The main objective of BIOservicES is to understand the interconnection between soil organisms (virus, bacteria archaea, fungi, protists, nematodes, microarthropods, earthworms, isopods, millipedes, insects and spiders) and the delivery of soil multiple Ecosystem Function and Services (EFS) at different scales (field vs landscape), identifying the pressures and drivers resulting from different land uses and climate change, and performing an economic valuation of the contribution of soil organisms to ES. BIOservicES will also deepen in the relationship between soil organisms and soil structure, and how this interaction is affected by land use and management intensity, to contribute to the Soil Mission objective 6 “Improve soil structure to enhance habitat quality for soil biota and crops”. BIOservicES will thus deliver new knowledge, new indicators based on soil organisms and the EFS in which they are involved and digital decision-support tools and models to help design climate resilient management practices and monitoring/conservation/restoration programmes adapted to a range of environments (land uses and  biogeographic regions) across Europe, to maintain and foster the multiple EFS in which soil organisms are involved.

CMCC role
Leading the WP on incentives and policy analysis, and contribution to the establishment of stakeholder communities.

Activities
Create and strengthen a stakeholder community, with international organizations/initiatives, for co-design, co-innovation and co-learning, and to harmonise procedures and establish an international treaty for soil exchange.
Understand the role of multiple soil organisms, alone and in interaction, in the provision of multiple EFS in terms of land use and region.
Identify the most appropriate keystone biological indicators for assessing soil functions and the provision of ES by soil.
Identify current pressures, drivers and resilience of soil organisms to land use change, management and climate change, and how this is associated to the provision of EFS.
Provide a framework for the proper evaluation of the economic value of the ES associated to soil organisms to enhance investments in soil health and recovery of soil biodiversity.
Develop tools and guidelines to introduce soil organisms into policy and incentive creation.
Efficient communication and dissemination campaign to increase the emphasis on soil, its health and value, to convey to society the importance of soil organisms for human wellbeing.

Expected results
Improved understanding of Ecosystem Services (ES) related to soil biodiversity and the role of biodiversity in the provision of soil ecosystem functions and services.
Enhanced protection, sustainable management and restoration of soil ecosystems through more targeted incentives and wide-spread knowledge, with better integration of soil within land use planning.
Significantly improved availability of soil biodiversity indicators which support the implementation, assessment and monitoring of policy at large scale.
Better understanding of the interconnection between soil organisms within land uses and biogeographic regions at field and landscape level.
Identification of management practices and restoration strategies that best contribute to climate change adaptation.
Better understanding of the economic value of ES associated to soil organisms and increased awareness about the value of investing in soil health.
Increased knowledge of the environmental and economic effects of different land uses and intensities.
Harmonization of soil health monitoring and reporting and contribution to EUSO, LISE and LUCAS.
Enhanced cooperation and new partnerships across different sectors to significantly improve soil health and support the multiple soil functions and ES.

Partners
UNIVERSIDAD DE VIGO (UVIGO)
LGI SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION (LGI)
EIGEN VERMOGEN VAN HET INSTITUUT VOOR LANDBOUW- EN VISSERIJONDERZOEK (EV ILVO)
JOHANN HEINRICH VON THUENEN-INSTITUT, BUNDESFORSCHUNGSINSTITUT FUER LAENDLICHE RAEUME, WALD UND FISCHEREI (TI)
CONSIGLIO PER LA RICERCA IN AGRICOLTURA E L’ANALISI DELL’ECONOMIA AGRARIA (CREA)
ZABALA INNOVATION CONSULTING SA (Zabala)
FONDAZIONE CENTRO EURO-MEDITERRANEOSUI CAMBIAMENTI CLIMATICI (CMCC)
AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS (CSIC)
AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS (CSIC)
WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY (WU)
LATVIJAS VALSTS MEZZINATNES INSTITUTS SILAVA (SILAVA)
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DELLA TUSCIA (UNITUS)
JUNE COMMUNICATIONS SRL (JUNE)
SOLUCIONES AGRICOLAS CULTIVATE SL (SAC)
FUNDACION JUANA DE VEGA (FJV)
FLACHENAGENTUR RHEINLAND GMBH (FAR)
SIA RIGAS MEZI (RM)