Project description

To address these challenges, BENCHMARKS is working with 28 European case studies and stakeholders to jointly develop and evaluate a transparent, harmonised and cost-effective monitoring framework at EU, national and local levels for agricultural, forestry and urban land use.

The potential of earth observation and digital technologies (including artificial intelligence) for soil monitoring will also be considered.

As part of the project, our long-term field trial in Fuchsenbigl will also be sampled for three consecutive years (sampling in 2024 & 2025 has already been completed, 2026 will follow). In this long-term field trial, the effects of different tillage methods on arable soils and crops are being investigated. The trial was set up in 1988 with a randomised block design with three replicates (plot size 720^m2) in which three different tillage methods are applied and compared: Conventional tillage, reduced tillage and minimum tillage.

As part of BENCHMARKS, the following data is collected in the Fuchsenbigl tillage trial:

• Chemical soil data, such as pH, organic carbon (Corg), total nitrogen (Nt), plant-available nutrients (P, K), micronutrients (Cu, Mn, Zn), cation exchange capacity, etc.
• Physical soil data, such as texture, storage density, hydraulic soil properties, etc.
• Biological soil data, such as determination of micro- and mesofauna, composition of the soil microbiome, nitrogen mineralisation, etc.

The soil laboratory of the Department of Soil Health and Plant Nutrition is responsible for the soil chemical analysis for all project case studies and has already analysed 2360 samples and collected 12,900 parameters in 2024 and 2025.

Based on the best science and technology, the aim is to provide a clear soil health index using indicators that are relevant to the assessment objective, applicable to land use and logistically feasible.

In interactive workshops, the challenges and goals in agriculture and forestry were discussed with various stakeholders and knowledge was exchanged. The aim is to include as many perspectives as possible in the development of an effective strategy to promote sustainable agriculture and forestry and improve soil health.

Benefits of the project

The main outcomes of the project are:

• A harmonised and cost-effective framework for soil health measurement and harmonised sampling protocols
• An integrated soil health tool that demonstrates the links between indicators, soil functions and ecosystem services
• Scientific underpinning of incentive schemes to promote soil health for companies in the value chain

This contribution is particularly important with regard to the further development of LUCAS Soil and the Soil Health Dashboard as part of the European Soil Observatory.

The SoilBlitz citizen science project is also running as part of this project. Here, children and young people independently analyse the soil in their surroundings using a toolkit. The aim is to awaken enthusiasm for soil and convey the importance of soil health. SoilBlitz is part of the Citizen Science Awards 2025 and resulted in over 400 SoilBlitz contributions throughout Austria, which can be viewed here.