Other EU-funded Projects

European Soil Data Center (ESDAC) hosts deliverables/data/reports of soil relevant projects which have been financed by EU budget. On this page, you can find a collection of soil related projects funded by HORIZON Research Framework. Full complete database can be found here (other Framework programme projects such as FP7, FP6, FP5, etc)

HORIZON Framework Programme for Research (200+ Projects on soils)

Project Acronym Title Objective CORDIS URL
14Constraint Radiocarbon constraints for models of C cycling in terrestrial ecosystems: from process understanding to global benchmarking The overall goal of 14Constraint is to enhance the availability and use of radiocarbon data as constraints for process-based understanding of the age distribution of carbon in and respired by soils and ecosystems. Carbon enters ecosystems by a single process, photosynthesis. It returns by a range of processes that depend on plant allocation and turnover, the efficiency and rate of litter decomposition and the mechanisms stabilizing C in soils. Thus the age distribution of respired CO2 and the age of C residing in plants, litter and soils are diagnostic properties of ecosystems that provide key constraints for testing carbon cycle models. Radiocarbon, especially the transit of ?bomb? 14C created in the 1960s, is a powerful tool for tracing C exchange on decadal to centennial timescales. 14Constraint will assemble a global database of existing radiocarbon data (WP1) and demonstrate how they can constrain and test ecosystem carbon cycle models. WP2 will fill data gaps and add new data from sites in key biomes that have ancillary data sufficient to construct belowground C and 14C budgets. These detailed investigations will focus on the role of time lags caused in necromass and fine roots, as well as the dynamics of deep soil C. Spatial extrapolation beyond the WP2 sites will require sampling along global gradients designed to explore the relative roles of mineralogy, vegetation and climate on the age of C in and respired from soil (WP3). Products of this 14Constraint will include the first publicly available global synthesis of terrestrial 14C data, and will add over 5000 new measurements. This project is urgently needed before atmospheric 14C levels decline to below 1950 levels as expected in the next decade. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/695101
AFOREST Effects of common European tree species on interactions between C and N processes in soil and soil biota One of the greatest challenges of the 21st century is to mitigate global climate changes caused by increasing emissions of greenhouse gases. Since soils constitute a larger carbon (C) pool than the vegetation and atmosphere together an important strategy could be to sequester more C in soils. Plant-soil interactions play an important role for ecosystem services such as C sequestration and N retention in soil and such interactions receive increasing attention among scientists and policymakers. Novel techniques such as next generation sequencing methods in combination with analysis of C stock patterns under different tree species present an opportunity to highlight complex processes and mechanisms which underlie C and N fluxes in soil. The proposed research is designed to (1) explore litter-mediated effects of common European tree species on C and N turnover in soil, (2) characterize effects of tree species on community structure and composition of soil biota, (3) evaluate the impact of common European tree species on metabolic diversity and structure and composition of functional genes related to C and N turnover: and finally, (4) to synthesize the role of soil biota for C and N turnover in soils. The research will be carried out within a unique common garden experiment with monoculture stands of six common European tree species; the broadleaves beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.), lime (Tilia cordata L.), sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) and ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) and the conifer Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.). The proposed Marie-Curie fellowship is promising to highlight impacts of common European trees on complex interactions among soil microbiota and soil fauna and highlights their role for C and N stocks and fluxes. Results obtained from this research will contribute to bridge gaps in ecological theory in term of ecosystem functions and services. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/747824
