The Norwegian Financial Mechanism project "Enhancement Sustainable Soil Resources Management in Agriculture" (E2SOILAGRI) is coming to an end. On 19 January 2024 at 10:00 a.m., an online conference “A living planet begins in living soil” will be held to explain the results of soil research and the acquired picture of the situation in Latvian agricultural land.
At the conference, the performers of the soil research project will share the key conclusions of the project and reveal what led to these conclusions. Information will also be provided on the new classification system of Latvian soil, which is important for every Latvian soil manager to know. Conference participants will learn what the data of agrochemical research shows about soil health and what role nitrogen and carbon monitoring plays. There will also be insights into “parallel” soil-related projects, covering dozens of European countries, including Latvia, aimed at explaining to the public the indispensable role that soil health plays in everyone's life, as well as developing knowledge-based recommendations for sustainable use of soil at European and regional level. Everyone interested is welcome to the conference!
Please register to participate in the video conference by filling out the form in https://forms.gle/KJVdtdD2fdkkPa2VA .
For more details, please contact video conference organizers - E2SOILAGRI project manager Lauris Leitans, phone 27087484, email Lauris.Leitans@gmail.com.
What has been done within the project
It is no secret to anyone that soils are the basis of agriculture and provide 95 per cent of the world's food only by knowing the soil to be cultivated and its composition, it is possible to get the highest return from the land while ensuring that it is healthy in a long-term. It is also no secret to anyone that the data of the previous ambitious survey of agricultural soil in Latvia, which was obtained 40-60 years ago, are already well out of date. Therefore, the long-awaited exploration of the agricultural soil could be carried out by obtaining financial support from the Norwegian State. The progress of the project over three years is
• a new soil classification and mapping methodology has been developed as the basis for mapping future soil,
• revised and improved historical soil data,
• a map of the spread of peat soil has been established for Latvia as a whole,
• an established soil carbon monitoring network from 200 points,
• established coefficients for characterising organic soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
All the results of the soil research project are nited by a common feature – they improve our understanding of Latvia's agricultural soil and soil as such.
The partners of the Ministry of Agriculture in implementation of the pre‑defined project “Enhancement of sustainable soil resource management in agriculture” of the Norway Grants Climate and Environment Program 2014 – 2021 “Climate change mitigation, adaptation to them and the environment” are the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, the Latvian State Forestry Institute "Silava", the State Plant Protection Service and the University of Latvia. The project will last until January 31, 2024..
The planned budget of the project is €1.83 million, consisting of €1.56 million grant funding from Norway and €0.27 million national co-financing.
Working together for a green Europe!