Kontext

Climate change and unsustainable land management are two of the main causes for soil degradation and biodiversity loss. In the EU, 60% of soils are currently in an unhealthy state and that is the reason why different European initiatives like EU Green Deal, Biodiversity Strategy 2030 or the Farm to Fork Strategy have been driven. In this context, SOILGARD wants to co-create a framework that assesses soil biodiversity through sustainable soil practices. It aims to foster sustainable agriculture while promoting healthy soils and biodiversity mitigating climate impacts. By doing so, SOILGUARD also aligns its objectives with global goals like the ones drafted by FAO’s Global Soil Partnership, to ensure soil conservation and ecosystem services. 

Objectives

SOILGUARD aims to ensure the conservation of soil biodiversity and the well-being of EU regions by addressing land degradation and climate change. It promotes sustainable soil management as a key nature-based solution and seeks to close knowledge gaps on soil biodiversity and ecosystem services. The project will create a framework to assess soil biodiversity from diverse angles –environmental, economic, social- and across different biomes. This knowledge will be shared via SOILGUARDIANS, an App to help stakeholders and policy makers transition to sustainable practices and to shape global policies.

Activities

SOILGUARD will perform multidisciplinary soil research to increase understanding of soil biodiversity and its role in ecosystem services. It will drive these analyses considering various threats, such as land degradation, droughts and heat waves. It will also quantify the environmental, social, and economic benefits of healthy soil biodiversity through the creation of a global cross-biome network of sites for experimental validation. Climate simulations and soil biodiversity assessments will be conducted. The results will be featured in an App that will help stakeholders to delve into sustainable soil management practices while supporting policy recommendations and knowledge sharing.

Other comments

SOILGUARD aspires to share knowledge in a participative manner. For that reason, it has created SNoK, Soilguard Network of Knowledge, a collaborative platform designed to boost all outputs and outcomes achieved within the project by a wide range of stakeholders. SNoK targets several soil-related groups of interests -from farmers and landowners to advisors, policymakers, academia and civil society organizations- and engages them through several activities, meetings, events and workshops. SNoK pretends to foster dialogue to co-create innovative approaches and solutions for a better and more sustainable soil management.