AGENT Ancient genetics (AGENT): Capturing signatures of nutrient stress tolerance from extant landraces to unlock the production potential of marginal lands The goal of this project is to exploit ancient Northern European landraces and improve the ability of the important cereal, barley, to acquire and utilize nutrients from the soil more efficiently. Climate change pressures and degradation of arable lands are expected to increase the need to produce feed and food even in unfavorable environments, such as marginal soils with inherent nutrient limitations. Thus, it will be a major breeding focus to select traits associated with enhanced crop robustness in order to secure the future demand for plant products. In this context, recent work has demonstrated a superior capacity of Northern European barley landraces, adapted to marginal soils, to acquire and allocate essential micronutrients. This project aims to advance our knowledge of adaptive traits conferring nutrient use efficiency. This will be achieved by bridging disciplines of plant genetics and plant nutrition, not only by unravelling functions of individual genes, but also by capturing the compensatory adjustments at the transcriptome and molecular physiology levels, preserved in landraces but seemingly lost from modern elite cultivars. The overall scientific objective is to identify the genetic control of nutrient stress tolerance, and specifically to: (i) use exome capture sequencing to identify candidate genes involved in nutrient deficiency tolerance; (ii) study the transcriptional responses of these genes under nutrient stress and their dynamics with time after stress recovery; (iii) describe in detail the physiological responses contributing to improved nutrient stress tolerance of major cereal crops. The proposed project will deliver quantitative information and a predictive understanding of nutrient stress tolerance and will provide new breeding material. The findings will act as an exemplar for other major cereals to expand cultivation and stabilize yields in marginal previously unproductive land. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/840829
AGG-REST-WEB Let's restore our soils: using the soil food web to engineer the soil structure and functioning Rationale: Soils are precious for human health and food production but 33 % of the world soils are degraded. Developing ecological engineering strategies to restore them is an urgent need. Soil structure is a key aspect of soil functioning, with soil aggregates being organo-mineral associations, constituting its building bricks. The influence of soil organisms on soil aggregation is commonly acknowledged but supported by little direct mechanistic evidence, which are mainly single group approaches, hence not depicting the role of the complex soil biota.Aim: The aim of this MSC project is to directly link the soil food web properties to the formation of soil aggregates, with subsequent consequences on the restoration of soil functioning. The novelty of this project is that it will provide direct mechanistic evidence of how species interactions ? and not only diversity ? can influence a key soil process: the formation of aggregates. The resulting knowledge will provide basis for developing soil ecological engineering techniques to restore degraded soil via soil biota manipulation. Methodology: Unravelling such mechanistic understanding will require a multidisciplinary approach merging soil animal ecology and soil physics. The project will be hosted by the University of G<U+0094>ttingen in Germany, providing unique access to soil ecology and physics lab facilities. Two experiments, respectively manipulating targeted trophic interactions (bacteria-amoebe and fungi-collembola) and natural soil food web complexity (tracked by isotope tracing, PLFA, etc.) will be run in microcosms and mesocosms, and resulting changes in soil aggregate properties and soil functioning will be assessed by cutting edge physics techniques, such as neutron radiography and X-rays tomography. A secondment period in the Freie University of Berlin will allow the fellow to reach a functional understanding of the effect of soil biota on aggregation through the measurement of soil organismal traits. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/750249
AgPro4CSA Sustainable managment of agriculture sources for development of climate-smart agricultural practices Unsustainable agricultural practices such as long-term monoculture of annual crops with the excessive use of mineral fertilisers lead to greenhouse gas emissions, and is threatening the sustainability of agricultural systems. The implication of poor soil quality on long-term agricultural production is of EU and global concern because of the increase in food and water demands. Diversification of agricultural systems and recycling of crop residues are important for the development of sustainable agroecosystems to cope with the challenges of food security, climate change mitigation and adaptation. The potential use of crop residues as an energy source is generating a debate in EU on sustainable utilisation of this resource in agriculture and bioenergy sectors, to gain the environmental suitability and for convenience of their large-scale exploitation.AgPro4CSA aims to develop improved agricultural management practices for increasing recycling of crop residues and reducing mineral fertilisers to reduce gaseous emissions and improve sustainability of crop production, which will promote environment friendly uses of crop residues in the agriculture and the energy sector, and will contribute in bio-based and circular economy.AgPro4CSA will cover fundamental understanding of mechanisms at the molecular, microbial and chemical levels, involved in nutrient cycling and GHG emissions in agricultural systems. Further, validation and assessment of biogeochemical models will provide valuable information for policy makers and environmental agencies.My enthusiasm for sustainable agroecosystems and my interdisciplinary research experience give me confidence to develop the AgPro4CSA project. The experience, facilities and support of the host and partner, ensure the successful completion of the project, at a time at which this research is highly relevant to current societal and environmental needs, as well as for strengthening my career development. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/895209
