Browsing by Author "O'Sullivan, Lilian"

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    Do we speak one language on the way to sustainable soil management in Europe? A terminology check via an EU-wide survey.
    (John Wiley & Sons, 2024) Weninger, Thomas; Ramler, David; Bondi, Giulia; Asins, Sabina; O'Sullivan, Lilian; Assennato, Francesca; Astover, Alar; Bispo, Antonio ; Borůvka, Luboˇs ; Buttafuoco, Gabriele ; Calzolari, Costanza ; Castanheira, Nadia ; Cousin, Isabelle ; Elsen, Erik van den; Foldal, Cecilie ; Hessel, Rudi ; Kadžiulienė, Zydrė ; Kukk, Liia ; Molina, Maria J. ; Montagne, David ; Oorts, Katrien ; Pindral, Sylwia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1065-8004; Ungaro, Fabrizio ; Klimkowicz-Pawlas, Agnieszka https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4529-5274
    European soils are under increasing pressure, making it difficult to maintain the provision of soil ecosystem services (SESs). A better understanding of soil processes is needed to counteract soil threats (STs) and to promote sustainable soil management. The EJP SOIL programme of the EU provides a framework for the necessary research. However, different definitions of soil-related terms potentially lead to varied understandings of concepts. Furthermore, there are numerous indicators available to quantify STs or SESs. As unclear communication is a key barrier that hinders the implementation of research results into practice, this study aimed to answer the question about whether the terminology of large-scale initiatives is adequately understood within the soil-science community and nonresearch stakeholders. An online questionnaire was used to provide definitions for 33 soil-related terms in both scientific and plain language, as well as indicators for seven SESs and 11 STs. Participants were asked to rate their agreement with the definitions and indicators on a seven-grade Likert scale. The level of agreement was calculated as the percentage of ratings above 4, the neutral position. The survey was available from June to September 2023 and was distributed by a snowball approach. More than 260 stakeholders assessed the survey; 70% of respondents were researchers, and 15% were practitioners. Mean agreement levels for the definitions and indicators were generally high, at 85% and 78% respectively. However, it was apparent that the lowest agreement was found for terms that are relatively new, such as Ecosystem Services and Bundle, or unfamiliar for certain subgroups, such as ecological terms for stakeholders working at the farm scale. Due to their distinct majority, the results of this study primarily reflect the opinions of scientists. Thus, broad conclusions can only be drawn by comparing scientists with non-scientists. In this regard, the agreement was surprisingly high across all types of questions. The combined outcomes indicate that there is still a need to facilitate communication between stakeholders and to improve knowledge distribution strategies. Nevertheless, this study can support and be used by future projects and programmes, especially regarding the harmonization of terminology and methods.
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    Towards enhanced adoption of soil-improving management practices in Europe
    (John Wiley & Sons, 2024) Heller, Olivier; Di Bene, Claudia; Nino, Pasquale; Huyghebaert, Bruno; Arlauskienė, Aušra; Castanheira, Nádia L.; Higgins, Suzanne; Horel, Agota; Kir, Alev; Kizeková, Miriam ; Lacoste, Marine ; Munkholm, Lars J.; O'Sullivan, Lilian; Radzikowski, Paweł; Rodríguez-Cruz, M. Sonia; Sandén, Taru; Šarūnaitė, Lina; Seidel, Felix; Spiegel, Heide ; Stalenga, Jarosław ; Uusi-Kämppä, Jaana; Vervuurt, Wieke; Keller, Thomas ; Vanwindekens, Frédéric
    Sustainable agricultural soil management practices are key to restore, maintainand improve soil health. The European Joint Programme for SOIL (EJP SOIL)has identified twelve main soil challenges in Europe. To assess the potentialand eventually increase the adoption of soil-improving management practices,it is necessary to know (i) the current levels of adoption of the practices,(ii) socio-technical barriers influencing their adoption, and (iii) their bio-physical limits. This study compiled an inventory of soil-improving manage-ment practices relevant to European conditions, and used a survey among soilscientists to assess the levels of adoption of these practices in Europe. In total,53 soil management practices were identified that address one or several of thesoil challenges. The adoption of most practices was low or spatially heteroge-neous across Europe, highlighting region-specific limitations to sustainable soilmanagement. Qualitative interviews were conducted to explore the importanceof socio-technical aspects of adoption. Using conservation agriculture as anexample, factors that can hinder adoption included the availability of knowl-edge and adequate machinery, financial risks, and farming traditions. Througha modelling approach, 54% of arable land in Europe was found to be suitablefor cover cropping, indicating that the adoption of soil management practicesis frequently limited by climatic constraints. We propose a region-specificapproach that recognizes the importance of identifying and overcoming socio-technical barriers, and by acknowledging bio-physical limits that may beexpanded by innovation.