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Healthy soils, shared futures

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together". African proverb.

ORCaSa (2022–2025) was a Horizon Europe project that laid the groundwork for the Soil Carbon Futures initiative — formerly the Soil Carbon International Research Consortium.

Over three years, ORCaSa built an international community of stakeholders strongly committed to advancing practical solutions for soil carbon sequestration and sustainable land management.

Their collective efforts contribute directly to the Soil Deal for Europe and support the global vision of healthy soils for a healthy planet.

Four soils for a single vision

Coordinated by the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE), ORCaSa expanded its focus beyond agricultural soils to include carbon stored in forests, pastures, wetlands, and urban environments.

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Impact4Soil

Soil is a global priority, backed by extensive research and ongoing efforts. But knowledge alone isn’t enough — we must continue researching, improve access to soil carbon and land data, shape effective policies, and promote open information sharing.

Impact4Soil, developed by ORCaSa partners, offers a dynamic platform with five modules designed to help experts connect, share knowledge, and unlock insights into soil drivers, ultimately advancing soil health worldwide.

Harmonising soil carbon MRV framework

Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) of soil carbon stock changes is essential to support the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals.

As part of the ORCaSa project, a detailed report reviews international MRV initiatives, examining their policy applications (e.g., NDCs, CAP, voluntary carbon markets), ecosystem coverage, and methodological approaches for tracking soil organic carbon (SOC) and greenhouse gas (GHG) dynamics.

These insights lay the groundwork for Soil Carbon Futures’ development of harmonised MRV frameworks, aimed at improving scientific coherence, methodological transparency, and cross-context comparability of soil carbon assessments in both regulatory and voluntary settings.

Global research alignement & agenda

To tackle the global challenge of soil carbon management and agricultural resilience in a changing climate, an international network of researchers came together under the ORCaSa project to identify key research priorities at both regional and global levels.

Their collective efforts led to the creation of the Soil Carbon Futures Strategic Research & Innovation Agenda (SRIA), which is a framework that addresses critical scientific gaps across all land use types.

The SRIA is designed to strengthen international research alignment and serve as a foundation for future collaborative projects and funding opportunities.

ORCaSa partners

Regional ambassadors