Closing date for proposals on 7th of September 2021 The European Joint Programme “EJP SOIL - Towards climate-smart sustainable management of agricultural soils” comprise 24 countries committed to the overall goal of providing sustainable agricultural soil management solutions that contribute to key societal challenges including climate change and future food supply. Rationale & Aim of the call The objective of this call is to foster holistic agricultural (forestry soils are not excluded) soil management practices which will assist in making a shift to diversify farming to include a variety of sustainable and environmental practices. Knowledge gaps in the area of SOC sequestration need to be closed, e.g. by developing soil management options which help to protect existing stocks of soil carbon and store additional C through sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere. Effective CO2 sequestration can help reduce GHG emissions thereby helping to fulfil the objectives of the European Green Deal. Another objective is to make a shift from those agricultural practices that contributes to soil degradation, towards, more sustainable practices and methods. This not only addresses sustainable production but also a healthy environment, which can be achieved by, enhancing knowledge about biodiversity, and understanding functionalities and interactions in soils. Strong population growth combined with climate change challenges has placed food security high on the global agenda and therefore it is one of the key elements of the EU’s Farm to Fork strategy. Sustainable production refers to not only healthy soil management but also addresses research in respect of water storage, soil salinization and biodiversity, while considering climate change. Drastic changes are required to some of our current farming systems to modify agriculture’s practises as a provider of adequate, safe and healthy food that is produced in a manner that is sustainable and environmentally friendly. Thus, interested project consortia should apply to one of the three topics: A) Understanding SOC sequestration (stabilization, storage and persistence) B) Soil biodiversity: status, and role in ecosystem services provided by soils C) Site-specific or landscape-scale approaches to improve sustainability, resilience, health, and productivity of soils     To learn more and apply: https://ejpsoil.eu/research-projects/first-external-call-pre-announcement/?utm_source=RUFORUM+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=7ae7ebcd40-RUFORUM+Weekly+-+Vol.3+No.25_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcfbb8a0b-7ae7ebcd40-346973753&ct=t()&goal=0_1fcfbb8a0b-7ae7ebcd40-346973753&mc_cid=7ae7ebcd40&mc_eid=d95cf18a8d