Assessing soil quality and sustainability based on uses

Identify sound practices based on a detailed assessment of soil quality

Soil Expertise, Action 2 of the Dijon Alimentation Durable 2030 TI initiative addresses how improvement in production begins in the ground. It aims to identify sound practices based on a detailed assessment of soil quality in relation to pedological diversity and uses of agricultural, urban and rural non-agricultural soils. Using an extensive sample collected from 600 representative sites over 3,000 square kilometres, a regional reference system will be built by applying physico-chemical indicators traditionally used in agronomy as well as biological indicators to address biodiversity.

Lionel Ranjard and Pierre-Alain Maron of the Agroecology Joint Research Unit provide scientific and technical coordination for the project and its some thirty partners, including scientists, academics, research centres, agricultural development initiatives, cooperatives, agri-supply companies, chambers of agriculture and private partners in the field of digital development and laboratories.

The research will generate both fundamental and highly operational knowledge with a societal aim so that the project can be replicated in other regions. According to Lionel Ranjard, this is possible “because agricultural activity in the region —field crops, vines, market gardening, livestock farming and arboriculture— is diverse.”

Such a comprehensive project is rare and quite unique at this spatial scale

With regard to the biological quality of the soil, the research covers all living organisms that can be characterised today and that are already associated with interpretation guidelines: soil bacteria and fungi for microbial aspects, nematodes and earthworms for larger organisms and soil fauna, beetles, ants, etc. “In short, every life form found in and on soil. Such a comprehensive project is rare and quite unique at this spatial scale,” comments Pierre-Alain Maron, who coordinates the sampling strategy for the sites and the consortium of partners.

After an extensive two-year preparation phase, sampling will soon be finished. Analysis of rural soils is underway. Another component of the Soil Expertise initiative is the sampling of green spaces in and around the city of Dijon, a rural-urban continuum that is beneficial to research aimed at regional agroecological development. The acquisition of microbiological data and information on soil organisms in city soils is underway, and we will soon quantify the effects of urbanisation intensity on population diversity and size. The findings will provide a dashboard with an unparalleled range of indicators that deliver a highly accurate picture of soil quality in relation to uses and practices.

In the short term, Soil Expertise provides resources and tools to build innovative crop management sequences that are both economically and environmentally sustainable. The longer-term objective of the project is to factor soil quality into far more applied-level processes such as land use (see Action 3, Soil Changes). It also aims to deliver the most relevant tools, datasets and references for diagnosing soil quality, as well as measurement resources for regulatory purposes. This would prevent urban expansion on good quality soils at the expense of biodiversity and crop yields. The concepts of soil quality and sustainability could soon be integrated into urban planning tools.