Further reading

Further reading

Overview of sources as reference for the SOILCRATES catalogue of soil improvement practices

The listed practices

Soil cultivation system related

(significantly) Reduced soil disturbance

A buffer strip is an area of land maintained in permanent vegetation that helps to control air quality, soil quality, and water quality, etc.

  • Food forest : can be in combination with land retirement
  • Silvopastoral
  • Sylvicultural
  • Agrisilvopastoral
  • Riparian buffer zones

Choice of crops/ cropping system /crop diversification related

Organic amendments

Inorganic amendments

Rock powders and other natural mineral products with multiple trace elements.

Soil stimulants

Compost teas, Effective Micro-organisms, Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS), Biodynamic preparations, and other microbial inoculants or biostimulants applied to soil, manure, seeds, root balls, or foliage.

Non-microbial biostimulants

Counteract physical conditions

Soil repair

Preventative measures

Water management

Reel irrigation, drip irrigation, subirrigation, and controlled drainage optimize water management

Deposits and dams, walls to direct water, terracing

Soilcompaction (additional)

EU level and international sources

 

Identification number Source
1 Practice sheets which probably will not be ready in time to draw on
2 Best4Soil project outputs: Factsheets & Videos
3 Techniques for the recovery of compacted soils in Europe
4 Building soils for better crops
5 Ontario best practices soil health
6 Farming with soil life
7 Soil management on organic farms
8 Innovative soil management practices across Europe
9 Sustainable agricultural practices and methods – European Commission
10 U.S. department of Agriculture: 4 main principles to improve soil health
11 Diver impacts 

 

Sources from the Netherlands

 

Identification number Source
1 Sustainable soil management
2 Practices for soil carbon sequestration
3 Practices for sustainable soil management
4 Practice factsheets PPS Better Soil Management
5 Maatregelen – Deltaplan Agrarisch Waterbeheer Agricultural water management and practices   
6 Good soil management
7 Key performance indicators for sustainable agriculture
8 Waterschaplimburg
9 Best4soil Factsheets
10 Delta Agrarich Waterbeheer
11 Factsheets Louis Bolk Instituut
12 Mechanische onkruidbestrijding perspectiefvol
13 Duurzaam bodembeheer Louis Bolk Instituute
14 Aaltjesschema Maatregelen/Biologischegrondontsmetting/Inundatie
15 Louis Bolk Agroforesty op het landbouwbedrijf
16 Groen Kennisnet 
17 Handboek Bodemen & Bemesting

 

Sources from France

 

Identification number Source
1 Multiscale assessment of soil ecosystem services in agroecosystems
2 Good practices in Agroforestry
3 Agronomic practices favorable to functional biodiversity implemented by farmers in DEPHY and GIEEs collectives in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
4 Agroforestery in an organic farming system
5 Impact of cover crops
6 Plateforme de la R&D Agricole
7 Le biochar : enjeu climatique, potentiel agronomique et leviers pour une utilisation systémique en Europe
8 Ecovi FR
9 Ecophytopic – Cultiver sans labour en agriculture biologique

 

Source from Ireland

 

Identification number Source
1 Farming for Nature Practical ways to take climate action and enhance biodiversity on your tillage farm
2 Farming for a better future – Resilient and Suistainable Farming Systems
3 Practical Insights and Inspirations for Farm Diversification
4 Principles of design of intercropping
5 A Guide to Farm Diversification in Ireland
6 Biochar – a growing ector in Ireland 
7 Hemp4Soil – Community Soil Biodiversity Project
8 Technical report on seaweed hatchery and sea grow-out
9 SEAI – renewable energy bioenergy, biogasboilers
10 Codes of good practice for the use of biosolids in agriculture
11 TEAGASC
12 Soil pH & Lime
13 Watercourse management
14 Windbreaks training manual
15 Shelterbelts and windbreaks: principles for installation
16 Teagsc rural economy farm management
 17 Guidance on the Safe Use of  Tractors and Machinery on Farms

 

Sources from Italy

 

