New publication: What does the evidence say about carbon farming?
October 27, 2026
Researchers from our Greek Carbon Farming Living Lab (GRECFL²) and our Italian Living Lab (SHARE) have published a systematic review in Farming Systems (Elsevier): “Carbon Farming in Agricultural Systems: A Systematic Review of Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics and Soil Health Outcomes”.
The review brings together 107 field studies from 31 countries, published between 2010 and 2025, to examine how six carbon farming practices affect soil organic carbon (SOC) and indicators of soil health: reduced tillage, nutrient management, organic amendments, biochar, crop diversification and cover crops.
Key findings
- Organic amendments and biochar showed the largest increases in SOC among the practices assessed. Biochar also showed SOC gains below the surface layer.
- Most SOC increases were concentrated in the top 0–20 cm of soil, which shows why carbon should be measured at different depths.
- Higher SOC was often associated with better soil structure, nutrient status and microbial activity.
- Results varied substantially with soil, climate and management: no single practice performs consistently in every context.
- Long-term, depth-resolved and harmonised monitoring is needed to assess how large and how lasting SOC changes are.
Why it matters
The review shows which carbon farming practices can support soil carbon and soil health, and under which conditions. This is directly relevant to the five LILAS4SOILS Living Labs across the Mediterranean and Southern Europe, where carbon farming practices are tested and evaluated on real farms, to develop approaches that are effective and adapted to local conditions. It also supports the call, shared across our Living Labs, for harmonised soil monitoring.
Congratulations to the authors Evgenia Georgiou, Ioannis Zafeiriou, Dafni Ioannou, Paraskevi Chantzi, Thomas Bartzanas, Calogero Schillaci and Dionisios Gasparatos, from the Agricultural University of Athens and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.
The publication contributes to the EU Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe” and to PREPSOIL.
Read the open-access article →
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Funded by the European Union (Grant no. 101157414). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union, European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor any other granting authority can be held responsible for them.
