Background
To reach the targets of the Paris Agreement commitments for land degradation neutrality, for biodiversity, and to support the EU Green Deal, Europe needs to join its research and innovation forces on soil carbon with those around the globe in a coordinated manner. To scale up efforts for conserving and increasing soil carbon stocks and harness the co-benefits for climate change mitigation and adaptation, soil health and food security, international coordination of research efforts is essential. In this context the EC supported a 1st Coordination action (CIRCASA) led by INRAE and with support from ISRIC, to establish an International Research Consortium (IRC) on Soil Carbon built around an initial strategic research and innovation agenda (SRIA) focusing on agricultural soils. Operationalising the IRC requires further mobilisation of the international community of stakeholders working on agricultural soil carbon but also other land uses and therefore expanding the initial SRIA as well as developing with international funding bodies an implementation plan and a central knowledge platform offering services to this community. The main goal of ORCaSa is therefore to launch and roll out the initial operational phases of the IRC on Soil Carbon so that by 2024 the IRC has established an international position as the coordinator of soil carbon research and innovation and related issues at global level offering a unique SRIA and implementation plan, supporting knowledge platform and enable the preparation of a disruptive low cost international recognized MRV (Monitoring, Reporting and Verification) system.
Objectives
- Establishment of an Internal Research Consortium on Soil Carbon;
- Implementation of a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda;
- Development of propositions of a harmonised MRV framework; and
- Development of a Knowledge Platform.
Activities
ISRIC will mainly contribute to the MRV framework and to a limited extent to the Knowledge platform (KP4SOC).
Tasks planned are:
Task 4.1 International review of current MRV initiatives for SOC stock change assessment and associated methodologies (M1-M12) - Task leader: ISRIC / Contributing partners: INRAE, CNRS, CIRAD, scientific committee, reg. nodes CSU & CSIRO;
Task 4.2 Cookbook for a blueprint of an MRV framework for croplands SOC stock changes (M12-M36) - Task leader:INRAE / Contributing partners: CNRS, ISRIC, CIRAD, scientific committee, reg. nodes CSU & CSIRO;
Task 4.3 Building an integrative and multi-ecosystem MRV framework for SOC stock changes(M12-M36) - Task leader:CIRAD / Contributing partners: ISRIC, INRAE, scientific committee, reg. nodes.
Deliverables
D4.1 "International review of current MRV initiatives for soil carbon stock change assessment and associated methodologies" (Submitted to EU 31/08/2023, in review).
Consortium
Consortium leader: Institut National de Recherche pour l' Agriculture, l' Alimentation et l'Environement (INRAE)
Centre de Cooperation Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Dévelopement - C.I.R.A.D.
Stichting International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC)
Arctik SRL (ARCTIK)
Simbiotica SL (VIZZUALITY)
Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR)
Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, GHANA (FARA)
Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences (SFRI)
Funding
Funded by the European Union Horizon Europe Programme (Grant no. 101059863)
