Mission: Soil health and food (Horizon Europe)

There is no life without soils. If soils are healthy and sustainably managed, they provide food, clean water, habitats for biodiversity and other important services while contributing to climate resilience8. We take these services for granted, but in fact soils are a scarce, non-renewable and threatened resource, all over Europe and globally. 60-70% of EU soils are unhealthy, mainly because of unsustainable management practices. The effects of climate change are putting further pressure on this key resource. The mission intends to support Europe’s path to sustainable soil management as part of the wider green transition in urban and rural areas. The mission’s goal is to establish 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition towards healthy soils by 2030 for food, people, nature and climate.

To reach its goal and objectives, the identified mission foresees actions across sectors and territories (rural, peri-urban and urban areas including across borders). It will therefore have wide-reaching impact on practices in agriculture, forestry, food and other industries (e.g. biobased and waste) as well as on land use planning. The mission will also tap into the expertise from international partners and contribute to soil health globally.

HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-01: Building the mission's knowledge repository and advancing the European Soil Observatory

Expected Outcome: In addition to supporting the roll-out of the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ and the development of the European Soil Observatory (EUSO), project outcomes will support the implementation of the European Digital Strategy and the European Strategy for Data and act as a digital enabler for the European Green Deal.

Project results should contribute to all of the following outcomes:

• Enhanced capacities for mission implementation and use of mission results through efficient knowledge management.
• Enhanced access to soil relevant knowledge and data including the outcomes from R&I activities for a wide range of stakeholders.
• Land managers and other actors are able to take more informed soil management decisions and have improved access to knowledge on soils, drivers of soil health and land degradation as well as solutions to improve the status of soils.
• The EU Soil Observatory (EUSO) is populated with comprehensive, interoperable datasets and information on soil health.
• Increased potential for new business opportunities from products, technologies and services derived from improved access to valuable soil datasets and from their reuse.

Budget: 6 MEUR

Vollen Topic Text im Funding & Tenders Portal der Europäischen Kommission finden Sie hier.

 

HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-02: Improving food systems sustainability and soil health with food processing residues

Expected Outcome: Project results should contribute to all of the following outcomes:

• Improved management and recycling of food-processing residues (solid and liquid) for increased soil health.
• Reduced discharge of nutrients (i.e., nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) into sewage/natural watercourses and landfills relieving eutrophication in water bodies.
• Empowered interdisciplinary design processes to create soil improvers and to valorise food by-products in food systems (e.g., land managers, industry, SMEs, local authorities, educational institutions and civil society).
• Higher number of co-developed solutions and investments (public and private) in circular bioeconomy projects

Budget: 14 MEUR

Vollen Topic Text im Funding & Tenders Portal der Europäischen Kommission finden Sie hier.

 

HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-03: Soil biodiversity and its contribution to ecosystem services

Expected Outcome: This topic contributes to the objectives and targets of the EU Soil Strategy which foresees that by 2050, all soils in the EU should be healthy, i.e. are in good chemical, physical and biological conditions, and thus able to continuously provide as many ecosystem services as possible. It also contributes to the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’563, in particular to its specific objective 6 “Improve soil structure to enhance habitat quality for soil biota and crops”.

Project results should contribute to all of the following outcomes:

• Significantly improved understanding of ecosystem services related to soil biodiversity as well as of the role of soil biodiversity in the provision of relevant soil functions and ecosystem services.
• Enhanced protection, sustainable management and restoration of soil ecosystems through more targeted (policy) incentives and wide-spread knowledge on sustainable soil management practices and solutions, including a better integration of soil within land use planning and frameworks to evaluate ecosystem services.
• Significantly improved availability of soil biodiversity indicators which support the implementation, assessment and monitoring of policy at large scale (i.e. EU).

Budget: 16 MEUR

Vollen Topic Text im Funding & Tenders Portal der Europäischen Kommission finden Sie hier.

 

HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-04: Remediation strategies, methods and financial models for decontamination and reuse of land in urban and rural areas

Expected Outcome: This topic will help to progress towards Green Deal objectives, notably the Zero Pollution Strategy. It contributes to the Mission 'A Soil Deal for Europe', in particular to its specific objective 4 “Reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration”.

Project results should contribute to all of the following outcomes:

• Private and public land managers can better prioritise and plan activities and investments for soil restoration and decontamination based on increased knowledge on the state of land and soil pollution.
• Knowledge on technical solutions for soil decontamination and restoration is more widespread and better integrated in a wider sustainable land use and spatial planning approach.
• Effective measures for soil restoration are in place and contribute to noticeable improvements in soil health on the medium term as well as to the circular use of land and to the achievement of no net land take in the EU by 2050.
• Better insights into origin, fate and hotspots of pollution are made available to support assessments of hazard, exposure and risks from soil pollution.
• MS regions affected by the need for a green transition are supported in their efforts to remediate and reuse contaminated soils such as from former mining sites and benefit from new opportunities for soil use.

Budget: 21 MEUR

Vollen Topic Text im Funding & Tenders Portal der Europäischen Kommission finden Sie hier.

 

HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-05: Monitoring, reporting and verification of soil carbon and greenhouse gases balance

Expected Outcome: This topic supports the implementation of key actions of the European Commission Communication on sustainable carbon cycles and carbon farming and the upcoming regulatory framework on carbon removals certification.

