The pilot site is located in the nutrient hotspot region of Catalonia, Spain, and focuses on on-farm experimental work to identify and evaluate novel combinations of the most effective mitigation strategies evaluating the impact on nutrient budgets, environmental pressures, agronomic production and climate change mitigation potential.

The pilot will optimize the flows of nutrients from three agricultural pillars (livestock, crops, and agro-processes) and address various environmental problems such as nutrient losses, imbalances, N₂O and ammonia emissions, nutrient use efficiency, air and water quality, soil structure, and soil contamination.

As one of the lighthouses, it will demonstrate to the farming community the potential of quantifying the impact of these new measures via the developed NutriKPIs and NutriModels. To achieve this, the pilot site will implement a range of mitigation measures including the use of perennial cereals, novel fertiliser products and floating plants.

Overall, the pilot site aims to demonstrate how a holistic approach to nutrient management can improve the environmental performance of agricultural systems while overcoming measure- and region-specific challenges. The results of the pilot will be used to inform farmers, other actors of the value chain and policy makers and contribute to the development of the NutriPlatform.

Want to know more about this pilot? You can contact Laura Diaz Guerra, researcher at Beta Technological Center (laura.diaz.guerra@uvic.cat).