The economic value of sustainable soil management in arable farming systems – A conceptual framework

Soil quality is an important determinant of agricultural productivity, farm resilience and environmental quality. Despite its importance, the incorporation of sustainable soil management in economic models is lacking. This study approaches farmers as decision makers on soil management. Sustainable soil management may be an investment that goes at the expense of short-term returns but increases future soil quality. Hence, the key problem is economic: establishing long-term sustainable soil management at a minimized loss of income. In this study, we define the Economic Value of Land () as the cumulative returns of a piece of land over a period in time. Maximum long-term is obtained if a soil's potential is maximally utilized in a sustainable way. From this follows that the Economic Value of Sustainable soil Management () is defined as the difference between a sustainable and unsustainable . To acquire a fundamental understanding of , agronomic and technical factors must be integrated with economics. Production management, the complete set of physical and non-physical inputs is the primary determinant of future soil quality and hence . Maximizing first requires a fundamental understanding of soil quality management: What are the properties of soil quality and how are these influenced by crop production? Subsequently, production management has to be organized in such a way is maximized. This study provides an overview of soil quality management and crop production management linked to economics. The framework provides a qualitative blueprint for bio-economic modeling and a basis for policies to enhance sustainable soil management.

Knowledge sharing and adoption behaviour: An imperative to promote sustainable soil use and management

Soil and water are the essence of life and are essential for food production, and for urban, industrial and recreational infrastructures. It is a known fact that soils are degraded and desertified by natural and anthropogenic factors, and also due to abrupt climate changes. Thus, soil must be used in such a way as to protect, enhance and restore its functions. The survival of a projected 9.5 billion people by 2050 depends on sustainable management of world soils. Sustainability implies maintenance and enhancement of soil quality through judicious land use, recommended soil management practices and conservation‐effective measures. The strategy is to enhance net primary production and agronomic yields per unit area, input and time through sustainable intensification by conservation tillage, mulch farming, complex cropping/farming systems including cover cropping and agroforestry, integrated nutrient management, disease‐suppressive soils, drip irrigation or subirrigation, condensation irrigation, precision or soil‐specific farming, delivering plant nutrients and water directly to the roots and so on. These practices enhance soil quality and its ecosystem services, whereas increase in soil and ecosystem C pools also adapts to and mitigates climate change. As a win‐win strategy, it enhances the environment, advances food security and promotes sustainable development. Key Concepts: Sustainable intensification: It implies producing more from less while reducing the environmental foot print of agro ecosystems. The aim is to minimize losses of the inputs (fertilizers, water, and energy) and enhance use efficiency. Soil quality restoration: Term ‘soil quality’ refers to the productive capacity of soil. Quality of soil under agro ecosystems is prone to degradation by land misuse and soil mismanagement. Thus, achieving sustainable management necessitate restoration of soil quality to enhance ecosystem functions. Soil organic matter management: Soil organic matter is a key determinant of soil quality. The threshold or critical level of soil organic matter in the root zone of arable lands is 1.1–1.5% on weight basis. Yet, organic matter of most soils managed by extractive farming practices is as low as 0.1%. The goal of sustainable management is to enhance soil organic matter content to above the threshold level. Soil degradation processes: Decline in quality of soils under agro ecosystems is caused by a range of degradation processes. These include physical processes (e.g. decline in aggregation, crusting, compaction, and erosion), chemical processes (e.g. acidification, salinization, nutrient depletion, and elemental imbalance) and biological processes (e.g. depletion of soil organic matter, reduction in microbial biomass, and decline in soil biodiversity). Ecosystem services of soils: The term refers to economic and ecologic goods and services provided by the soil. Important among these are production of food, fiber, fuel etc.; purification of water, enhancement of bio diversity, sequestration of carbon, and moderation of climate among others. Soil management for adaptation to climate change: Judicious management of soil to restore its quality can enhance its resilience to extreme events (e.g. drought, heat wave, and inundation) and uncertain and variable climate. Adaptation is important to minimizing the risks of changing climate. Climate‐strategic agriculture: It refers to adoption of agricultural practices, which reduce the risks and avail of any new opportunities which may emerge from change in climate. Soils and global food security: Being the most basic resource, sustainable management of soils is essential to advancing global food security. Between 2005 and 2050, food production must be doubled to meet the needs of growing population and changing dietary preferences toward animal‐based over plant‐based foods.

