Projects of the Department of Soil Sciences (TT)

Last modified: 12. July 2024

Presentation of Research Activities and Programs  

 

EJP SOIL C-arouNd-2023-1.2.1-ERA_NET-2023-00005: Refining Soil Conservation and Regenerative Practices to
Enhance Carbon Sequestration and Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

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Start: 3rd May, 2023

Duration: 36 months

Budget: 149.000 EUR

Aim of the project: C-arouNd aims to investigate how short- and long-term agricultural management practices affect soil organic matter (SOM) persistence in the soil profile and contribute to inclusion of the effects in national inventories to inform policy to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate global change. C-arouNd also aims to synthesize findings from a worldwide consortium of long-term agricultural field experiments with focus on soil organic matter sequestration and persistence.

The objective of this proposal is to evaluate the influence of conservationist and regenerative agricultural practices on carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) cycling, soil biodiversity and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with a particular emphasis on long-term soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks, and processes governing C persistence. This project represents an exploratory effort to couple the stoichiometric drivers to microbial populations related to C, N, and P cycling and stocks, and GHG emission under diverse agricultural practices.

There are participants from 12 different countries with 40 field sites with different chrono-sequences or contrasting agricultural management.

The final product of the project will be to recommend best management practices for production of food crops which would promote soil C accumulation, especially mineral associated organic matter (MAOM), without increasing GHG emissions, thus contributing to the sustainability and resilience of agriculture.

 

 

OTKA: 

• Modernization and international correlation of domestic soil classification, 2004-2008; 12.074 million HUF.  

Soil classification is the result of human thinking. It evolves according to the knowledge, needs, and local conditions of the time. Following digital demands, a new diagnostic approach based on stricter definitions and data has become widespread. This approach forms the basis for the international correlation system (WRB, World Reference Base for Soil Resources), which serves scientific soil knowledge transfer and the harmonization of European soil databases. 

According to our objectives, we modernized our domestic soil genetic classification as follows: 

clear differentiation and classification of our soils; alignment of classification units with international standards; compatibility with digital data systems; practical information content for practice. 

The most important result of the application is the modernized classification itself, whose basic units and structure are as follows: 

 

• Further development of soil bonitation methodology based on diagnostic scientific soil classification, 2004-2007; 6.708 million HUF. 

The research aimed to refine the currently used soil classification for land evaluation. In addition to recognizing the values of the scientific soil classification currently accepted and used in our country, it is worth considering further development based on diagnostic thinking and the consideration of diagnostic soil parameters in the land evaluation process.

 

• Development of modern surveying and soil information system for Hungarian soil protection, 2008-2012; 29.500 million HUF. 

Information about soils is essential for assessing and monitoring regulations, land use, and the environmental impacts of agricultural and industrial development. The lack of appropriate soil information can lead to poor decisions and degradation of our soils and surface waters, both locally and regionally and globally. The creation of the EU Soil Protection Strategy and the "Soil Framework Directive" (and other national, European, and global programs) has created an urgent need for reliable, accessible, and easily interpretable soil data. Hungary has a long tradition of mapping, but significant basic research has not been conducted in the last 2-3 decades to support modern soil surveying and data interpretation. The aim of the application is to develop the foundations and methods necessary for modern surveying and soil information system elements (data collection, data processing, data interpretation, data provision). The research is based on modern field, laboratory, and information technology tools and equipment. The end product of the application is a methodological framework that creates the basis for economically and efficiently functioning soil surveying and monitoring programs, which provide modern, easily interpretable data for various applications. The research is carried out in close cooperation with university and research institute professionals, and in the testing phase, practical experts and users are involved.

 

• Determination of diagnostic categories related to organic carbon for soil classification, mapping, and monitoring support, 2014-2017; 20.610 million HUF.

Organic carbon is a significant component of soils. It determines many physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils and their diverse environmental functions, including fertility. As soils are the most significant terrestrial carbon reservoirs, but also play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle, including climate change. Given this, there is a great demand today not only for organic matter stocks in soils important for food production but also for data on changes in organic matter stocks in soils important for other ecosystem services. Collecting, interpreting, and internationally comparing this data is a challenge both methodologically and economically.

The huge amount of organic carbon stored in soils appears in a highly varied distribution in terms of depth, quantity, and composition. 

