Contact/s:
Lin Bautze
lin.bautze@fibl.org
Markus Steffens
The Role of Soils for Climate Mitigation and Adaptation
Europe
All Zones
- Improved soil fertility and long-term productivity
- Enhanced climate resilience and carbon sequestration
- Reduced GHG emissions through sustainable soil management
Thematic Areas
Production System/s
Summary for Practicioners on the Main Finding(s)/Innovative solution(s)
Why Soils Matter
Arable soils are the foundation of farming across the EU, crucial for fertility, productivity, profitability, and long-term sustainability. Soils are now central to climate debates due to their role in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and supporting resilient agriculture. Scientists are developing methods to quantify soil organic carbon (SOC) for climate mitigation, while policymakers explore carbon credit schemes. Farmers are increasingly interested in carbon farming as a potential income source.
Effects of Climate Change on Soils
Climate change poses challenges to soil health, including:
Increased erosion and nutrient leaching from heavy rainfall and extreme weather
Frequent waterlogging or droughts, impacting plant productivity
Greater pest pressure and altered microbial activity due to temperature changes
Faster decomposition of soil organic matter under warmer conditions
Negative impacts on soil structure and stability
Investing in soil health is essential to preserve ecosystems and maintain productivity.
How to Build Healthy and Fertile Soils
Building healthy soil takes time. Long-term studies, like Switzerland’s DOK trial, show that biodynamic and organic practices can sequester more SOC than conventional systems. Farmers can apply two strategies to stabilize or increase carbon in soils: (a) increase carbon inputs (e.g., cover crops, compost) and/or (b) reduce carbon losses (e.g., reduced tillage, rewetting peatlands).
Soil and Climate Goals
While SOC is often seen as a solution to the climate crisis, challenges remain—measuring, verifying, ensuring additionality, permanence, and addressing leakage and sequestration potential. SOC is not a simple fix, but carbon farming can increase farmer engagement and foster sustainable practices.
Balancing climate goals with other sustainability aspects supports the long-term health and fertility of soils.
Additional Information
Why Soils Matter
The foundation of most farms across the EU is their arable soils, along with their fertility and health. These factors regulate not only soil functions but also productivity, financial returns, and the long-term sustainability of production. In fact, 95% of the world’s food is either directly or indirectly produced on soils (1).
In recent years, arable soils have become an increasingly important focus in the climate debate. Their role in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and supporting resilient agriculture across the EU is a topic of significant discussion. Scientists are working to develop methods that can accurately quantify soil organic carbon (SOC) to assess its potential as a climate mitigation solution. Policymakers are striving to integrate these findings into carbon credit schemes, while farmers are becoming increasingly interested in carbon farming as a potential source of income.
Effects of Climate Change on Soil Health, Fertility, and Carbon
The unavoidable effects of climate change will present new and additional challenges for farmers related to their soils:
• Erosion and nutrient leaching are likely to increase due to more intense and frequent rainfall, winds, and extreme weather events.
• Waterlogging or changing soil moisture caused by flooding or droughts will become more frequent, posing challenges to plant productivity.
• Increased pest and disease pressures due to changing temperature patterns.
• Higher rates of soil organic matter decomposition driven by warmer temperatures.
• Negative impacts on soil structure and stability (2).
Therefore, investing now in healthy and fertile soils is essential for farmers to preserve the ecosystem functions of arable soils and maintain crop productivity in the long term.
What Can Be Done to Build Healthy and Fertile Soils
Building healthy, fertile, and resilient soils takes time (3). Long-term experiments, such as the DOK trial in Switzerland, show that it takes many years to see the effects of certain management practices on SOC. These studies have demonstrated that biodynamic and organic farming practices may have greater potential to sequester SOC compared to conventional systems. Organic fertilizers, such as compost, farmyard manure, and cover crop systems, have been proven beneficial in stabilizing or increasing SOC(4). In general, farmers can focus on two approaches:
• Increasing carbon inputs (e.g., through cover crops, compost,organic manure, etc.)
• Reducing carbon losses (e.g., through reduced tillage, rewetting of peatlands, and similar practices) (5).
By adopting these methods, farmers can contribute to building and maintaining healthy, fertile soils over the long term.
Soils and Climate Goals
Currently, there are high expectations that SOC will provide a solution to the climate problem. However, scientific evidence indicates that relying on SOC as a definitive solution for achieving a climate-neutral Europe presents significant challenges. These include issues related to the measurement, verification, and reporting of SOC. Concerns arise from differences in soil carbon sequestration potential, additionality, permanence, and leakage effects (6).
As a result, expectations for soils as an easy fix for climate challenges need to be tempered. Nonetheless, carbon farming can serve as a starting point for advisory efforts and for farmers to engage with the topic of climate change. It can encourage constructive dialogue about potential adaptations to management practices that align with climate mitigation, adaptation, and broader sustainability goals.
It is crucial to emphasize: holistic solutions are needed ones that balance climate goals with other sustainability objectives, ensuring long-term soil fertility and the health of arable soils