Biochar for sustainable soil management

Intensive agricultural practices lead to a deterioration in soil quality, causing a decline in farm productivity and quality, and disturbing the ecosystem balance in command areas. To achieve sustainable production and implement effective soil management strategies, understanding the state and spatial variability of soil quality is essential. The study aims to enhance the understanding of soil quality variability and provide actionable insights for sustainable soil management. In this regard, principal component analysis (PCA) and digital soil mapping were used to assess and map the spatial variability of the soil quality index (SQI) in the Cauvery command area, Mandya district, Karnataka, India. A total of 145 georeferenced soil samples were drawn at 0–15 cm depth and analyzed for physico-chemical properties. PCA was used to reduce the dataset into a minimum dataset as eight important soil indicators and to determine relative weightage factors, which were used for assessing SQI with linear and non-linear scoring methods. For spatial assessment of SQI, the random forest algorithm with environmental covariates was used to map eight soil indicators selected in the minimum dataset. The soil property maps were subjected to linear and non-linear scoring, followed by multiplying with corresponding weightage factors and summation to produce SQI maps. Results reveal that values of SQI calculated using linear scoring, range from 0.10 to 0.64, with a mean of 0.39, while non-linear scoring exhibits a wider range of 0.12 to 0.78 and a mean of 0.48. With a slight higher sensitivity index of 6.5, non-linear scoring proved to be the better scoring method compared to linear scoring. Spatial assessment shows that the R2 and LCC between the calculated and predicted SQI were higher for non-linear scoring (0.66 and 0.66) compared to linear scoring (0.60 and 0.65). The SQI maps reveal high spatial variability with more than 40 percent of soils classified as moderate-to-low index. The soils with low SQI were distributed in eastern parts, whereas western parts exhibited high-to-very-high soil quality. To achieve production goals and improve soil quality in the eastern region, sustainable soil and crop management strategies must be developed, and their effects on soil quality should be assessed.

Soil quality is an important determinant of agricultural productivity and environmental quality. Despite its importance, few economic models incorporate sustainable soil management. The objective of this study is to develop and illustrate FARManalytics: a bio-economic model to gain quantitative insight in the economic value of sustainable soil management. First, we defined a comprehensive set of chemical, physical and biological soil quality indicators and quantitative rules on how these indicators respond to farmers’ production management over time. Second, we introduce an economic calculation framework that enables accurate calculation of the contribution of different production management decisions towards farm income using Activity-Based-Costing. The set of soil quality indicators and economic calculations serve as the basis for the bio-economic model FARManalytics, which consists of two modules: (1) the PMcalculator, a module that calculates the impact of current production management on soil quality and farm economics and (2) the PMoptimizer, a module that uses Mixed-Integer-Linear-Programming to maximize farm incomewithin predefined soil quality indicator constraints. The decision variables are the crop rotation, cover crops, manure & fertilizer application and crop residue management. We illustrate the added value of the model by applying it to an extensive and intensive farm type, both on clay and sandy soil. These farm types are derived from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) in the Netherlands. FARManalytics demonstrates that it is possible to increase farm income with up to €940 ha−1 year−1 on clay soil and up to €683 ha−1 year−1 on sandy soil, while meeting all soil quality targets except subsoil compaction vulnerability. The latter was among the most limiting soil quality indicators for the farm types in this study, together with soil organic matter input, wind erosion vulnerability and plant-parasitic nematodes. FARManalytics integrates the impact of production management decisions on soil quality and economics at farm level. Combined with representative farm types, the bio-economic modeling approach of FARManalytics can provide useful information for policy support. FARManalytics can also be tailored to provide decision support for individual farms, based on data that is commonly available on arable farms at low cost.

