SOLVO - Solutions to restore degraded Soils in mediterranean OLive orchards Via Organic mulch and biochar using olive industry residues.
SOLVO aims to engineer novel solutions capable of reversing soil degradation in low fertility olive orchards highly vulnerable to soil threats, and assess their potential contribution to the delivery of soil ecosystem services (ESs), such as: 1) erosion control; 2) water storage; 3) carbon storage; 4) soil fertility and 5) soil habitat.
Background
The recent introduction of superintensive irrigated olive groves poses new concerns about soil erosion, soil fertility and crop yield losses and the resulting risk of silting up of reservoirs, which provide the water for irrigation. Nowadays the oleic sector is facing a great challenge in terms of olive mill waste management, requiring the development of new technologies for the neutralization and valuation of these wastes. Additionally, desertification will also intensify as climate models predict warmer and drier scenarios with more frequent extreme rainfall events. Unsustainable land management practices will trigger further desertification, which will led to land degradation and irreversible effects on soil fertility and compromise food security.
Impact
The SOLVO´s results will: i) improve food security and promote sustainable agriculture (SDG2); ii) contribute to restore and conserve soils, to enhance ESs, thus combatting desertification (SDG15); iii) increase soil carbon stocks, which will enhance the resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters (SDG13); iv) improving water quality by reducing erosion and pollution of waterbodies (SDG6); v) increasing the opportunities for value addition of residues by using residues as a tool to reverse desertification (SDG2).