In March 2013, 40 leading experts from across the world gathered at a workshop, hosted by the European Commission, Directorate General Joint Research Centre, Italy, to discuss the multiple benefits of soil carbon as part of a Rapid Assessment Process (RAP) project commissioned by Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE). This collaboration led to the publication of the SCOPE Series Volume 71 "Soil Carbon: Science, Management and Policy for Multiple Benefits"; which brings together the essential scientific evidence and policy opportunities regarding the global importance of soil carbon. This short communication summarises the key messages of the assessment including research and policy implications. (Résumé d'auteur

The need to mainstream biodiversity into agricultural activities has been advocated for some time. Several approaches have been described, ranging from plot to farm or landscape scale and involving different practices. We studied the development of a biodiversity enhancing project in French vineyards based on agronomic and sociological data. We conducted interviews and farm surveys to analyze management practices influencing biodiversity both within fields and in adjacent areas not used for production. We studied farmers' motivations to join the winegrowers' association project and their perception of the importance of biodiversity in their own vineyard management. Results show that individual initiative and the farmers' association both played a key role in project development, even though people's perception of biodiversity matters and personal involvement had been extremely variable. Although the project can be considered a collective success, it remains difficult for winegrowers, individually, to take biodiversity into account in their agronomic practices.

[eng] The role fo farmers with a conservation program. the exemple of the OGAF - local land improvement project) in flooded meadows of Anjou . The introduction of an environnemental measure which aims to protect in the corne crake meadows liable to be flooded brings news responsabilities to local farmers : the upkeep of an environnemental sensitive area. The various interpretations of the conservation scheme (bearing in mind the network of relations and influence of individuel farmers) have provoked debates on meadows management norms, which have been called into question by new ornothological and landscape interests. But in conflicts with other agents for environnemental conservation, farmers have gradually come to be respected as experts and mediators, and therein found a new sense of indentity. [fre] L'introduction d'un dispositif agri-environnemental visant la protection du Râle des Genêts dans les prairies inondables angevines a placé les éleveurs locaux dans une situation inédite de co-responsabilité vis-à-vis de la pérennité d'un patrimoine naturel. Leurs interprétations diverses de la mesure, fonction des places occupées dans le réseau de dialogue local, génèrent des débats sur les normes d'exploitation des prairies, déstabilisées par des justifications paysagères et ornithologiques nouvelles. Mais dans les conflits entre acteurs de la nature, les agriculteurs ont su progressivement s'imposer comme experts et médiateurs, trouvant un nouveau sens à l'exercice de leur métier.

There is an urgent need for agriculture in general, and for viticulture in particular, to reduce their impacts on the environment. Doing so requires an approach that supports transitioning to more environmentally friendly practices. Involving farmers and agricultural advisors is key to lifting technical, economic, and social barriers to this transition. Participatory methods can help to consider specific contexts and concerns, but few suitable tools are available. We developed a methodological framework to address both environmental and economic dimensions at the field and farm scales in three participatory ecodesign workshops with winegrowers. We applied our framework to the ecodesign of pathways of technical operations in the Middle Loire Valley, France. The first two workshops focused on the field scale, and group interactions were facilitated using a serious game and a “live” assessment of the environmental performance of the ecodesigned system. The third workshop focused on implementation at farm level. The aggregated environmental impact of the ecodesigned farm decreased by 4%, while the economic performance of its four pathways of technical operations improved. We showed that combining environmental and economic assessment tools, suitable for use in participatory workshops, addresses most mechanisms for and barriers to changing practices at the farm scale. The typology of activities at the farm scale allows farm characteristics and the diversity of production systems to be represented in the ecodesign without over-complicating the process. The use of farm maps takes advantage of the collective expertise of the group and increases participant involvement. This process highlighted the need to continue to extend the scope and criteria of ecodesign to decrease environmental impacts even more. Here, we show for the first time the need to quantify the influence of a farm’s environmental practices on its economic performance to reduce the perception of risk and facilitate adoption of these practices.

In this chapter, soil organic matter (SOM) benefits will be considered from two different perspectives: (i) the scientific perception of 'SOM benefits' between the 18th century and today; and (ii) how various contemporary religions and societies, including farmers of Western cultures, perceive soil and SOM benefits. Perceptions of the benefits of SOM (or humus) varied greatly in Western culture according to changes in historical scientific theories. Different periods can be considered. In the first part of 19th century, the 'theory of humus' by Thaer, dealing with a large popularity of SOM management for soil humus, was considered as the main nutrient for plants. In 1840, the new 'theory of the mineral nutrition of plants by Liebig demonstrated that humus was not the main source of nutrients for plants, with the consequence that there was no important need to manage organic fertilization: the popularity of humus was largely decreasing. With the emergence of environmental problems due to bad SOM management, the popularity of OM management is newly increasing. The best example is the concept that soil could be a large reservoir for atmospheric carbon sequestration, and this confers special attention to plant residue management. In addition to scientific knowledge or economic considerations, the practices of farmers around the world are also highly dependent on their own culture (religious and cult aspects). To illustrate this point, this chapter gives as examples not only the beliefs of the Buryat (Lake Baikal) and the Dogon people (Mali) but also the opinions of three groups of French farmers towards soil and the benefits of SOM, dealing with completely different attitudes vis-à-vis the adoption of different agricultural alternatives.