Abstract for: Modeling the adoption of innovations and their implications for soil health in an arable agriculture system

Healthy soils are the basis of sustainable food production systems, yet they face severe degradation due to various factors since the green revolution. Despite the urgency to adopt sustainable intensification practices to ensure an healthy environment, their adoption remains uncertain and context-dependent. I address the need to understand the complexities surrounding the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices and their impact on soil health. Employing a regional case study approach (Brandenburg, Germany), I aim to identify and quantify the factors influencing the adoption of sustainable practices and assess their effects on soil health. By linking social system structures on innovation adoption with soil dynamics through a combination of methodologies including the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response framework, causal loop diagramming, and scenario development, I seek to provide insights that can inform strategies for the innovation and knowledge transfer system for sustainable agricultural practices.