The TUdi project provided a comprehensive response to global soil degradation by developing tools, strategies, and stakeholders networks to restore soil health across agricultural systems in Europe, China, and New Zealand. Its results span scientific innovation, stakeholder engagement, and practical applications.
Released six free Decision Support Tools (DSTs), each addressing major soil threats: erosion, compaction, low organic carbon, poor structure, biodiversity loss, and fertilization. These tools are mobile-friendly, multilingual, and linked to restoration strategies. An additional free socioeconomic digital tool, SEST, was developed to appraise the cost/benefit implications of soil restoration technologies at farm scale. Together, they form a suite of tools to help stakeholders implement restoration actions and assess technical impact and economic implications. Two advanced DSTs for commercial use were integrated into two advisory services: Nutri-Service (Nutrient Management Plan) and SEA-Service (Soil health evaluation and restoration), including expert consultation.
Developed a unified meta-database covering 52 experimental sites and 600 treatments, now integrated into the European BonaRes platform for long-term accessibility. These studies include experiments and commercial farms with ongoing trials, showcasing good management and restoration practices, and studies on degradation problems. They have been used, among other purposes, to test the DSTs.
A catalogue of 27 soil restoration strategies combining soil quality enhancement with agricultural production is available. It was developed through a detailed review of technical and scientific literature, results from TUdi’s meta-database, and tacit knowledge identified in cooperation with the TUdi stakeholders’ network.
A permanent stakeholder network across participating countries has been consolidated. They shared four years of cooperation in TUdi, steering tools and activities to stakeholder needs. This network expanded through collaboration with existing EIP-Agri operational groups and dissemination via EIP-Agri tools (within the EU CAP Network).
TUdi gathered and analyzed socioeconomic data from diverse farming typologies across participating countries, performing cost-benefit analysis and evaluating business opportunities for soil restoration solutions. This information helped identify barriers and opportunities under specific conditions and informed advice to decision makers. Findings were summarized in two policy briefs.
TUdi created lasting collaboration among teams and stakeholders across Europe, China, and New Zealand. A consolidated cooperation network was established, with multiple activities completed: international conferences and EU-China workshops, researcher exchanges for technical visits, PhD student mobility, cooperation agreements, joint project applications, and training activities.
Thanks to this collaboration, TUdi engaged a large number of stakeholders in over 150 events including field days, workshops, and seminars. It produced 29 multilingual educational videos, 14 technical leaflets, a children’s brochure, and a legacy booklet. TUdi published 52 peer-reviewed papers and 110 conference contributions. It maintained an active social media presence and a multilingual website with over 8,000 page views and global reach across 67 countries. Demonstration videos and newsletters promoted DSTs and SEST tools.
TUdi will adopt a hybrid exploitation model to ensure a lasting legacy through:
Free tools and data (DSTs, SEST, meta-database) openly accessible to farmers, researchers, and institutions.
Commercial services offering tailored support for advanced users, hosted by AgriSat.
Policy indicators and guidelines informing EU and national soil protection frameworks.
