The mapping and characterization of current and future marginal lands is being progressed significantly particularly in relation to their characterization/classification according to factors that classify them as ‘low ILUC’ and according to factors that need to be taken into account when using these lands for sustainable low ILUC industrial feedstock production (land abandonment, land degradation, soil erosion by wind and water, presence of specific ecosystem services).
Advanced breeding materials is being further improved (by running the last steps on breeding) in order to reach TRL 7. The advanced material will be grown on multi-location field trials Mediterranean and Continental regions. Moreover, new breeding tools are being developed that will enable the breeding of orphan crops like hemp and miscanthus.
New innovative systems are being developed in 9 different countries, where annual and perennial crops are being grown on two typologies of intercropping systems.
A number of innovative bio-based products are being developed at TRL 7 from low ILUC feedstock produced in fields of CSs. The products have been grouped based on the feedstock used: a) mulch firms, bio lubricants, bio stimulants from oilseeds, b) latex for gloves, rubber for tires, adhesives and coatings from specialty crops, c) bio herbicides from oilseed and specialty and d) MDF panels, particle boards, biochar and nanocarbons from lignocellulosic crops and bagasse of oilseeds and specialty crops. Four of them (namely mulch films, bio stimulants, biochar and bio herbicides) will be used back in MIDAS fields for circular use.
An integrated framework for the design of sustainable bio-based value chains and webs is operationalized.
Field assessments in three field trials (WP3) filling existing gaps in our knowledge on biodiversity patterns for marginal lands and for new cropping systems including perennials, which can be compared with results of studies on high-production intercropping systems in e.g. the Netherlands. The use of innovative identification methods based on DNA metabarcoding allow us to go beyond pollinator counts, and also explore a much wider functional biodiversity of flying and crawling insects, while the set-up of training methods for field recognition of pollinators (based on transect counts) will benefit the future possibilities for upscaling field inventories via e.g. citizen science. In addition the LARCH model is being used in two out of the three case studies (Emilia Romagna and Serbia).
The development of business plans starts from the farms and the capacity of their farming systems within their regional agro-ecological and socioeconomic context, to adapt to climate change and will aim to enable their smooth, profitable transition towards a low carbon, circular bioeconomy. The work involve farmers and other local actors to co-creational activities that will deliver business plan visions and concrete business plans that will be further tailored to the available financing options within the territorial boundaries of each case study.
