Page 30 - Green knowledge 2025

Photo: Kathrine Torday Gulden
How do we ensure good soil health in Norway?
Soil health is about how well soil supports ecosystem services such as food production,
nutrient recycling and biodiversity.
Soil in good health is physically, chemically and bio-
logically balanced. However, erosion, soil compaction
and the loss of organic carbon threaten this balance.
“We see erosion leading to the loss of valuable agri-
cultural land, and soil compaction from heavy
machinery that damages soil structure,” says Dr
Frederik Norheim Bøe, who defended his PhD at
Wageningen University in September 2025.
Dr Bøe has investigated how soil health can be
assessed and improved under Norwegian conditions
and has developed the first region-specific reference
curves for Eastern Norway and Central Norway.
“The curves provide a basis for assessing the poten-
tial to improve soil health on a farm, by comparing it
with others in the same region,” he says.
The assessments of soil health must be made within
a local context, as the potential for improvement
varies greatly depending on soil type, production
system and regional conditions.
Documentation of measures such as diverse crop
rotations, cover crops and reduced tillage under Nor-
wegian conditions is limited. On-farm trials showed
that such measures result in better soil structure and
more life in the soil.
“In fields using these practices, four times as many
earthworms were recorded compared with the con-
ventionally managed field,” he says.
Plot trials with cover crops show that they can be
established as far north as 64°N without reducing
yields. A pure stand of ryegrass had a positive effect
on phosphorus dynamics, while a diverse cover crop
mixture led to more fungi in the soil.
“To ensure good soil health, it is necessary to identify
the most important soil challenges on each individ-
ual farm. The next step is to make use of the poten-
tial in measures such as reduced tillage, cover crops
and diverse crop rotations.”
Purpose: Determine how soil health can be assessed and improved under Norwegian conditions.
Collaboration: Wageningen University
Funding: The Research Council of Norway
Contact: Research Scientist Frederik Bøe, Division of Environment and Natural Resources.
Email: frederik.boe@nibio.no | Telephone: +47 958 71 316
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