The research aims to develop rapid and cost-effective determination of organic matter content in different soils (mineral and organic soils; soils of agricultural, forestry, urban, and industrial areas) based on soil structure and to develop diagnostic categories serving interpretation for various users, which together serve the spatial representation, classification, and temporal monitoring of organic carbon content.

 

• Refinement of estimation methods for soil systems wetted with water or non-polar liquids based on soil structural properties, 2016-2022; 40.987 million HUF. 

The quality of soil structure significantly influences both the water retention and conductivity of soils. Partly depends on the structural properties also the convertibility of the results of traditional sieving-pipette (SZPM) and new laser particle analyzer (LSZM) mechanical composition (MÖ) tests. However, there is no clear knowledge about the relationship between routine soil test results and soil structure.

In our application:

1. We collect soil structural information from domestic and international soil databases; we determine the order of soil and environmental variables related to soil structure; we develop soil structure estimation functions.

2. We build a new soil structural database from data on soil profiles representing domestic soil types. The database includes mineral characteristics of soils, mechanical composition according to SZPM and LSZM (MÖ), surface soil data (BET surface and hy1), morphological structure, aggregate composition and stability, as well as values of water retention and conductivity measured with water and organic liquid.

3. We use this database to develop pedotransfer functions estimating soil structure variables, which also contain soil structural variables, in addition to the conversion relationships of MÖ determination

 

• Competitiveness and Excellence Collaborations (VKE_17) 2016-2019; 443,039,251 HUF.

Research aimed at developing prototypes of feed additive herbal supplements for the reduced antibiotic use in the rearing of pigs for food, reducing environmental impact, and achieving higher meat quality. 

 

NKFIH 

• Agricultural Technology National Laboratory 1,215,200,080 HUF.

The project aims to establish the first national-level soil spectral library. To achieve this goal, a unified modern laboratory testing methodology compliant with international standards will be developed, primarily based on non-invasive, environmentally friendly, spectroscopic instrumentation. An application and interface system will be created to enable access to various databases or implement data downloads, and a mobile laboratory providing fast on-site data reporting will also be developed.

Additionally, laboratory methodological development and the establishment of an organic micro-pollutant analytical laboratory will be realized, providing opportunities for certain measurements for participants in the agriculture and domestic food industry, with the results of these measurements being incorporated into a common database system shared by NÉBIH and other laboratory network units.

 

International

• EU FP6: INDEX Nr. GOCE-CT-2003-505450 2004-2006 -Indicators and thresholds for desertification, soil quality, and remediation, 2004-2008; €2,396,136.

The project examined the physical, chemical, and biological indicators of soil samples from various climatic, geographical, and topographical areas to identify parameters that can quickly, simply, inexpensively, and adequately indicate the propensity of a given area to desertification.

 

• EU FP6: ENVASSO 022713; 2006-2007 - Environmental Assessment of Soil Monitoring, 2006-2008; €1,972,475. 

The project surveyed soil information systems available in EU member states and applied soil indicators. Suitable indicators for seven out of eight degradation risks affecting our soils were sought and found, tested on pilot areas, and a manual on the use of these indicators was compiled.

• BIOSOIL, Forest Focus Regulation (EC) N 2152/2003; 2006-2008.

The BIOSOIL project aims to detect changes in the soil of European forests and characterize the soil properties of forests in individual countries. Using internationally defined methods and standards, soil profiles were described, and litter and soil samples were collected and analyzed. As a result of the project, data were provided to detect changes in the properties of forest soils, and suggestions were made for improving sampling methods.

 

• EU FP7: e-SOTER - Regional pilot platform as EU contribution to a Global Soil Observing System, EU FP; 2008-2012; €3,439,876.

The aim of the project is to structure existing national databases into a common database by reorganizing and "translating" existing national databases in areas where soil data are lacking or inadequate, ensuring the harmonization of various information contents, and then using geospatial tools to create soil maps based on existing data for areas where adequate soil data were not available.

 

• H2020: LANDMARK-LAND Management: Assessment, Research, Knowledge base, 2015-2019; 5307551 € 

LANDMARK is a pan-European multi-actor consortium of leading academic and applied research institutes, chambers of agriculture and policymakers that will develop a coherent framework for soil management aimed at sustainable food production across Europe. 

