HOLOSEU

A transdisciplinary team (PI: Dr. Ibrahim Khalil, UCD, Ireland) consisting of an agricultural systems modeler, programmer, GIS specialist, and academics/researchers from other areas such as crop science, animal science, climatology, and forestry/agroforestry, and a non-academic societal impact champion will carry out the project activities. It is aiming to (i) synthesize databases, algorithms, response functions, and emissions factors (EFs) applicable to Ireland (and EU). (ii) upgrade a promising systems-based model (Holos) tested in Ireland considering Irish farming systems, (iii) develop a digital platform (Holos-IE) to address land uses and management issues to achieve sustainable agricultural farming while reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs) and environmental pollution, and (iv) promote activities to have a wider societal impact including at policy levels. The HOLOS-IE will offer a critical opportunity for Ireland (and the EU) to address climate change challenges and environmental degradation, facing the world today, associated with agricultural systems, agri-food industries, and other land uses. The expected outcomes from the proposed digital platform will be the provision of evidence-based and data-driven alternative land use and management choices. This will facilitate the planning and implementation of innovative farming systems to provide sustainable productivity, reduce GHG emissions to mitigate climate change, and project future scenarios for adaptation and minimizing environmental footprint. Based on the Climate Action Plan and the EU/global needs, it is the right time to develop such a model to find ways to make agricultural sectors carbon-neutral by 2050 by reducing the environmental footprint through accommodation of alternative choices and identifying offsetting/trading-off opportunities to facilitate decision-making and inform policy.