News

AgroecoliveLab presents new NUTRIOLIVAR results on the impact of soil erosion on nutrient balances (phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen) in olive groves under different management regimes. The study compares balances computed without and with erosion, integrating soil losses as a function of ground cover, tillage, and other practices.

The takeaway is clear: when soil is lost, nutrients are lost. Once erosion is included, small surpluses can turn into deficits, especially for potassium, changing the system diagnosis and potentially leading to less sustainable fertilization decisions if erosion is ignored.

The good news is that soil-protective practices, cover crops, reduced tillage, and incorporation of pruning residues, buffer that impact, enhance nutrient return, and help maintain long-term soil fertility.

Why account for erosion in nutrient balances?

Including erosion is essential for three reasons: (1) it is often omitted, which underestimates losses and biases management toward over-fertilization; (2) it is challenging to measure, depending on slope, rainfall, soil type, and cover, yet ignoring it distorts the diagnosis; and (3) the more agroecological the management, the lower the sensitivity of the balance to erosion.

Although there is uncertainty about the exact magnitude of losses, varying by site and management, the conclusion is robust: soil conservation is also an economic strategy, reducing reliance on external inputs and exposure to price volatility.

The accompanying figure illustrates how balances deteriorate when erosion is considered and how nature-based practices mitigate that effect, especially in systems with greater soil protection.

From November 4th to 6th, the SCALE-it project held its first annual meeting at the beautiful Estación Experimental del Zaidín (CSIC) in Granada.

Throughout the event, the extensive project team had the opportunity to learn firsthand about the progress and challenges of the many ambitious tasks related to testing innovative physical and chemical methods aimed at replacing traditional plant protection products across a wide range of European organic crops.

The presentations, workshops, and discussion sessions fostered an intense exchange of ideas and helped to refine the project’s procedures and roadmap.

At SCALE-it, we firmly believe in co-creation among partners: when projects are built collaboratively, the resulting solutions are stronger, more innovative, and more sustainable.

AgroecoliveLab presents new NUTRIOLIVAR results on nutrient recycling (N, P, and K) in olive groves under different management regimes. The study compares the exported fraction—what leaves the farm with the harvest or removed residues—with the recycled fraction, which returns to the soil via leaves, shredded pruning residues, cover crops, and organic amendments. The data confirm that as management shifts toward more agroecological practices, the percentage of recycled N, P, and K increases and the exported fraction decreases.

Closing the cycle of these nutrients translates into less purchased fertilizer, cost savings, and lower emissions associated with fertilizer manufacturing and transport. In addition, recycling reactivates soil biology and improves soil structure and water-holding capacity, thereby increasing the resilience of olive groves.

The accompanying figure illustrates the increase in recycling when moving from conventional to agroecological systems.

The carbon credit market is full of technical terms that can be confusing for many farmers, technicians, and researchers interested in the certification of CO₂ capture on agricultural land.

At AgroecoliveLab, we want to make it easier. That’s why we’ve created an interactive, visual, and user-friendly digital glossary that will help you understand the key concepts behind this fascinating field.

With this tool, you can become familiar with the most common terminology before diving into the world of certification — or simply when exploring information on the topic. This way, you’ll stop feeling like a stranger in a territory that’s becoming increasingly important for the future of farming and sustainability.

👉 Download the glossary and start speaking the language of carbon!

On October 8 and 9, new sampling sessions were carried out by the OLIVE CARBON BALANCE (OCB) Operational Group at Cortijo El Puerto (Lora del Río, Seville) and Luque Ecológico (Luque, Córdoba), both beneficiary entities of the project. Teams from the University of Jaén (UJA) and CEBAS-CSIC took part in these visits.

The University of Jaén is measuring olive tree biovolumes to quantify the carbon stored in the permanent structure of the trees (trunk and primary and secondary branches). The sampling design includes five trees per farm, along with the installation of dendrometers on five olive trees per farm to monitor growth over time. The study covers olive groves under different management systems —super-intensive, intensive, and traditional— in order to assess how carbon storage varies depending on the cultivation system and tree structure.

These activities are part of the second phase of the OCB project and strengthen its goal of developing a robust and verifiable methodology for calculating the carbon balance in olive groves.

The results of these field campaigns will help refine the carbon balance calculation algorithms being developed by the OCB project, integrating in situ data (soil and biomass) with remote sensing observations. This work is key to establishing comparable indicators across management systems and to the future validation of results within the carbon credits market.

The first newsletter of the European project Scale-it is now available — an initiative that aims to advance innovative solutions in the fields of sustainability and bioeconomy.

In this first edition, no scientific results are presented yet, but the research teams that make up the consortium are introduced. Among them, we are honored to represent AgroecoliveLab, actively participating in the development of this exciting project that combines science, technology, and environmental commitment.

We will continue to share updates on the progress and results that emerge throughout the upcoming stages of the project.

The LIFE OLIVER project offers the public a free, simple, and multilingual calculator that allows you to estimate the carbon credits generated by your olive grove.

This tool has been designed to help farmers, technicians, and managers understand the climate change mitigation capacity of their olive farms, thus promoting more sustainable land management.

Would you like to know how much your olive grove contributes to fighting climate change?

👉 Try the calculator and find out for yourself:
https://olivernews1.wordpress.com/olivercalc_en/

AgroecoliveLab is a partner in the European project SCALE-it, an initiative aimed at developing sustainable alternatives to problematic inputs used in organic farming. In our case, we are working on finding substitutes for copper applicable to organic olive growing.

We are pleased to announce that the project’s official website has just been launched:
👉 https://scale-it-organic.eu/