The LANDMARK proposal builds on the concept that soils are a finite resource that provides a range of ecosystem services known as “soil functions”. Functions relating to agriculture include primary productivity, water regulation & purification, carbon sequestration & regulation, habitat for biodiversity and nutrient provision & cycling. Trade-offs between these functions may occur: for example, management aimed at maximising primary production may inadvertently affect the ‘water purification’ or ‘habitat’ functions. This has led to conflicting management recommendations and policy initiatives. There is now an urgent need to develop a coherent scientific and practical framework for the sustainable management of soils. 

 

• H2020: LEAP4FNSSA, 2018 – 2022; 5136250 €. Growing EU-Africa partnerships for sustainable agriculture 

More production, less waste. This is the goal of global agriculture practices and food systems. Sustainable agricultural development is key for food and nutrition security. The EU-funded LEAP4NSSA project will provide a partnership mechanism for European and African research and innovation actors. As a Coordination and Support Action, LEAP4FNSSA aims to increase synergies and coherence between institutions (both public and private), projects, initiatives and programmes, funders and other actors to improve scaling and impact. Bringing together 35 partners from 23 countries, the project will develop a learning environment, a large knowledge base including monitoring and evaluation, create communication channels and develop strong research and policy linkages to spearhead the establishment of a long-term sustainable bicontinental platform. 

 

• Bilateral Scientific and Technological (TÉT) grant (2019-2.1.11-TÉT-2019-00024) between Austria (BOKU - University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna) and Hungary (Szent István University - now MATE, Gödöllő). The title of the grant is "Investigation of the Effects of Soil Tillage Practices on the Physical, Chemical, and Biological Properties of Soil." The duration of the grant is from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021. Funding: 1,960,000 HUF.

• H2020 SOIL4AFRICA, 2019 – 2024; Updating soil information for Africa: supporting agriculture and promoting synergies 

Information about the condition and spatio-temporal dynamics of African soils is highly fragmented and dated. There is a need for accurate, up-to-date and spatially referenced soil information to support sustainable agriculture in Africa. The EU-funded Soils4Africa project's aim is to provide an open-access soil information system with a set of key indicators and underpinning data, accompanied by a methodology for repeated soil monitoring across the African continent. The soil information system will become part of the knowledge and information system of the Food, Nutrition, Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA) roadmap and will be hosted by an African institute. The project will provide important support for innovations in the agricultural sector in Africa and actively connect organisations across Africa and Europe to promote synergies and an open science approach. 

 

• The TIGER Initiative „Application of Remote Sensing Data to Improve the Water Resource Management of Rwanda” 2016-2017; 31000 EUR 

The main objectives of this study were the development of SAR and optical RS data-based methodology for the optimization of sustainable irrigation water management in the Southern Province of Rwanda. In this region of the country the irrigation possibilities strongly rely on the water availability in artificial reservoirs. Our research focuses on the determination of the total volume and temporal availability of the stored water and the delineation of wetlands focusing on rice field characterization. 

• The EJP SOIL-COPASOCS project "COmposite Polymer-based Amendments for Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration" for the period 2021-2024, with a funding of 149,000 EUR, had its support withdrawn due to the armed conflict in Ukraine. 

Global climate change, rising temperatures, desertification, and extreme weather events pose challenges to agriculture. New technologies, practices, and approaches are needed to make agricultural production sustainable and renewable in the face of climate change. Among the threats to soils, wind and water erosion pose even greater challenges due to global climate change. The application of innovative polymer-based soil amendments in agriculture can improve the physical and chemical properties of soils and increase their carbon sequestration capacity. In the project, polymers are developed to avoid possible soil contamination with their components, having both anionic and cationic groups, known as interpolyelectrolyte complexes. These are copolymers with hydrophilic and hydrophobic parts, acting as adhesives in the soil by interacting with soil particles.

 

• EJP SOIL- C-arouNd „Refining Soil Conservation and Regenerative Practices to Enhance Carbon Sequestration and Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2022-2025; 149.000 EUR 

It is an important task for global agriculture to adequately provide food for the current population of 7.8 billion people, reducing hunger and poverty. However, agriculture can lead to soil degradation, reducing soil carbon content and increasing greenhouse gas emissions, thus contributing to global warming. The project aims to assess how various soil conservation and regenerative agricultural practices impact the long-term preservation and increase of carbon stored in soils, soil nitrogen dynamics, greenhouse gas emissions, and biodiversity. The project will be implemented at thirty-three locations in eleven countries, encompassing different agricultural systems, climates, and soil types.