AgriCapture Developing EO-powered services to promote soil carbon sequestration through regenerative agriculture "Accounting a climate footprint is an established practice. However, accounting for C capture is largely based on manual methodologies that cannot be easily scaled. The consortium has found a strong market need for a streamlined solution that can be scaled to meet the growing needs of C capture from Land Use, Land Use Change, and Forestry (LULUCF).AgriCapture seizes upon Earth Observation ? free and open Copernicus data in particular ? to deliver a highly innovative, flexible, and scalable solution for soil C capture projects/initiatives, targeting 1 of the 2 only potential mass C sinks through proven and increasingly popular practices (i.e. Reg Agri). AgriCapture will develop a systematic, robust and flexible platform for quantifying, verifying, and promoting soil C capture, allowing (i) farmers and other landowners to become ?carbon farmers?, (ii) food companies to offset their carbon foot print and offer ""zero carbon"" products, and (iii) certifying organizations to scale up and automatize their processes. This will be accomplished through a co-creation approach with target users ? agricooperatives, an agri-processor, a Reg Agri certifier, and an emission balance certifying organisation ? within 5 diverse use cases located across Europe. To support uptake of project results, the project will establish a European Reg Agri Community, which will be used to raise awareness of Reg Agri as a high-potential approach to meeting climate pledges, to coordinate and empower farmers as agents of climate mitigation, and to inform product launch of AgriCapture through first-hand market information and a direct channel to potential customers. Finally, the project will also undertake dedicated activities to assess, identify and proactively pursue market opportunities, which will lead to several contracts for post-project service provision by the end of the project." https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101004282
ALIENinSoil Microbial community response to the invasion of a non-endemic fungal bio-inoculant in soil Fungi and bacteria are utilised for the production of microbial-based fertilisers and pesticides worldwide. These bioinoculants have a huge potential in agriculture because they can help to increase crop yields and quality and allow a reduction in the application of chemicals. While the effectiveness of bio-inoculants as bio fertilisers or biopesticides is widely tested for crop yield and pathogens control, little is known about the effect of bioinoculants on microbial assemblages in the non-rhizospheric soil of agroecosystems. A sudden artificial introduction of a fungal species in soil could create a substantial impact on the biodiversity of endemic microbial species and local community functions, as well as lead to changes in the food webs and nutrients availability. ALIENinSoil will, therefore, assess the impact of a fungal inoculum, the globally-used biofertiliser Trichoderma afroharzianum T22, on microbial assemblages of a model soil system. The project will apply an innovative rapid metagenomic approach based on long-read Oxford Nanopore Technology to assess the effects of the fungal inoculum on soil microbial communities and functions in a laboratory-based microcosms experiment. Thus, this project will use innovative and cutting-edge techniques to understand 1) to what extent the native microbial community richness and relative abundance is influenced by a competitive fungal strain introduced to soil; 2) whether or not the keystone microbial taxa are resilient to the disturbance by the introduced fungus 3) how far the bioinoculant impacts the functions of soil microorganisms. With this action, I want to acquire new in-depth knowledge necessary to stimulate innovation in the field of soil bioinoculants and agriculture by way of competitive technology transfer. Oxford Nanopore sequencing has great potential to be used for real-time diagnostics in agricultural surveys and the development of indicators for monitoring soil biodiversity and functionality. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/892048
