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Soil health, pollinators and key ecosystem functions

TOPIC ID: HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01-05

Topic description

ExpectedOutcome:

Activities under this topic will help to progress towards the objectives of the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’, in particular its specific objectives 4 “Reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration”, 6 “Improve soil structure to enhance habitat quality for soil biota and crops” and 8 "Improve soil literacy in society”. Activities will also contribute to the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, to the revised EU Pollinators Initiative “A new deal for pollinators”, to the future EU Nature Restoration Law and the proposed Soil Monitoring and Resilience Directive, to the EU Farm to Fork Strategy, including the EU Action Plan on the Development of Organic Production, and to the goals of the UN CBD COP-15. It also directly contributes to the achievement of several of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in particular SDG 15 by halting biodiversity loss and halting and reversing land degradation and SDG2 on food security as activities are expected to improve pollination ecosystem services, which are key for food production.

Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:

• Improved knowledge and understanding of the biology and ecology of insect species spending part of their life cycle on or in the soil, with specific focus on ground-nesting pollinators.
• Better understanding of the major causes of the decline of these insects and the synergistic effects of various threats, including the quantitative and qualitative aspects related to the magnitude of their decline.
• More effective measures to tackle the loss of soil-dependent insects.

Scope:

Soil-dependent insects are under threat because of non-adapted soil management practices such as tillage and issues like contamination, compacting or sealing. A better understanding of the causes of their decline and effective measures to tackle them are needed.

Pollination is a key ecosystem service for crops and food production. Therefore, a specific focus on pollinating insects is required. Many solitary wasps and 70% of wild bees nest below ground and require protection during this crucial period of their lifecycle. Other ground-nesting pollinators also contribute to soil quality and other ecosystem functions, but little is known about their below ground lives.

The “New Deal for Pollinators” calls for more research to better understand the taxonomic and functional diversity of pollinator communities and their distribution, as well as the threats to pollinators and their interactions.

Please, visit the following page to get more information regarding this call: https://www.developmentaid.org/grants/view/1290931/soil-health-pollinators-and-key-ecosystem-functions?useNavigation=true