Project: True SOC sequestration: understanding trade-offs and dynamic interactions between SOC stocks and GHG emissions for climate-smart agri-soil management

Acronym TRUESOIL (Reference Number: 110)
Duration 01/04/2022 - 31/03/2025
Project Topic Agricultural soils are depleted in organic carbon (OC and have the potential to sequester substantial amounts of C, contributing to climate change mitigation. An increase in soil organic carbon (SOC has additional benefits, including improvements in soil fertility, water retention and texture, which supports crop productivity and biodiversity. Restoring and maintaining SOC can be achieved by adopting management practices which increase C sequestration and stabilize C in the soil matrix. Common management practices for increasing SOC include the use of external or internally recycled OC inputs (e.g., organic amendments.fertilizers, biochar, plant litter, residues, alternative cropping options (e.g., continuous green cover, cover crops or measures that reduce OC losses (e.g., reduced tillage, adapted grazing. Conversely, these management practices have the potential to increase greenhouse gas (GHG emissions by stimulating decomposition of previously sequestered C and N increasing CO2 and N2O emissions. Mechanisms and drivers behind increased GHG emissions and their interactions with OC sequestration under different soil and climatic conditions are not well constrained, partly because little is known about how abiotic and biotic factors control the extent to which soils can store OC. Quantifying negative side-effects of increased soil C sequestration on GHG emissions is necessary to develop appropriate management options that reduce GHGs while increasing soil C stocks.
Network EJP SOIL
Call 1st EJP SOIL external call for proposals

Project partner

Number Name Role Country
1 University of Göttingen Coordinator Germany
2 Université Catholique de Louvain Partner Belgium
3 Universidad de Granada Partner Ireland
4 Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria Partner Ethiopia
5 Mekelle University Partner Portugal
6 Universitas Negeri Makassar Partner Argentina
7 University of Chile Partner Chile
8 University of Aveiro Partner France
9 University of Helsinki Partner Indonesia
10 The National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment Partner Spain
11 University College Dublin Partner Norway
12 University of Otago Partner Finland
13 Norwegian University of Life Sciences Partner New Zealand