ALL-Ready The European Agroecology Living Lab and Research Infrastructure Network: Preparation phase Today, agricultural systems are facing multiple challenges, including climate change, loss of biodiversity, dwindling resources, degradation of soil and water quality. Agroecology can strengthen the sustainability and resilience of farming systems and thus contribute to addressing these challenges. Based on the premise that Open Innovation Arrangements (OIAs) and in particular Living Labs (LL) and Research Infrastructures (RIs) are instruments that have large potential to contribute to amplifying agroecology in Europe, the main aim of ALL-Ready (this project) is to prepare a framework for a future European network of LLs and RIs (to be called ?AgroEcoLLNet?) that will enable the transition towards agroecology throughout Europe. It will rely on a highly participatory and inclusive approach and on experimentation in real life situations and thus itself uses a living lab approach. An underpinning principle of the project is strong stakeholder engagement, which has begun in the preparation of this proposal. The project has 3 phases: an initial preparatory phase in which the vision, scope and mission for the Network are defined and the criteria for inclusion in the Network of LLs and RIs as well as other forms of OIAs are defined. This will enable the mapping of current and emerging LLs, RIs and OIAs across Europe and their characteristics, highlighting best cases. In a second phase, different prerequisites/ activites for the future Network will be prepared ?(sustainability, including funding, governance, capacity building, data and knowledge management). Plans for each of these will be constructed with stakeholders and then tested in a small-scale pilot network and then refined to match needs. Finally, the outcomes of the work will be communicated widely throughout Europe by a variety of mechanisms. One of the final outcomes of the project will be a pilot-tested Implementation Plan for implementing the validated framework of AgroEcoLLNet, within Horizon Europe. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101000349
ALSORES The role of microbial and invertebrate activities in shaping Alpine soil Respiration: current state and future scenarios The belowground production of CO2 in soil (soil respiration, SR) represents an important terrestrial carbon source. Being correlated with soil temperature, SR is expected to exacerbate climate change. In addition, SR is expected to change considerably and in a patchy manner especially within the Alpine area, reflecting the effects of altitude, land use and climatic conditions. Previous studies measuring SR along altitudinal gradients, however, struggled with strong differences in environmental influences and with distinct unique faunal and microbial communities among samples.The grand ambition of ACTI-RESP is to provide in-depth knowledge and quantitative information on how microbial and invertebrate communities are influenced by altitude, land use and climate change, and on how microbial activity shapes SR. To quantify the pure effect of altitude and to investigate the effects of climate and land use, I will combine field observations and a manipulative experiment within terraXcube, a facility allowing manipulations of multiple conditions including air pressure to mimic different elevations.Thereby, I aim to further test the advantages of studying intracellular DNA (iDNA) as opposed to the generally studied environmental DNA (eDNA). Being composed by considerable amounts of extracellular DNA, eDNA does not only contain information about intact and active cells (intracellular DNA, iDNA) but also about extracellular DNA from species that might not be recently present. Here, I will study microbial agents actually shaping SR by extracting iDNA, by performing qPCR and 16S rRNA sequencing and by comparing the results to eDNA as well as RNA-based results.In doing so, I aim to - define climate change-related alterations in SR- jointly examine soil invertebrates and microorganisms- firstly describe the pure altitude effect on microbial SR, activity and community patterns- test iDNA quantification as a proxy for microbial activity and SR https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101026119
ANAFAUNA Implementation of soil fauna effects into the forest ecosystem model ANAFORE Understanding soil processes and their role in ecosystem functioning is essential for effective protection, restoration and sustainable use of soils and terrestrial ecosystems. Forest ecosystem models dynamically simulate fluxes of carbon, water, nitrogen and other nutrients through a forest ecosystem. Only models that account for all key interactions between climate, soil and plants can become versatile and reliable tools to predict the effect of different management strategies or future global changes on forests and soils. The effect of soil fauna has been so far neglected in most of similar models. However, with our increasing understanding of the crucial role of fauna on many processes, there is a general consensus on the need to implement these effects into ecosystem models. The main research question of this project is: Does a model that includes an active role of soil fauna provide better prediction of soil processes than previous simpler models? ANAFORE is a stand-scale mechanistic forest model with a detailed soil model. The specific