Project results should contribute to all of the following outcomes:

• The relationships between carbon flux dynamics of typical carbon farming practices and its driving factors (ecophysiology of ecosystems) as well as the impact of climate change on soil organic carbon (and as a consequence on soil fertility and food production) are better understood.
• The development of standards to track payment systems for carbon farming and, of methods to consider the maintenance of carbon already stored in soils in carbon farming schemes is enhanced.
• Reduced administrative and financial burden associated with carbon farming management practices.
• Increased stakeholder faith and robustness of standards in voluntary (or other) carbon markets, leading to increased potential for revenue opportunities.

Budget: 14 MEUR

Vollen Topic Text im Funding & Tenders Portal der Europäischen Kommission finden Sie hier.

 

HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-06: Network on carbon farming for agricultural and forest soils

Expected Outcome: This topic supports the implementation of the European Commission Communication on sustainable carbon cycles and the upcoming regulatory framework on carbon removals certification, and thereby contributes to the design and implementation of carbon-farming practices in Europe.

Project results should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Increased knowledge about carbon farming practices through networking and exchange of experiences.
• Enhanced uptake and development of standards for carbon farming in Europe.
• Increased capacities for measuring, monitoring and standardising carbon fluxes, in particular at landscape level through a robust network for data collections.

Budget: 3 MEUR

Vollen Topic Text im Funding & Tenders Portal der Europäischen Kommission finden Sie hier.

 

HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-07: Foster soil education across society

Expected Outcome: This topic contributes to the implementation of the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’, in particular to its specific objective 8 “Increase soil literacy in society across Member States”. It supports the objectives of the European Green Deal, the European Climate Pact and the EU Soil Strategy for 2030. In addition, results obtained under this topic should contribute to the objectives of the European Education Area, the Education for Climate Coalition and improve the European sustainability competence framework (GreenComp) to prepare people to face the challenges of a changing climate world.

Project results should contribute to all of the following outcomes:

• teaching programmes and targeted communication, education and engagement materials on soil are more widely available in numerous European languages;
• higher uptake and diffusion of good practices and hands-on activities related to soil education across the EU and Associated Countries;
• soil literacy is more firmly embedded in educational curricula at all levels and supports behavioural change and the adoption of sustainable practices both individually and collectively based on a better understanding of the vital importance of soils for human life and planetary health;
• increased awareness of the importance of soil and its functions, as well as of the Mission objectives, amongst pupils, students and professionals across Europe.

Budget: 6 MEUR

Vollen Topic Text im Funding & Tenders Portal der Europäischen Kommission finden Sie hier.

 

HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-08: Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) for a Living Lab network support structure

Expected Outcome: This Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) aims at supporting the effective implementation of the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ (hereafter referred to as the Soil Deal Mission) and in particular its overall goal of setting up a network of 100 living labs and lighthouses by 2030.

The FPA will allow to establish an effective support structure (hereafter referred to as LL support structure) to coordinate and promote activities under the mission’s network of living labs and lighthouses. The LL support structure will cater for the needs of living labs and lighthouses that will be selected through open calls in forthcoming Work Programmes of the Soil Deal Mission (from 2023 onwards).

Following the evaluation of proposals submitted under this FPA call, one consortium of partners is going to be retained. The FPA will specify the objectives, the nature of the actions planned and the procedure for awarding specific grants through subsequent calls resulting in Specific Grant Agreements (SGA). The FPA will thereby contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• The network of living labs is effectively performing and expanding, ensuring a comprehensive representation of all types of soils, land uses and soil health challenges across the EU and Associated Countries.
• Potential applicants and selected projects are well equipped with information and advice (e.g. formal, technical) to set up and run living labs in line with the criteria established in the Mission’s implementation plan601.
• Approaches between living labs and lighthouses are harmonised and the interface between the living labs / lighthouses and other mission activities is well established.
• Participants in living labs and lighthouses benefit from comprehensive exchange of experiences as well as from thematic, technical advice provided by the LL support structure.
• Social capital and citizen engagement on soil health challenges is increased and solutions developed and tested in living labs are effectively disseminated.
• The uptake and scaling up of good practices by land managers is promoted by the LL support structure within and beyond living lab areas.
• Experiences across the Living Lab network can be assessed based due to common monitoring and evaluation procedures.

Vollen Topic Text im Funding & Tenders Portal der Europäischen Kommission finden Sie hier.

 

HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-09: Citizen science for soil health

Expected Outcome: This topic contributes to the implementation of the Mission 'A Soil Deal for Europe'614, in particular to its specific objective 8 “Increase soil literacy in society across Member States”.

Project results should contribute to all the following outcomes:

• The public's awareness of the value of soil is significantly increased.
• Citizens are empowered to take an active role in science and in increasing the knowledge base on soils by monitoring and gathering data on soil biodiversity and becoming more aware of the importance of soils and the soil food web in their daily lives.
• Greater availability of local scale data on soil health. This will expand and complement established soil databases to support critical landscape decisions and policy development.
• The EU Soil Observatory scope is enlarged and populated with citizen science data

Budget: 6 MEUR

Vollen Topic Text im Funding & Tenders Portal der Europäischen Kommission finden Sie hier.

 

HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-10: Innovations for soil improvement from bio-waste

Expected Outcome: Project results should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Enhanced entrepreneurship on circularity and regenerative processes and, in particular, increased number of highly innovative start-ups and industrial hubs developing and scaling up soil improvers from bio-waste617.
• Significant reduction of bio-waste for landfill.
• Improved nutrient recovery from bio-waste for soil improvers production.
• Improved environmental, health and safety performance of soil improvers from bio-waste and related production operations, including improved testing methods throughout the entire life cycle.
• New improved and demonstrated products, value chains and services available for soil improvers derived from bio-waste.

Budget: 9 MEUR

Vollen Topic Text im Funding & Tenders Portal der Europäischen Kommission finden Sie hier.