SaltyBEATS

Halophytes for innovative and sustainable agricultural designs for salt-degraded lands 

SaltyBEATS is a trans-national and multi-disciplinar research project in the field of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for the development and upscaling of sustainable food systems in salt-affected lands across Europe and North Africa.

It addresses the research area of food security under climate change through saline agriculture, aligning vision, research and practice for the development of an agriculture that aligns ecological and economic targets in a saltier world.
Discovery the study sites


SaltyBEATS aims to revitalise marginal salt-affected lands by understanding the role of halophytes in naturally saline landscapes and use this knowledge to deliver practical solutions to restore their biodiversity and improve their resilience. Specifically SaltyBEATS will:

  • map and assess biodiversity above- and below-ground in naturally saline habitats and salt-affected agricultural lands;

  • evaluate the synergistic effects derived from stacking halophytes with conventional crops in salt-affected agricultural lands;

  • design future scenarios to assess synergy effects and trade-offs of saline NbS for marginal areas and potential impacts in the context of climate change;

  • identify stakeholder needs and create a link between policy makers and impact investors to upscale obtained results.

Our strategy

A multi-disciplinar approach for sustainability across the  4 Ps (Plants, People, Planet and Profit)

SaltyBEATS will combine participatory research, field demonstrations, workshops, and stakeholder consultations to develop new management practices locally attuned to specific cropping systems, soils and climatic conditions.  

By developing innovations jointly with stakeholders and researchers with significant expertise in ecology and sustainable agriculture, SaltyBEATS will ensure that all proposed NbS promote the upscaling of nature-positive agriculture that aligns ecological and economical targets.

Multi-taxon biodiversity monitoring across naturally saline and salt-affected lands


The loss of biodiversity in landscapes affected by secondary salinization remains poorly addressed. Nevertheless empirical evidence from stakeholders and researchers working in the field clearly indicates that secondary salinization leads to multitaxon biodiversity collapse. In SaltyBEATS we will address this knowledge gap and  by combining knowledge on biodiversity dynamics in naturally saline landscapes, and revealing the underlying biological mechanisms, SaltyBEATS will reveal critical new knowledge on the potential role of halophytes in improving ecosystem health and services and for more sustainable management of marginal landscapes.

Development of decisional support tool for stakeholders to sustainably manage salt-affected lands

The synergistic effects derived from stacking conventional crops and halophytes at different levels (intercropping, crop rotational systems, or permanent structures in field margins) will be assessed in space and in time.

The information collected from the implementation of saline NbS and from the multi-taxon biodiversity monitoring will be used to develop a comprehensive spatial model of soil degradation that will feed into a decisional support tool aided by simple indicators. This land capability assessment  is a tool that will enable farmers to target plants to landscapes for the correct management of saline sites, ensuring economic returns and long-term sustainability while reducing risks.


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Funded by the EU within the Biodiversa+ European Biodiversity initiative.

This website was created and maintained with the financial support of the Biodiversa+ European Biodiversity initiative. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Biodiversa+ European Biodiversity initiative