The overall goal of the EJP SOIL is to build a sustainable European integrated research system on agricultural soils and develop and deploy a reference framework on climate-smart sustainable agricultural soil management.
The EJP SOIL programme targets key societal challenges such as food and water security, sustainable agricultural production, climate change adaptation and mitigation; ecosystem services delivery, biodiversity preservation and human health and well being.
Climate-smart sustainable management is the application of operations, practices, and treatments to protect soil and enhance its performance. It includes controlling traffic, avoiding excessive tillage, managing pests and nutrients efficiently, selecting adequate crops and rotations, keeping the soil covered, increasing diversity (crops, soil, landscape), managing irrigation efficiently, adding organic matter.