Local adaptation strategies to increase or maintain soil organic carbon content under arable farming in Europe: Inspirational ideas for setting operational groups within the European innovation partnership

In the European Union, the setting of Operational Groups (OG) is supported by the European Innovation Partnership to tackle specific problems and favor innovation in agriculture. They constitute an important aspect of the current Common Agricultural Policy. Increasing or maintaining soil organic carbon (SOC) content under arable farming has been acknowledged as a primary target of European agriculture. SOC-preserving agriculture needs its techniques to be tailored to local conditions, namely, the combination of factors related to the environment (climate and soil characteristics), to the farming system (land use type, farm specialization, crop management), but also to the social and cultural context (market and availability of production means, subsidies, farmers’ education, propensity for innovation and change). In this paper we present inspirational ideas and show success examples of local adaptations strategies to increase or maintain SOC content in soils under arable farming in Europe. They include: · Adoption of soil management strategies to improve SOC storage in irrigated systems. · Precision farming and other high-tech solutions able to generate local diagnosis and adaptive strategies for increasing SOC and reducing greenhouse gasses emissions. · Innovative strategies for extending soil cover periods and introducing cover crops in rotations in areas with limited water availability or prone to harsh weather conditions. · Management of rainfed and low input crops to maintain and increase SOC in dry climates and erosive prone soils. These case studies could facilitate the setting up of OGs and the application of innovative practices in different European countries.