Approach

The project SoilMan aims for a deeper understanding of the interrelationship between farm based soil management practices and soil biodiversity in view of improving soil health and soil fertility. It will provide knowledge on how soil biodiversity in turn feeds back into soil functions and ecosystem services as factors for agricultural productivity and sustainability. It is recognized that soil biodiversity and biota interactions are pivotal for driving soil functions in agricultural systems supporting and regulating ecosystem services directed to agricultural production.

SoilMan will quantify soil ecosystem functions and multiple ecosystem services based on biodiversity parameters in different European regions looking at four basic management practices graded regarding their intensity and complexity.