Soil thickness (ST) plays an important role in regulating soil processes, vegetation growth and land suitability. Therefore, it has been listed as one of twelve basic soil properties to be delivered in GlobalSoilMap project. However, ST prediction has been reported with poor performance in previous studies. Our case study is located in the intensive agriculture Beauce area, central France. In this region, the ST mainly depends on the thickness of loess (TOL) deposits over a calcareous bedrock.

In order to meet future food demand while sustainably managing available land and water resources, irrigated agriculture in semi-arid regions needs to adapt as a response to climate and socio-economic change. In this study, we focus on the Mediterranean region, a dynamic region, which is highly dependent on irrigated agriculture. We provide insight on adaptation strategies implemented on farm level, by doing a systematic review of studies in the region. Our analysis reports 286 implemented adaptations, on 124 different locations throughout the Mediterranean.

Most current research on land-use intensification addresses its potential to either threaten biodiversity or to boost agricultural production. However, little is known about the simultaneous effects of intensification on biodiversity and yield. To determine the responses of species richness and yield to conventional intensification, we conducted a global meta-analysis synthesizing 115 studies which collected data for both variables at the same locations. We extracted 449 cases that cover a variety of areas used for agricultural (crops, fodder) and silvicultural (wood) production.

It is well-recognised that to achieve long-term sustainable and resilient land management we need to understand the coupled dynamics of social and ecological systems. Land use change scenarios will often aim to understand (i) the behaviours of land management, influenced by direct and indirect drivers, (ii) the resulting changes in land use and (iii) the environmental implications of these changes.

The objective of this study is to assess the existence of gendered climate change adaptation practices of smallholder farmers in the Gamo Highlands of Ethiopia. We hypothesized that smallholders’ adaptation practices are gendered because of land fragmentation and gendered division of labour. To explore this, we considered sustainable land management practices as a tool for sustainable adaptation and assessed the effect of land management practices deployed and land fragmentation on intra-household time allocation.

Soils are indispensable for the provision of several functions. Agricultural intensification and its focus on increasing primary productivity (PP) poses a threat to soil quality, due to increases in nutrient loads, greenhouse gas emissions and declining biodiversity. The EU Horizon 2020 Landmark project has developed multi-criteria decision models to assess five soil functions: PP, nutrient cycling (NC), soil biodiversity and habitat provision (B-HP), climate mitigation and water regulation, simultaneously in agricultural fields.

Only a few studies have quantified and measured ecosystem services (ES) specifically related to soil. To address this gap, we have developed and applied a methodology to assess changes in ecosystem services, based on measured or estimated soil property changes that were stimulated by soil management measures (e.g., mulching, terracing, no-till). We applied the ES assessment methodology in 16 case study sites across Europe representing a high diversity of soil threats and land use systems.

Non-technical summaryUntil the past half-century, all agriculture and land management was framed by local institutions strong in social capital. But neoliberal forms of development came to undermine existing structures, thus reducing sustainability and equity. The past 20 years, though, have seen the deliberate establishment of more than 8 million new social groups across the world.

ISO standards, which are actually being applied, are subject to periodic revision, typically in a 6 to 10-year cycle. A UN-GGIM Meeting of the Expert Group on Land Administration and Management was held on 14-15 March 2017, in Delft and the main conclusion was that the revision of LADM was indeed needed in order to provide better tools to improve tenure security and better land and property rights for all.

In Uganda’s Kabale district, too many people had been trying to make a living from too little land. Because of overpopulation and exhaustion of the soil by intense cultivation, the area had gone into decline. Then, researchers and farmers — supported by the International Development Research Centre — joined forces to revitalize the region.