Soil quality is pivotal for crop productivity and the environmental quality of agricultural ecosystems. Achieving sufficient yearly income and long-term farm continuity are key goals for farmers, making sustainable soil management an economic challenge. Existing bio-economic models often inadequately address soil quality. In this study, we apply the novel FARManalytics model, which integrates chemical, physical, and biological indicators of soil quality indicator, quantitative rules on how these indicators respond to farmers’ production management over time, and an economic calculation framework that accurately calculates the contribution of production management decisions towards farm income. This is the first study applying this model on existing arable farms. FARManalytics optimizes crop rotation design, cover crops, manure and fertilizer application and crop residue management. Nine Dutch arable farms were analyzed with a high variation in farm size, soil type, and cultivated crops. First, we assessed farm differences in soil quality and farm economics. Second, we optimized production management to maximize farm income while meeting soil quality targets using farm-specific scenarios. Third, we explored the impact of recent policy measures to preserve water quality and to increase the contribution of local protein production. The results show that the case farms already perform well regarding soil quality, with 75% of the soil quality indicators above critical levels. The main soil quality bottlenecks are subsoil compaction and soil organic matter input. We show that even in front-runner farms, bio-economic modeling with FARManalytics substantially improves economic performance while increasing soil quality. We found that farm income could be increased by up to €704 ha−1 year−1 while meeting soil quality targets. Additionally, we show that to anticipate on stricter water quality regulation and market shift for protein crops, FARManalytics is able to provide alternative production management strategies that ensure the highest farm income while preserving soil quality for a set of heterogenous farms.

Sustainable soil and land management which is vital for security of natural resources and food production is a complex task due to the wide range of parameters influencing soil quality and health (1,2). Various parameters, including climatic variables such as precipitation, evaporation, and, in coastal regions, sea level rise and saltwater intrusion (3), hydrogeological factors like groundwater table levels influencing evaporative fluxes (4), groundwater salinity, and soil properties as well as anthropogenic factors such as fertilization and land use, play important roles in sustainable soil management and health. In this study, we gathered diverse climatic, hydrogeological, and anthropogenic data within an intensive food production and natural preservation study area situated in North Sea adjacent northern Germany to explore the complex interplay of parameters affecting soil health and characterize the impact of these variables on sustainable soil management. The area is characterized by predominantly flat terrain with fertile soils utilized for agriculture and grazing. Additionally, it contains protected areas such as forests. Due to significant variations in land use and soil properties across the region, we categorized the area into subgroups for robust comparability. This involved dividing the region into agricultural, grassland, and forest areas, each identified by specific characteristics, such as crop production, meadow type, fertilization method, and soil nutrient holding capacity. Additional parameters including precipitation, evaporation, and leakage were factored into a groundwater recharge model for the area. Statistical analysis and machine learning algorithms were employed to assess the interrelations among these parameters affecting sustainable soil management. Recognizing these interrelations, we adapted our model to potential future scenarios and discussed how hypothetical alterations to parameters such as groundwater recharge and added fertilizer could impact land management in the study area. Our findings are applicable to areas employing similar land management practices, offering insights into the vulnerabilities and potentials of these regions in the face of a changing climate and are useful for implementing mitigation measures against land degradation and preventing the loss of fertile soil. 1. Hassani, A., Azapagic, A., Shokri, N. (2020). Predicting Long-term Dynamics of Soil Salinity and Sodicity on a Global Scale, Proc. Nat. Sci., 117(52), 33017-33027, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.20137711172. Hassani, A., Azapagic, A., Shokri, N. (2021). Global Predictions of Primary Soil Salinization Under Changing Climate in the 21st Century, Nat. , 12, 6663. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26907-33. Nevermann, H., Gomez, J.N.B., Fröhle, P., Shokri, N. (2023), Land loss implications of sea level rise along the coastline of Colombia under different climate change scenarios, Clim. Risk Manag., 39, 100470, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2022.100474. Sadeghi, M., Shokri, N., Jones, S.B. (2012). A novel analytical solution to steady-state evaporation from porous media. Water Resour. Res., 48, W09516, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012WR012

Soil quality is an important determinant of the productivity, environmental quality and resilience of agricultural ecosystems. In addition to the farmer, there are other actors who may have different interests in soil quality, hampering the implementation of sustainable soil management. To date, these actors have received surprisingly little attention. This study presents an inventory of actors involved in sustainable soil management, including farmers, but also value chain participants (e.g. input suppliers and processors), environmentally engaged actors and policy makers. We applied Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to elicit actors’ priorities for soil sustainability criteria. AHP is a method of multi-criteria analysis that uses pairwise comparisons to assess the relative importance of criteria. Additionally, we differentiated actors based on their involvement and perceived ability to influence decision-making. Based on the results of a survey, actors were placed in a power-interest grid. In this grid, the self-perceived power and interest of actors was differentiated from their power and interest as perceived by other actors. The main findings were that a complex and heterogenous network of actors exists around the farmer. Within this network, farmers and related value chain participants showed a priority for economic soil sustainability criteria. Environmentally engaged actors were confirmed to have a clear priority for environmental criteria. The power-interest grids underscored the prime role of farmers and the relatively high power of value chain participants. The self-assessment of power-interest compared to assessment by others revealed noticeable differences, especially for NGOs and environmentally engaged actors. This study provides an overview of which actors to involve in decision-making on sustainable soil management, which is illustrated for the EU mission “Soil Health and Food”.