Identification number Source
1 Voluntary guidelines for sustainable soil management:
2 Strategic Plan CAP Italy, 2023
3 Ministerial Decree 46/2019 – Annex 4 – 2.1 and 2.3; Regulation relating to reclamation, environmental restoration and emergency, operational and permanent safety interventions of areas intended for agricultural production and livestock farming, pursuant to Article 241 of Legislative Decree 3 April 2006, no. 152. (19G00052
4 Guidelines for the preparation of plans monitoring or management of the impact on soil quality and carbon in soil. ISPRA. 2022;
5 Legislative Decree 75/2010; Amendment and revision of the fertiliser framework, pursuant to article 13 of the law of 7 July 2009, no. 88. (10G0096);
6 LIFE HELPSOIL. Soils and adaptation to climate change through sustainable farming techniques
7 Joint Research Centre; Project SoCo information sheets, 2009
8 Consorzio Italiano Biogas; The agricultural digestate for organic fertilization, 2024
9 Legislative Decree 99/1992 on the implementation of Directive No. 86/278/EEC concerning the protection of the environment, in particular soil, in the use of sewage sludge in agriculture
10 FAO 2017 :  Linee Guida Volontarie per la Gestione Sostenibile del Suolo
11 Irrigazione a goccia su colture ortive di pieno campo.
 12 Manuale di Subirrigazione
13 Drenaggio controllato e fitodepurazione per la riduzionz delle perdite di nutrienti in agricoltura
14 Linee guida volontarie per l’uso sostenibile del Suolo per i professionisti dell’area tecnica
15 Linee Guida Volontarie per la Gestione Sostenibile del Suolo

 

Sources from Spain

 

Identification number Source
1 Bautista Cruz, A., Etchevers Barra, J., Castillo, R.F. del, Gutiérrez, C., 2004. La calidad del 
suelo y sus indicadores. Ecosistemas 13, 90–97.
2 Cerdà, A., 2003. El clima y el hombre como factores de la estabilidad estrutural del suelo. Un estudio a lo largo de los gradientes climático-altitudinales. Cuaternario y Geomorfología 12,
3–14
3 Cobertera, L.E., 1993. Edafología aplicada: suelos, producción agraria, planificación territorial e impactos ambientales. Cátedra, Madrid.
4 FAO, 2000. Manual de prácticas integradas de manejo y conservación de suelos. Roma,
Italia.
5 Assessment of agri-spillways as a soil erosion protection measure in Mediterranean sloping
vineyards
6 Porta, J., López-Acevedo, M., Poch, R., 2014. Edafología: uso y protección de suelos,
Tercera. ed. Mundiprensa, Madrid.
7 Quiroga, A., Bono, A., 2008. Manual de fertilidad y evaluación de suelos. INTA
8 USDA, 1999. Guía para la evaluación de la calidad y salud del suelo. USDA, Departamento de Agricultura, Servicio de Investigación Agrícola, Servicio de Conservación de Recursos Naturales, Instituto de Calidad de Suelos, Lincoln, Nebraska, Estados Unidos. Traducción al español (2000) de Soil Quality Test Kit Guide realizada por Alberto Luters y Juan Carlos Salazar Lea Plaza (Área de Cartografía de Suelos y Evaluación de Tierras, Instituto de Suelos CRN-CNIA-INTA, Argentina).
9 Water Use Efficiency of Surface Drip Irrigation versus an Alternative Subsurface Drip Irrigation Method
10 Global synthesis of the classifications, distributions, benefits and issues of terracing
11 Terraced landscapes: From an old best practice to a potential hazard for soil degradation due to land abandonment
12 Agricultural Terraces Special Issue Preface
13 Conceptualization of Water Flow Pathways in Agricultural Terraced Landscapes
14 Marginal Lands and Erosion in Terraced Fields in the Mediterranean Mountains: A Case Study in the Camero Viejo (Northwestern Iberian System, Spain)
15 Effects of farming terraces on hydrological and geomorphological processes. A review