Roberta Farina and Silvia Vanino, researchers at CREA-AA and part of the scientific staff of the VitiCaSe project, are in Seville to participate in EUROSOIL 2025, where they are presenting a poster on the initial results of the project.

EUROSOIL is the official conference of the European Confederation of Soil Science Societies (ECSSS) and is one of the most important events in Europe in the field of soil science. Researchers from all over Europe meet at EUROSOIL every four years to present the results of their research through oral presentations and posters, providing an important opportunity for exchange and knowledge transfer within the soil science community.

The study presented in the poster assessed the effect of cover crops on the quality of organic carbon in the soil, distinguishing between more stable forms, which remain trapped in soil particles for a long time, and more easily degradable forms.

Soil samples collected in spring 2024 from the four pilot vineyards participating in the LIFE VitiCaSe project in Tuscany (Castello di Albola, Rocca di Montemassi, San Felice) and Veneto (Ruffino) were analysed.

The data show that cover crop management promotes a significant increase in the more stable fractions of carbon, confirming the role of these practices in improving the fertility of vineyard soils and contributing to climate change mitigation.