Soil-resilient biocrusts for cooler, healthier, high-yielding crops across Europe

Challenge and relevance:

• More than 60% of Europe’s arable land and 33% of the world’s 1.4 billion hectares of arable land are degraded through erosion, salinization, and loss of soil biota, undermining productivity and resilience.

• These biophysical stresses are compounded by rising temperatures and more frequent heatwaves and unseasonal frosts, which threaten food security and directly relate to the Soil Mission and CLIMA‑SOIL focus on soil resilience to extreme events.

• Existing measures such as frost fans, chemical stabilizers, and water‑intensive cooling techniques are costly, energy- or input-intensive, and typically fail to jointly restore soil health, reduce erosion, and protect crops from thermal extremes at scale.

Cooling Crops solution and innovation:

• Cooling Crops has developed a patented, sprayable powder that forms a stable biocrust on the soil surface, scalably leveraging proven roles of cyanobacterial crusts in improving soil structure and fertility.

• The biocrust rebuilds soil microbiomes, increases nutrient availability, and confers physical protection: in trials, it has reduced wind erosion by more than 80% and tripled water retention four days after application, aligning with Soil Mission objectives on erosion control and soil function.

• The material provides passive thermal regulation by reducing soil and crop temperatures temperatures by up to 6 °C under direct sun light (field trial results), which can help maintain chill accumulation and reduce heat stress risks.

Fit with HORIZON‑MISS‑2026‑05‑SOIL‑04:

• The project will demonstrate how integrating biocrust-based soil covers into region‑specific rotations and management practices can accelerate food system transformation by simultaneously enhancing soil health, stabilizing yields, and reducing dependence on energy‑intensive protection technologies.

• Activities can be embedded in or aligned with existing long‑term field experiments and living labs, allowing robust monitoring of soil physical, chemical, and biological indicators, as required under the Soil Deal for Europe Mission.

• By co‑designing business models with farmers, cooperatives, and potentially agri‑insurers, the consortium will explore scalable deployment, cost‑effectiveness, and contribution to EU competitiveness in sustainable soil management technologies.

Fit with HORIZON‑MISS‑2026‑08‑CLIMA‑SOIL:

• The proposed cooperation will jointly test the Cooling Crops biocrust in at least three contrasting European regions exposed to drought, heatwaves, and unseasonal frosts, directly addressing the call’s emphasis on soil resilience to multiple extreme weather events.

• Demonstrations will quantify how biocrust‑enhanced soils withstand and recover from extremes by measuring erosion, moisture dynamics, soil temperature profiles, crop emergence, and yield stability under stress years.

• The consortium will develop replication roadmaps with additional regions and local authorities, including Mediterranean, continental, and semi‑arid zones, to support broad uptake and food security impact beyond pilot sites.

Desired partners and cooperation mode:

• Cooling Crops is seeking:

  • Regional and local authorities and living labs engaged in Soil Mission activities and climate adaptation planning.

  • Agronomy, soil science, and climate-impact research groups with long‑term experimental sites and advanced monitoring capacities.

  • Farmer cooperatives, agri‑SMEs, and value‑chain actors willing to co‑design farm‑level deployment, logistics, and service models for biocrust application.

• Partners will collaborate on proposal design, multi‑site demonstration, impact assessment (soil health, yield, socio‑economic outcomes), and exploitation pathways, positioning the project as a strong candidate under both Soil Mission and CLIMA‑SOIL calls.