The european EARTHONE project: agroforestry strategies for soil health and climate change mitigation

Climate change and soil degradation are very serious global problems. According to FAO, 25% of the world's soil is severely degraded and 50% is moderately damaged due to soil fertility degradation. In particular, soil organic carbon has been reduced due to deep tillage, intensive cropping and insufficient C inputs. In this context, agroforestry practices play a crucial role in climate change mitigation and sustainable development. Agroforestry integrates perennial woody plants with arable crops in the same land, promoting a more efficient use of resources than monoculture through structural and functional diversification of components. Moreover, the integration of trees with agricultural crops provides several soil-related ecological services, such as increasing fertility and improving the physical, biological and chemical properties of the soil. It also improves the biodiversity of the system and helps sequester C. The Earthone project financed by EU aims to assess C sequestration, greenhouse gas (GHGs) fluxes and soil health and quality, and productivity parameters in order to mitigate the negative effects of climate change, improving the C footprint for achieving climate neutrality. The project comprises 6 pilot sites (including agroforestry in Spain, Italy, Greece, wetlands in Croatia, and agriculture and grazing in Macedonia).The Italian research plots are located at the farm ‘Sasse Rami’ (Rovigo) managed by the Venetian Agency for Innovation in Agriculture. The plots will focus on agroforestry trials already started in 2009, involving wheat-soybean-maize-barley crop rotations and the cultivation of poplar clones with Greater Environmental Sustainability. These clones, resistant to disease, significantly reduce the application of phytosanitary treatments and act as a natural barrier when intercropped with annual agricultural crops. The UNIPD study will focus on the effects of agroforestry systems on: soil organic matter stabilization, soil microbial biomass, soil enzymatic activities related to C, nitrogen and phosphorous mineralization, and on GHGs monitoring to determine the mitigation potential of agroforestry, encompasses with crop productivity. The database resulting from the Earthone project will contribute to improved business modelling by creating added value for products related to carbon sequestration, climate mitigation, sustainable resource use, biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services.