Rebuilding soil organic matter: farming in eastern Austria

Changing farming systems and SOM

After the Second World War, agriculture across Europe changed rapidly. New machines replaced animal labour, synthetic fertilizers became widely available, and farming systems were reorganized to produce more food. Fields became larger, farms fewer but bigger, and landscapes more specialized. These developments greatly increased productivity and helped feed a growing population.

At the same time, farming practices changed how soils were managed. Fields were often left bare between crops, soils were disturbed more frequently through ploughing and heavy machinery, and many crop residues were removed rather than returned. Over time — together with land-use change, e.g. from forest to cropland — these practices reduced the organic material entering many agricultural soils and increased the rate at which SOM decomposed or was lost through erosion. As a result, soil organic matter and soil organic carbon declined in many regions, making soils more vulnerable to degradation.

These developments were not driven by technology alone. Urbanization, global trade, agricultural policies, and changing diets — particularly rising meat consumption — influenced how land was used. Together, technological innovation, economic pressures, and political decisions shaped the intensive farming systems that dominate much of Europe today.

Optional: For the technical and socio-economic factors, see Devátý et al. (2019), Jepsen et al. (2015), or Schirpke et al. (2023).

Agriculture is increasingly affected by the environmental changes it helps create: climate change is bringing more frequent droughts, heavy rainfall, and extreme weather, all of which affect crop production and soil stability. Yet the story does not end there. In eastern Austria, soil organic carbon in arable soils has gradually increased since the early 1990s — a projected rise of roughly 17 % over the last 30 years. This improvement is closely linked to Austria's agri-environmental program (ÖPUL), which encourages practices that support soil health (Wenzel et al., 2022).

Farmers in these programs increasingly leave crop residues on their fields rather than removing or burning them; grow cover crops between main crops; diversify rotations; and reduce tillage intensity to slow the breakdown of organic matter. Organic amendments such as manure also return carbon and nutrients to the soil. With the right practices, soils that once lost organic carbon may gradually rebuild it — though the possibility and stability of SOC largely depend on inherent soil properties such as texture.

Tip: In Module 4 you will explore how agricultural and environmental policies can support more sustainable soil management.