Impact of Nature-Based Solutions on soil erosion and water resources management: perspectives from farmers

In agricultural lands, soil erosion can undermine soil fertility, leading to a decline in yield. Sustainable water resource management emerges as a crucial element to prevent erosion issues and nutrient transport in agricultural soils. Nature Based Solutions (NBSs) play a fundamental role in optimizing water resource utilization and contributing to soil quality conservation. In semiarid climates, such as Southern Italy, agriculture stands as a major consumer of global water resources. Projections indicate a surge in agricultural water usage by 2050, potentially aggravating water scarcity in diverse regions. Integrating NBSs into agricultural practices offers a promising strategy to alleviate environmental pressures and sustain production amid changing climatic conditions. Addressing these challenges necessitates a comprehensive and integrated approach, tailored to the unique characteristics of the territory and the engagement needs of local communities and stakeholders. To fulfill this objective, a thorough assessment identified 13 suitable NBSs for the context. Subsequently, a questionnaire was disseminated across various farms, resulting in 53 collected responses. The analyzed responses showed that 17% of respondents highlighted soil erosion while 12% pointed to drought-related water management problems, indeed NBSs generating the most interest focused on increasing water resources and combating erosive processes and pollutant transport. Stakeholders pointed out the importance of the application of most of the 13 proposed NBSs focusing on a few of them (retention ponds, cover crops, creop residue management and vegetated buffer strips). Their choices were mainly based on the dual challenge of ensuring tangible economic gains while effectively managing cost amortization. Thus, integrating NBSs into agricultural practices requires not only environmental consideration but also a keen understanding of the economic dynamics and challenges faced by the farming community.