Taking stock of the Soil Carbon IRC journey – One year in

The first International Research Consortium (IRC) on soil carbon was officially launched during European Soil Mission Week in November 2023. This was a milestone in itself, bringing the Soil Carbon IRC – and soil health – into the discourse around EU and international climate priorities. A lot can happen in a year. Here is a snapshot of key milestones and next steps.

The IRC origin story

The Soil Carbon IRC was launched a year ago, almost to the day. Yet, even before this, there was fertile ground for cultivating an international, interdisciplinary community working on soil health.

In 2021, during the final event of the CIRCASA project, 370 stakeholders agreed to commit to sharing knowledge, practices and methods related to soil carbon through an international consortium.

During the Horizon Europe ORCaSa project, hand in hand with the international “4 per 1000” Initiative, this vision has expanded. The scope of the Soil Carbon IRC goes beyond agricultural soils to all soils (forests, pastures, wetlands, urban areas, etc.) and supports the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

As of today, the Soil Carbon IRC has 108 signatories; there are individual experts as well as representatives of organisations from all corners of the globe. To name a few:

National research entities and ministries
Leading research institutes in agriculture and forestry, research and innovation
Major public education institutions
Living labs
Sustainable agriculture and farming cooperatives
Companies ranging from start-ups to industry heavyweights in AgriTech, biotechnology, hydrogen technologies, and more.

Three core services in one year

The commitments and activities of the Soil Carbon IRC are tethered to three outputs:

The Impact4Soil knowledge platform
A harmonised Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) framework
An aligned Strategic Research & Innovation Agenda (SRIA)

Below are some highlights across these three core services from the last 365 days.

Impact4Soil goes live

In May 2024, the Impact4Soil platform was launched, creating a unique, reliable and inter-institutional knowledge platform for the soil carbon community. It is a source of key information, including over 1,000 datasets, hundreds of practices, methodologies for soil carbon balance monitoring, and more.

A user survey has just been completed, generating valuable insights that will help the team refine the tool so that it accommodates the needs of the various user profiles.

It is worth noting, that the survey specifically asked about the need to add a module on MRV, which is another core focus of the Soil Carbon IRC (see below). The results of this survey will be presented to the Interim Steering Committee of the Soil Carbon IRC to determine which future developments will be implemented in Impact4Soil.

A modular approach to MRV

Another goal of the Soil Carbon IRC is to propose a Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) framework that will simplify and support the day-to-day work of many experts in the environmental sector and soil carbon management. In the framework of the ORCaSa project, partners have contributed to the discourse with the international research community.

The ORCaSa team has already produced a report on international MRV initiatives. It shows that internationally there is a wide range of application contexts (e.g. NDCs, CAP, voluntary carbon market, insetting), ecosystems (e.g. croplands, grasslands, forests, wetlands), frameworks, methodologies and guidelines for monitoring, reporting and verifying Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) (and GHG) changes. Similarly, a wide variety of tools for assessing the potential impacts of land use/management interventions on SOC stocks and GHG emissions are being used in different parts of the world by a wide variety of stakeholders.

In October 2024, the scientific paper ‘Towards a modular, multi-ecosystem monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) framework for soil organic carbon stock change assessment’ gives insights on a conceptual workflow for operationalising a modular, scalable MRV framework. An article presented at EGU 2024 puts forth AgriCarbon-EO, a tool for monitoring soil organic carbon soil at large scales.

A 5-year strategic vision for soil carbon research and innovation

The Soil Carbon IRC will be launching calls for proposals based on the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA). The SRIA, prepared by the ORCaSa project, is a 5-year roadmap for aligning international research on soil carbon across all types of land use and supporting international and European commitments to climate neutrality, biodiversity and the green transition.

Progress was made on the SRIA priorities at the 9th International Symposium of Interactions of Soil Minerals with Organic Components and Microorganisms (ISMOM 2024 – Japan). During a dedicated session on the Soil Carbon IRC, participants helped identify more than 175 priorities for the SRIA. These priorities are compelling because they go beyond the biophysical aspects of carbon storage and call for more interactions with economic and social science actors to bridge the gaps on organic carbon storage in soil worldwide.

ORCaSa is also organising workshops in the other regions of the world to provide input to the SRIA on regional knowledge needs.

Making the IRC official

Given the scope and ambitions of the Soil Carbon IRC, it was important to establish guidelines and a governance structure. An Interim Steering Committee for the IRC has been established and held its first meeting in September 2024. The Steering Committee involves key international stakeholders like the Nature Conservancy, NASA, FAO, DG CLIMA, JRC, among other members.

In order to represent the international community, it is made up of an equal balance of men and women, a good geographical representation and different types of stakeholders: researchers, funders and users. The Interim Steering Committee will be the decision-making body for the IRC until the Steering Committee is in place.

In collaboration with the 4p1000 STC, the Soil Carbon IRC interim Scientific and Technical Committee (STC) has also been established with the same members as the 4p1000 STC. ‘The Soil Carbon IRC is our scientific arm‘, says Paul Luu, Executive Secretariat of the international “4 per 1000” initiative.

Looking ahead

Amidst these achievements, the momentum around the Soil Carbon IRC continues. Five Regional Nodes Ambassadors have been selected and are spreading the word about the IRC through their networks and in different events. African Soil Carbon IRC Ambassador Wolé Fatunbi is presenting the Soil Carbon IRC in Cameroon as part of a series of ORCaSa workshops.

In addition, a symposium on soil carbon and related topics is being prepared for June 2025, thanks to Latin American soil carbon ambassador Beata Madari.

Amidst these efforts, the Soil Carbon IRC will continue to grow. Do you want to contribute to the legacy? Whether you are a university, research organisation, national or international initiative or program, living lab, R&D agency, foundation, bank, private company, start-up, policymaker, agriculture expert, or NGOs, you can join the Soil Carbon IRC!