Sustainable soil management for healthy soil
The way soils are managed has an impact on soil properties such as soil organic matter content, soil structure and compaction. These properties influence water infiltration rates, the amount of water that the soil can store and its resilience to soil erosion. Healthy, well-structured soils that are not compacted can generally cope better with more extreme weather events than compacted soils created by heavy machinery on bare land. Good soil management therefore improves both water retention and climate resilience.
Thematic work
Focus Group 'Regenerative agriculture for soil health'
How can regenerative agriculture practices help farmers to restore, protect and improve soil health and productivity?
Learn moreRelated news
Salt-affected soils: field-scale strategies for prevention, mitigation, and adaptation
A review of the current knowledge, scientific strategies and related case studies for preventing, mitigating and adaptating to salt accumulation in soils at field scale.
- Innovation, knowledge exchange & EIP-AGRI
Saving agricultural soils
Initiatives from the EU and beyond that are promoting the sustainability of agricultural soils.
- Innovation, knowledge exchange & EIP-AGRI
Sustainable soil management by the next generation of farmers
“Practice on the Ground” is a project in Romania working to inform farmers and students from agricultural universities and high schools about sustainable soil management in agriculture.
- Innovation, knowledge exchange & EIP-AGRI
Holistic soil management practices in Czech Republic
SIEUSOIL, Horizon 2020 project on sustainable and holistic soil management practices, ran a number of pilot sites in EU and China. Read more about the results from these pilots.
- Innovation, knowledge exchange & EIP-AGRI
Estonian farmer turns grassland grazing into climate solution
Sustainable cattle grazing for biodiversity, healthy soil and carbon capture
- Innovation, knowledge exchange & EIP-AGRI
Related publications
EU CAP Network Focus Group ‘Regenerative agriculture for soil health'
This report presents the main results of the EU CAP Network Focus Group ‘Regenerative agriculture for soil health'.
- Innovation, knowledge exchange & EIP-AGRI
Agricultural cooperative in Slovakia applies regenerative farming to restore soil health and productivity
Regenerative practices have helped a cooperative to save input costs and reduce soil erosion.
- Innovation, knowledge exchange & EIP-AGRI
Related events
EU CAP Network cross-visit ‘Circular and organic soil management’
- Innovation, knowledge exchange & EIP-AGRI
Related good practices
Inspirational idea: agricultural cooperative in Slovakia applies regenerative farming to restore soil health and productivity
Regenerative practices have helped a cooperative to save input costs and reduce soil erosion.
- Innovation, knowledge exchange & EIP-AGRI
Inspirational idea: Croatian farm promotes regenerative agricultural practices
Maintaining soil health is central to the management of this organic farm which grows a wide range of crops, sells directly, transforms the products, and even supplies its own restaurant.
- Innovation, knowledge exchange & EIP-AGRI
Inspirational ideas: Climate-adaptive soil moisture management
Hoeksche Waard is an island located in the south of the Netherlands. This rural area lies below sea level, and controlling water on agricultural fields is a major issue, especially in the case of heavy rainfall. An Operational Group was set up to test and optimise a sub-soil system to control soil moisture levels from underground.
- Innovation, knowledge exchange & EIP-AGRI
Inspirational idea: New machinery for soil health in arable crop production
Faced with new climate scenarios, Italian Operational Group AGRIBIOCONS is experimenting with techniques which support soil health in arable crop production for chicken feed. This project aims to preserve and improve physicochemical and microbiological properties of soils.
- Innovation, knowledge exchange & EIP-AGRI