The mission of EARTHONE is to address the pressing issue of preserving and enhancing Earth's natural terrestrial GHG sinks by understanding how different drivers, including socio-economic, demographic, and physical constraints affect GHG fluxes. The project adopts a unique and interdisciplinary approach, integrating state-of-the-art data-driven technology with regional context (with a special focus on the most vulnerable areas in south and Mediterranean Europe including Spain, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and North Macedonia) through living labs to offer effective multi-target solutions and guideline to all stakeholders in LULUCF topics.

TERRASAFE is a pioneering initiative envisaging to empower local communities in southern Europe and northern Africa to successfully face the escalating challenges of desertification through the adoption of nature-based, social and technological innovations. TERRASAFE’s vision will be operationalized in 5 pilot areas that share a high vulnerability to desertification but, simultaneously, represent the 4 main types of desertification (vegetation decline, soil degradation, water scarcity, and depopulation) and strongly contrast in socio–cultural-ecological circumstances. This vision is supported by a transdisciplinary consortium, ranging from universities to SMEs commercially exploiting innovations. TERRASAFE’s vision is implemented through a multi-actor approach covering all WPs, in particular by setting up 5 partnerships in the 5 pilot areas. In a co-creation process, these partnerships will then (i) define their visions on building desertification resilience and plan their ensuing TERRASAFE work; (ii) map and analyze past and ongoing desertification, identifying hotspots; (iii) evaluate and demonstrate innovations at these hotspots, comparing them with current and traditional/organic practices; (iv) elaborate policy recommendation for the wider uptake of the TERRASAFE-certified innovations, both within and beyond the pilot areas, taking into account lessons learnt from past and ongoing policies against desertification; (v) share their TERRASAFE’s experience with the other areas, other desertification-prone communities and the general public. The consortium will support the partnerships by providing not only harmonized frameworks for each activity but also advice on adapting these frameworks to their specific needs. Finally, the SMEs will provide a wide offer of innovations that they will tailor towards the respective desertification hotspots, in close collaboration with the partnerships.

SHui is conceived as a network integrating long-term experiments of its 19 academic and SME partners across different environmental conditions and cropping systems in the EU and China. It provides a platform for research on soil-water resources management under water scarce conditions, to better understand the linkages between agricultural soil hydrology and sustainability and for a systematic assessment of adaptation and mitigation methods. It will develop and implement new strategies to increase water use efficiency and yield, based on sustainable intensification through integrated use of soil and water across different spatial scales. At farm level, this includes digital agriculture solutions integrating in situ and remote sensors and simulation models to exploit an improved understanding of the relationship between crop yield variability and soil hydraulic properties, optimizing circular approaches to re-use water and using waste water sources. These technical approaches are reliant on optimum data utilization and transdisciplinary research with multiple stakeholders. At regional scales, the aggregation of biophysical and socioeconomic variables in dynamic models will evaluate the impact of different policy strategies, to support decision makers to evaluate different scenarios of land-use dynamics, economic context and current and future climate in EU and China, including assessments of water and carbon footprint. SHui will exploit scientific, technological and social innovations by disseminating and communicating these to multiple stakeholders, and implementing novel technological packages from farm to large regional scales. It aims to make a significant contribution to the EU and China Research Agenda for Agriculture in providing food security and optimum use of scarce soil and water resources. Training a cohort of early career scientists in soil conservation and water-saving practices, SHui’s legacy will extend beyond the project duration.