GYPREG: Tackling agricultural phosphorus load by soil amendments

Program name: Baltic Sea Region Programme

Investment priority:

2 PO A greener and more resilient low-carbon Europe, transitioning to a net zero-carbon economy, promoting a just transition to clean energy, green and blue investments, the circular economy, climate change mitigation and adaptation, risk prevention and management and sustainable urban mobility;

Program priority: 2. Water-efficient societies

Project No.: C2_038

Summary

Eutrophication negatively affects the ecological state of the Baltic Sea. Phosphorus leached from the soil also contributes to eutrophication, and the phosphorus load is not sufficiently reduced. Latvia is obliged to limit the release of phosphorus into the aquatic environment in order to meet a number of international obligations (Water Framework Directive, EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, HELCOM, etc.).

The GYPREG project proposes to reduce the phosphorus load from agricultural lands by incorporating gypsum into the soil. Gypsum is a widely available mineral in Latvia with a hitherto little-studied potential to improve the soil's ability to bind phosphorus and thus reduce phosphorus entering surface and groundwater. As part of the project, LHEI will conduct gypsum tests under laboratory conditions on agricultural soils widely used in Latvia to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. In cooperation with project partners and target groups, good practice examples from Finland will be adopted, where the use of gypsum is widely studied and also subsidized to limit phosphorus losses from agricultural soils.

Project lead partner:

1. Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) https://www.syke.fi/en-US

Project partners:

1. Latvian Hydroecology Institute (LHEI) https://lhei.lv/

2. Lithuanian Research Center for Agriculture and Forestry https://www.lammc.lt/en

3. Institute of Technology and Life Sciences – National Research Institute https://www.itp.edu.pl/old/en/index.html

4. John Nurminen Foundation https://johnnurmisensaatio.fi/en/

5. Race for the Baltic https://www.raceforthebaltic.com/

6. RISE – Research Institutes of Sweden https://www.ri.se/en

7. Farmers' Assembly, Association https://zemniekusaeima.lv/

Project duration: 01.11.2023-31.10.2026

Allocated program funding for the project: EUR: 2191633.32