Soil and investment in research vital for future

The SIEUSOIL research project, which aims to develop sustainable and holistic soil management practices based on a harmonised land information system, is meeting its objectives, the consortium behind the project stated.

In close cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), SIEUSOIL has laid down the basis for the Global Soil Information System (GloSIS).

The system is reportedly suitable for diverse climate and operation conditions in various locations across the EU and China.

The research platform consists of advanced crop and soil sensing tools, modelling and data fusion, digital soil mapping and farm management information systems, which will be developed to maximise land productivity and socio-economic benefits, while minimising environmental impacts.

SIEUSOIL closely collaborates with the Joint Research Centre (JRC) to evaluate the accuracy of soil-related datasets, while a paper on Land Use Policy relating to these findings is set to be published.

“The scope was to develop a methodology for Land Suitability Analysis (LSA) based on several indicators describing the current and future conditions of an area, along with other factors expressing soil health, crop growth and the socioeconomic status,” SIEUSOIL stated. “Results have up to now showed that the method is capable of producing LSA maps. The procedure of LSA managed to produce pilot area maps that are user-friendly, as they provide spatial information of suitability performance per crop, both as a percentage value, and as suitability class according to the FAO.”

SIEUSOIL is coordinated by Professor Dimitrios Moshou of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and consists of a consortium of 23 partners, 16 based in Europe and seven in China.