European UnionDeadline PassedNon-profit, Private Business, Research Institution, Public Institution, Other
Improved land suitability for soil health and sustainable biomass production
Horizon Europe Mission A Soil Deal for Europe
Funding Amount
Up to €6.0M
Deadline
30/09/2025
Eligible Organization Types
Non-profit, Private Business, Research Institution, Public Institution, Other
Trusted by
What is the Improved land suitability for soil health and sustainable biomass production Call?
Grant Description
This topic seeks research and innovation actions to develop process-based models and decision tools for sustainable biomass production that improves soil health and enables optimal land suitability choices. Projects will model soil properties and water interactions, engage land managers, conduct socio-economic and environmental analyses, upscale findings across regions, focus on key crops and paludicultural plants, and ensure open access, interoperability and FAIR data through collaboration with...
Required Results for Successful Funding
Expected Outcomes
Project results are expected to deliver all of the following outcomes:
• Improved soil health, optimized land-use suitability choices and sustainable biomass production (quantity and quality) across agricultural lands, forests, marginal lands and peatlands under paludiculture/restoration.
• Enhanced understanding of relationships between biomass production, soil biodiversity, ecosystem health and soil-water interactions (water-holding capacity, drainage patterns and irrigation requirements).
• Better assessments of land suitability and land management practices that support soil restoration and sustainable biomass production for food and non-food uses at European scale.
• Increased deployment of sustainable biomass production systems that improve soil health while contributing to nature restoration, climate mitigation and resilience adaptation strategies.
• Improved soil health, optimized land-use suitability choices and sustainable biomass production (quantity and quality) across agricultural lands, forests, marginal lands and peatlands under paludiculture/restoration.
• Enhanced understanding of relationships between biomass production, soil biodiversity, ecosystem health and soil-water interactions (water-holding capacity, drainage patterns and irrigation requirements).
• Better assessments of land suitability and land management practices that support soil restoration and sustainable biomass production for food and non-food uses at European scale.
• Increased deployment of sustainable biomass production systems that improve soil health while contributing to nature restoration, climate mitigation and resilience adaptation strategies.
Funded areas
Scope Requirements
Proposals must:
• Recognize soil as a fundamental component of terrestrial ecosystems and integrate soil properties and land suitability into biomass production planning;
• Use data from EUSO, EJP SOIL long-term experiments, Mission Soil living labs and other repositories, supplemented by Earth observation datasets;
• Simulate interactions among soil properties, land suitability, biomass quantity and quality for food and non-food applications;
• Engage with land managers to identify real-world needs and co-develop decision-support tools;
• Assess social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable biomass production, including water-soil-plant dynamics;
• Upscale experimental findings and modelling outputs to larger geographic scales, integrating socio-economic indicators such as costs, economic impact and employment;
• Focus on ten priority annual and perennial agricultural, forest and paludicultural species (including marginal and peatland biomass) and their multifunctional cropping systems and value chains;
• Ensure peatland biomass selections align with existing and planned rewetting actions and strictly exclude afforestation;
• Adopt standard ontologies/vocabularies and data harmonization mechanisms to guarantee interoperability;
• Ensure all produced data adheres to FAIR principles;
• Collaborate with European research infrastructures where relevant;
• Include work packages for coordination and synergy with ongoing Mission Soil projects and cluster activities;
• Fully implement the multi-actor approach, ensuring co-creation with end-users and stakeholders from project inception to exploitation;
• Summarize key knowledge in EIP-AGRI practice abstracts and engage with relevant innovation networks.
• Recognize soil as a fundamental component of terrestrial ecosystems and integrate soil properties and land suitability into biomass production planning;
• Use data from EUSO, EJP SOIL long-term experiments, Mission Soil living labs and other repositories, supplemented by Earth observation datasets;
• Simulate interactions among soil properties, land suitability, biomass quantity and quality for food and non-food applications;
• Engage with land managers to identify real-world needs and co-develop decision-support tools;
• Assess social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable biomass production, including water-soil-plant dynamics;
• Upscale experimental findings and modelling outputs to larger geographic scales, integrating socio-economic indicators such as costs, economic impact and employment;
• Focus on ten priority annual and perennial agricultural, forest and paludicultural species (including marginal and peatland biomass) and their multifunctional cropping systems and value chains;
• Ensure peatland biomass selections align with existing and planned rewetting actions and strictly exclude afforestation;
• Adopt standard ontologies/vocabularies and data harmonization mechanisms to guarantee interoperability;
• Ensure all produced data adheres to FAIR principles;
• Collaborate with European research infrastructures where relevant;
• Include work packages for coordination and synergy with ongoing Mission Soil projects and cluster activities;
• Fully implement the multi-actor approach, ensuring co-creation with end-users and stakeholders from project inception to exploitation;
• Summarize key knowledge in EIP-AGRI practice abstracts and engage with relevant innovation networks.
Additional Conditions for Applicants
Special Conditions
- Peatland biomass activities must be limited to paludiculture under rewetting scenarios; afforestation is prohibited.
• All data and outputs must be managed under FAIR principles and made openly accessible, interoperable and reusable through adoption of standard-based ontologies.
• Proposals must allocate specific resources for coordination and joint activities with other Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ projects, Soil Wise and relevant cluster initiatives.
• A genuine, continuous multi-actor approach is mandatory, involving end-users, practitioners, advisors and other stakeholders in co-creation, knowledge exchange and dissemination.
• Ten priority plant species (annual, perennial, forest, paludicultural) must be selected and studied within multifunctional cropping systems and value chains.
• Compliance with Horizon Europe RIA model grant rules: eligible countries, page limits, evaluation criteria, MGA conditions and use of standard application and evaluation forms.
• Production of EIP-AGRI practice abstracts for EU-wide dissemination; recommended engagement with EIP-AGRI Operational Groups or equivalent innovation networks.
• All data and outputs must be managed under FAIR principles and made openly accessible, interoperable and reusable through adoption of standard-based ontologies.
• Proposals must allocate specific resources for coordination and joint activities with other Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ projects, Soil Wise and relevant cluster initiatives.
• A genuine, continuous multi-actor approach is mandatory, involving end-users, practitioners, advisors and other stakeholders in co-creation, knowledge exchange and dissemination.
• Ten priority plant species (annual, perennial, forest, paludicultural) must be selected and studied within multifunctional cropping systems and value chains.
• Compliance with Horizon Europe RIA model grant rules: eligible countries, page limits, evaluation criteria, MGA conditions and use of standard application and evaluation forms.
• Production of EIP-AGRI practice abstracts for EU-wide dissemination; recommended engagement with EIP-AGRI Operational Groups or equivalent innovation networks.
Important dates
Open from: 06/05/2025
Deadline:30/09/2025
Application period has ended
Win your grant with Cogrant
How cogrant works
Smart Funding Fit Check
Instantly know if your project fits call criteria. Our system highlights strengths, gaps, and risks, so you only apply when your chances are real.
Intelligent Research Engine
Our research engine digs deeper than any founder could alone. It pulls data about your company, your market, and even your competitors - giving your proposal an edge backed by facts, not fluff.
Full Proposal Development
Our system builds your entire proposal from start to finish, ensuring every section is complete, coherent, and crafted to the highest quality. You focus on your vision — we deliver the winning document.
Expert Review
Our experts run a complete review before delivery, ensuring your draft proposal is accurate, well-structured, and polished. You’ll receive a high-quality draft that’s ready for your final touches before submission.
Our Numbers
Results that speak for themselves
70+
proposals prepared
€36.7M
total funding secured for clients
65%
win rate in highly competitive calls