How and to what extent does soil management in an agroecological cropping system contribute to soil quality, in terms of characteristics and processes? Can soil compaction be avoided or eliminated? To what extent are nutrients retained and utilized? To what extent and how fast does the agroecological approach increase the carbon content of the soil?
A multi-year monitoring with innovative measuring methods on certain fields of PHAE, under strict application of alternative soil management measures, will give insight into the progression in general soil quality. Both soil structure improvement and soil carbon enhancement are multi-year processes.