Representatives from the BETA Technological Centre (UVic-UCC), coordinators of the TRANSITION project, participated in the EU Carbon Farming Summit, a scientific event that was held in Valencia, Spain, from the 6th to the 7th of March of 2024. A poster was presented on one of the farms involved in the Transition project.

In this case, results from the innovative crop Kernza® (Thinopyrum intermedium), which is a perennial cereal, were shown. Soil organic carbon and root biomass were analysed at the end of the first and the third cropping seasons. In the first case, the analysis was carried out at different depths.

The take-home messages were:

• Perennial cereal significantly increased the Soil Organic Matter and Soil Carbon at 0-30 and 30-60 cm depth.
• At 60-90 cm depth, there were no significant differences probably because of the lack of root influence.
• The increase in root biomass would be related to the increase of soil organic matter and soil carbon.
• Kernza® can increase soil carbon up to 60 cm depth three years after its establishment.

Link to the event: EU Carbon Farming Summit

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