Sustainable soil management is essential to prevent agricultural soil degradation and maintain food production and core soil‐based ecosystem services. Regenerative agriculture, one approach to sustainable soil management, is rapidly gaining traction in UK farming and policy. However, it is unclear what farmers themselves consider to be sustainable soil management practices, and how these relate to the principles of regenerative agriculture. Further, there is little insight into how sustainable soil management is currently promoted in agricultural knowledge and innovation services (AKIS). To address these knowledge gaps, we undertook the first national‐scale survey of sustainable soil management practices in the United Kingdom and complemented it with targeted interviews. We found high levels of awareness (>60%) and uptake (>30%) of most sustainable soil management practices among mixed and arable farmers. Importantly, 92% of respondents considered themselves to be practising sustainable soil management. However, our analysis shows that farmers combine practices in different ways. Not all these combinations correspond to the full set of regenerative agriculture principles of reduced soil disturbance, soil cover and crop diversity. To better understand the relationship between existing sustainable soil management practices in the United Kingdom and regenerative agriculture principles, we derive a “regenerative agriculture score” by allocating individual practices among the principles of regenerative agriculture. Farmers who self‐report that they are managing soil sustainably tend to score more highly across all five principles. We further find that sustainable soil management messaging is fragmented and that few AKIS networks have sustainable soil management as their primary concern. Overall, our study finds that there are multiple understandings of sustainable soil management among UK farmers and land managers and that they do not correspond to regenerative agriculture principles in a straightforward way. This diversity and variety in sustainable soil management needs to be taken into account in future policy and research.

The EJP SOIL program lasted for five years and yielded significant contributions addressing the challenges of sustainable and climate-smart soil management in Europe. Through a combination of surveys, reviews, and experimental research, it provides critical insights into the six Expected Impacts (EIs) of the program, including fostering sustainable soil management, understanding carbon sequestration, and promoting stakeholder adoption of best practices. The findings highlight the importance of harmonized soil data systems, cooperative research, and region-specific approaches to address fertilization and soil health challenges effectively. These contributions align with European Union goals, such as the Green Deal and the Soil Monitoring Law, offering actionable pathways to enhance the resilience and sustainability of Europe’s agricultural soils.A key resource with further material for driving these efforts is displayed in the EJP SOIL Knowledge Sharing Platform which serves as a hub for collaboration among scientists, policymakers, and practitioners. In this presentation we will highlight outcomes concerning (1) the impact of land management on soil structure, (2) the chemical and biological responses of SOM to above-ground practices, (3) changes in SOC content under different agricultural practices, (4) the effect of crop diversification on soil quality, and (5) studies analysing the response of soil microbial communities to agricultural management. As the synthesis and publication of EJP SOIL outputs continues, the lessons and innovations presented will provide a foundation for future research, policy-making, and practice. All together this will help ensure that Europe’s soils are managed sustainably to meet the challenges of a changing climate and growing food demands.

