This policy brief outlines recommendations for sustainable and socially accepted subsoil management in Germany. Subsoil, located below the plowed topsoil layer, holds essential nutrients and water reserves crucial for plant growth and sustainable bioeconomy practices. The Soil³ project (2015–2025) investigated methods to enhance subsoil usage, focusing on increasing plant root access to this layer without compromising its ecological functions.

Fertile soils are an indispensable resource for agriculture and the Bioeconomy as a whole. Subsoils contain a major part of the nutrients essential for plants, a resource potential that has thus far not yet been fully understood nor used. In order to harness this untapped potential, the Soil³ project examines the subsoil processes and application of alternative subsoil management measures. The Ecologic Institute will conduct research on the costs, benefits and social acceptance of these measures.