SoilX: Soil management in extreme precipitation and climate change

The overall goals of the SoilX project are:

(1) to elucidate extent and temporal aspects of land management effects on soil structure and hydraulic properties;

(2) to evaluate the potential of changes in land management to increase resilience to future precipitation extremes (i.e. drought, floods), while providing positive spin-offs in terms of mitigation and sustainability in different regions and cropping systems in Europe; and

(3) a social science part that includes identifying context-specific supporting factors as well as challenges for farmers' use of new methods in their land management. SoilX aims to improve the evidence base for soil management effects on soil water regulation functions and crop response by measuring soil hydraulic and mechanical properties in long-term field trials with a history of alternative strategies across Europe. Using various model simulations, potential adaptation benefits as well as mitigation/sustainability benefits that can be achieved through changes in soil structure under current and future climate conditions will be evaluated. Qualitative interviews with farmers will identify context-dependent inhibiting/enabling factors in terms of improved strategies and methods for land management. RådNu is responsible for the Swedish part of the social science part, i.e. item number three.

In order to identify inhibiting and enabling factors as well as challenges that farmers perceive in relation to changed land management, a method is required that enables the grouping and ranking of these factors. In this project, Q-methodology will be used. Q-methodology is one such possible approach, as it a) requires interview respondents to rank items (here: potential land management challenges) relative to each other according to their perceived importance (or respondents' level of agreement); and
b) makes it possible to identify groups of respondents who share similar views, as they rank items in similar ways. As a result, we can identify groups of farmers based on how they perceive barriers or supporting factors important to their land management choices, and then compare groups based on production orientation, geographic differences, or other factors.

The study itself will mainly be conducted through interviews with farmers. During such a Q-methodological interview, the person is asked to sort cards with statements about land issues, according to how well they agree with their own perception. This sorting of statements can be analyzed quantitatively, but since the development of the Q study as well as data collection and result interpretation involves qualitative work, the method is a mixed qualitative-quantitative method.

To further develop the findings, the Q-interviews will include an additional section covering farmers' personal views on what it means to be a 'good farmer' in relation to land issues and climate change management. “Being a good farmer is about the prestige given by the possession of cultural capital, which is recognized by others. So it's about skills and knowledge: knowing how to grow in a good way and knowing the legitimate criteria for defining what is good.” (Burton et al., 2021: p. 131). Asking related questions in interviews has proven to be a useful way to explore non-economic norms and obligations that guide people's behavior, which are otherwise often difficult to elicit (Sutherland, 2021). We will use qualitative analysis to analyze farmers' ideas about what 'good farming' is and will then compare the results between different regions of Europe. How do farmers perceive their identity as "good farmers"? How does it vary geographically, between production orientations and in comparison to other contexts?

Finally, focus group interviews with farmers and/or other stakeholders who are familiar with these issues will be conducted to validate and discuss the results of the qualitative interviews and the Q method. Together with a synthesis of the results from model studies, the Q methodology and the interviews, we will develop recommendations for how farmers, advisory actors and authorities can promote agricultural land management.