Helping enhanced soil functions and adaptation to climate change by sustainable conservation agriculture techniques (LIFE HELPSOIL)

The LIFE HelpSoil project aimed to test innovative solutions and demonstrate soil management practices to improve soil quality, so as to make agricultural systems more resilient to climate change. Specific project objectives included: (i) implementing practices to improve soil organic carbon sequestration, soil fertility and biodiversity, and protect against erosion on a number of farms, with the goal of increasing agricultural sustainability and competitiveness; (ii) integrating conservation practices and innovative techniques in order to increase the efficiency of irrigation, improve the efficiency of fertilisers, particularly livestock manure, and limit the use of pesticides; and (iii) developing indicators of soil ecosystem functions and new techniques to assess the environmental benefits of the practices tested by the project.

The LIFE HelpSoil project implemented and tested soil conservation practises on 20 experimental farms in the Po Plain, in northern Italy, over three growing seasons. The project integrated innovative techniques and best practices for soil conservation and erosion control (e.g. no-till sowing, strip-tillage and cover crops); reducing water consumption during irrigation (e.g. micro-drip irrigation, fert-irrigation and sub-surface irrigation); novel fertilisation techniques using livestock manure (e.g. underground distribution systems); and innovative practices for plant disease control (e.g. using natural fertilisers to encourage micro-organisms in the rhizosphere). The most appropriate techniques were implemented at each of the experimental farms.

The results showed that these practices enhanced soil functions and, due to being sustainable agricultural techniques, supported adaption to climate change. The practices improved soil characteristics, including organic carbon content and biological fertility, and led to a more efficient use of irrigation water, fertilisers and pesticides in the experimental plots. Moreover, climate change mitigation was supported as a result of the practices, through increased CO2 sequestration in soils, decreasing fossil fuel consumption for agricultural work such as ploughing, and reduced greenhouse gases and ammonia emissions from soils. The reduction of energy consumption, in the range of 15 to 55%, also represents cost savings due to a reduced use of fuel, fertilisers, herbicides, water and other consumables such as seeds and composts. The level of benefit is dependent on several environmental factors (e.g. type of soil, climate) and technical factors (e.g. type of crop) that vary for each demonstration farm.