Reducing poverty and attaining zero hunger and adequate nourishment are critical concerns con-fronting agronomic planners globally. Enhancing various agronomic methods, which significantly impact crop growth and output, is urgently required to achieve this objective. Soil deterioration has transpired globally due to soil pollution, eroding, salinity, and acidity. The intense farming practices devoid of sustainable practices have resulted in deteriorating soil quality, destruction of land, and significant environmental issues. Future initiatives to feed the expanding population should focus on enhancing agricultural output within sustainable ecosystems. Creative measures are essential in this context since conventional policies are insufficient to address these difficulties. The work pro-posed Sustainable Soil and Crop Management Practices (SS-CMP) to boost Crop Productivity (CP) and Soil Properties (SP). This includes Nutritional Management (NM), Location-Specific Nutrient Management (LSNM), Comprehensive Nutrition Management (CNM), Comprehensive Fertility Management (CFM) for soil, Comprehensive Soil-Crop Governance (CSCG), Sustainable Water Use (SWU), Agricultural Conservation (AC), Sustainable Soil Management (SSM), vertical cultivation, combined CMP, breeding methods, and additional methodologies amalgamated with scientific and behavioral modifications. Minimizing the use of substances, including herbicides and pesticides, and enhancing the effectiveness of agricultural supply use might reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GGE) and safeguard biodiversity. SS-CMP offers potential benefits for humanity and the World, and its success relies on the collaboration of both rich and developing countries to pursue a shared vision of producing more food with less ecological impact.

Sustainable soil use and management: An interdisciplinary and systematic approach

Current soil‐ and land degradation seriously challenge our societies; it contributes to climate change, loss of biodiversity and loss of agricultural productions. Yet, soils are also seen as a major part of the solution, if maintained or restored to provide ecosystem services. Climate‐smart sustainable management of soils can provide options for soil health maintenance and restoration. In the European Union, the resource management and sustainability challenge are addressed in the Green Deal that, among other goals, aspires towards a healthy climate‐resilient agricultural sector that will produce sufficient products without damaging ecosystems and contribute to better biodiversity and mitigate climate change. The European Joint Programme (EJP) SOIL was set up to contribute to these goals by developing knowledge, tools and an integrated research community to foster climate‐smart sustainable agricultural soil management that provides a diversity of ecosystem service, such as adapting to and mitigating climate change, allowing sustainable food production, and sustaining soil biodiversity. This paper provides an overview of the potential of climate‐smart sustainable soil management research to the targets of the Green Deal that are related to soils most directly. The EJP SOIL EU‐wide consultation (interviews and questionnaires) and literature analysis (national and international reports and papers) done in the first year (2020–2021) generated a wealth of data. This data showed that there are specific manners to do research that are essential for it to be effective and efficient and that can actively contribute to the Green Deal targets. We concluded that research needs to be: (i) interdisciplinary, (ii) long‐term, (iii) multi‐scaled, from plot to landscape, (iv) evaluating trade‐offs of selected management options for ecosystem services and (v) co‐constructed with key stakeholders. Research on climate‐smart sustainable soil management should be developed (1) on plot scale when mobilizing soil processes and on landscape scale when addressing sediment and water connectivity and biodiversity management; and (2) address the enabling conditions through good governance, social acceptance and viable economic conditions.

Implementing sustainable soil management practices to enhance soil health is a priority in research and policymaking across Europe. There is a need to identify the main soil challenges faced by different European stakeholders and the critical threats limiting the adoption of sustainable management of agricultural soils. The present study analyses stakeholders' perspectives on key soil challenges, knowledge gaps, and priorities for agricultural soil research across partner countries that participated in the European Joint Programme on Soil (EJP SOIL) 2020–2025. Two complementary stakeholder activities—a survey and a workshop—were conducted across 24 partner countries (divided into four regions: Central, Northern, Southern, and Western Europe) of the EJP SOIL consortium in 2024. Among 10 pre‐identified soil challenges, the findings highlight that maintaining or increasing soil organic carbon, avoiding soil sealing, and avoiding soil erosion are the top three priorities across Europe. However, the perceived prioritisation of soil challenges differed both between and within regions, reflecting each country's specific soil health context. Divergences in perceptions between practitioners and other stakeholder groups underscore the need to develop actions aimed at better understanding the rationale behind such discrepancies and how to overcome them. In addition, other key challenges for achieving sustainable soil management across Europe include limited funding, policy incoherencies, poor knowledge dissemination and co‐creation, and insufficient soil monitoring. Environmental factors influencing soil health, including climate change, together with governance and economic models, were perceived to be critical limitations to the adoption of sustainable management of agricultural soils. This study also emphasises the need for a diversity of engagement methods, policies, and system approaches to support a transition towards sustainable soil management. These findings underscore the need for future research agendas that focus on integrated knowledge and participatory approaches, and strategies involving societal awareness and policy alignment—key elements that have also informed broader strategies involving societal awareness and engagement towards sustainable soil management in Europe.