Transformative Living Labs for Soil Health: Advancing Regenerative and Conservation Agriculture Across Europe

The main objective of the project is to transform European agriculture towards greater resilience and sustainability in the face of climate change by demonstrating the potential of regenerative and conservation practices to achieve the six soil health objectives identified in the EU Mission for Soil: reducing degradation and desertification, conserving and enhancing organic carbon stocks, reducing pollution, preventing erosion, improving soil structure and increasing 'soil literacy' in society. The project operates through five Living Labs across Europe addressing different agricultural challenges: Permanent Crops (Spain and Portugal) – Sustainable Systems in Mediterranean Conditions; Organic farming (Austria and Switzerland) – regenerative approaches in organic production; Adaptation to climate change (Germany); Black soils (Moldova, Romania and Ukraine) – conservation of extremely fertile chernozems; Integration of agriculture and livestock farming (Slovenia) – closing nutrient and energy cycles. We test 21 regenerative and conservation agricultural practices that improve soil lower input costs for farmers, reduce the need for chemical pest control and contribute to a better work-life balance for farmers. The project is funded by the EU's Horizon Europe programme (agreement No 101218949) and by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI). The consortium includes numerous research, agricultural and consulting organisations from all over Europe, including the University of Ljubljana and the Slovenian Society for Conservation Agriculture (SACA), which run the Slovenian Living Laboratory in the field of integration of agriculture and animal husbandry.

The project contributes to the development of science by setting up a large-scale comparative research platform under Horizon Europe, systematically verifying the effectiveness of 21 regenerative and conservation agricultural practices in five different European agro-ecological environments – from Mediterranean permanent crops to Eastern European black soils. With the methodology of living labs, where research takes place directly on operating farms in cooperation with farmers, the project shifts scientific practice from theoretical models to co-created, real-world proven knowledge about soil health. At the same time, it builds a European database on the long-term impacts of conservation and regenerative practices on organic carbon, biodiversity, water retention and erosion, providing the scientific basis for achieving the objectives of the EU Mission for Soil, the formulation of agricultural policies and the further development of agronomy, soil science(pedology) and sustainable food systems.

The Trails4Soil project is particularly important for Slovenia because it has been entrusted with the role of hosting a living laboratory for the integration of agriculture and animal husbandry, which means that Slovenian experts in the European area are taking a leading role in a field that is traditionally very close to the structure of Slovenian agriculture with mixed family farms. The project addresses the key challenges of the Slovenian countryside – closing nutrient and energy cycles, more efficient use of livestock manure, connecting agriculture with livestock farming and strengthening the economic sustainability of smaller farms. The involvement of the University of Ljubljana and the Slovenian Association for Conservation Agriculture (SZOK) contributes to the transfer of European knowledge into the Slovenian research and advisory environment and enables direct testing of regenerative practices on Slovenian soil and in Slovenian climatic conditions. In this way, the project strengthens the resilience of Slovenian agriculture to climate change (droughts, erosion, loss of organic matter), encourages the transition to more sustainable production methods, raises "soil literacy" among farmers and the general public, and places the Slovenian profession in the European research area in the field of soil health and sustainable agriculture.