cropping systems (cereal-based rotations, tree orchards, and grasslands) considered in TUdi in different EU and Chinese study regions, plus New Zealand. They evaluate key indicators of soil degradation and provide recommendations on which techniques to implement. They will be complemented with two commercial versions for fertilization and erosion.
Tested a novel approach for developing digital technologies in cooperation with farmers and other stakeholders. This novel approach, based on co-creation, has helped to develop tools tailored to the needs and business models of diverse stakeholders through various complementary strategies. Because of this, it will include free ready to use DSTs and training materials; open access algorithms for decision support tools that can be adapted or developed further by any stakeholder to meet specific requirements, information data for testing; and two more advanced tools for commercial use. This approach has also help to provide insight on best developing digital tools for the farming community.
To transform a set of, mostly, long-term experiments, conducted across a broad range of cropping systems and farming types, into a meta-database that can be used as reference tool for researchers and stakeholders. This will help further develop soil restoring and fertilization practices, and reinforcing transdisciplinary studies across Europe and China.
To develop and deliver a large number of multilingual training materials on soil restoration, helping to breach language barriers and creating a common set of technical materials for improving soil health.
Tested a novel approach for developing digital technologies in cooperation with farmers and other stakeholders. This novel approach, based on co-creation, has helped to develop tools tailored to the needs and business models of diverse stakeholders through various complementary strategies. Because of this, it will include free ready to use DSTs and training materials; open access algorithms for decision support tools that can be adapted or developed further by any stakeholder to meet specific requirements, information data for testing; and two more advanced tools for commercial use. This approach has also help to provide insight on best developing digital tools for the farming community.
To transform a set of, mostly, long-term experiments, conducted across a broad range of cropping systems and farming types, into a meta-database that can be used as reference tool for researchers and stakeholders. This will help further develop soil restoring and fertilization practices, and reinforcing transdisciplinary studies across Europe and China.
To develop and deliver a large number of multilingual training materials on soil restoration, helping to breach language barriers and creating a common set of technical materials for improving soil health.