objectives of this project are 1) to develop a new soil submodel that will account for important effects of soil fauna on the simulated fluxes of water, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus; and integrate it into the ANAFORE model. The modeled effects include fragmentation, bioturbation, aggregation, macropore formation and foodweb effects on soil organic matter decomposition, 2) to optimize and validate the new model using: i) historical experimental data obtained during long-term research at Sokolov post-mining ecosystems LTER site, ii) additional literature and original data collected during the project for modelling purposes; 3) to compare performance of the new ANAFORE soil submodel with the previous version of ANAFORE and the Yasso model as an example of a simple model that predicts organic matter decomposition only based on litter quality and abiotic factors. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/793485
ANTARES Centre of Excellence for Advanced Technologies in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security Agriculture is facing enormous challenges today. Not only does it have to provide enough safe and healthy food for the ever-increasing Earth?s population, it is also expected to offer alternatives to fossil fuels and to protect the non-renewable resources such as soil, water and energy inputs. ANTARES aims to evolve BioSense Institute from Serbia into a European Centre of Excellence (CoE) for advanced technologies in sustainable agriculture, by implementing a detailed business plan prepared during ANTARES Phase 1. This endeavor is supported by the participation of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development who will provide both institutional and legislative support, as well as by a strong commitment of the Republic of Serbia to provide co-financing of 14 mil . The participation of DLO from the Netherlands, the leading European institute for applied and market-driven research in the agrifood sector will secure that the know-how and experience of the highest European standards are transplanted to Serbia. ANTARES builds upon the complementary expertise of BioSense and DLO: the synergetic combination of ICT and agricultural knowledge will strengthen the competitive positions of both institutions and provide answers to challenges that go far beyond borders of any single country. ANTARES envisages a long-term strategic cooperation between DLO and the new CoE, relies on a well-developed joint strategic research agenda and on a documented financial analysis that proves the long-term sustainability and growth of the new CoE beyond Teaming funding. CoE?s mission and vision are aligned with needs of European and Serbian society and focus on science for impact and economic growth. ANTARES is a smart investment, as it simultaneously helps an associated country to bridge the gaps with Europe through research and innovation, while at the same time contributes to safe and adequate food for future generations of Europeans. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/739570
AQUA4D AQUA4D - For an efficient use of irrigation water Water is becoming scarcer, droughts are becoming a big problem, and together with high levels of soil salinization and nematodes infections, are endangering the agriculture sector all around the world. Planet Horizon Technologies (PHT) presents a Swiss-made innovative, chemical-free and eco-friendly solution to face agricultural problems: AQUA4D. The basic principle of AQUA4D technology is the change of water structure with electromagnetic (EM) waves. This technology has proved to be highly effective in the horticulture and fruit sector. Now, PHT aims to expand the use of this technology to the main crops sector (cereals and grains). To do so, we adapted the current modular system to cope with higher flow-rates of water needed for sprinkler irrigation systems ? a market that was valued as 1.57 B? and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.97% during the period 2017-2022.AQUA4D facilitates a better dissolution and distribution of minerals, promotes water retention in the soil and allows for absorption of minerals by the plants, allowing 25% reduction on water and fertilizer use. At the same time, AQUA4D increases the natural resistance of plants against diseases, avoids nematode attacks in roots and prevents clogging and biofilm in pipes. AQUA4D presents the lowest power consumption (able to be powered with small solar panels) and the lowest running cost from all water treatment technologies in the market, allowing its use in a low margin market such as the main crops production. The result expected will be an improvement of up to 20% in the production yield with a fast payback, between 6 and 24 months. Commercialization of high flow rate AQUA4D is estimated to begin in 2020 and PHT estimates to sell 9,000 units during 2020-2024 period, which will render us a cumulative gross profit of 40.50 M? by 2024. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/826885
ARISTO The European Industry - Academia Network for RevIsing and Advancing the Assessment of the soil Microbial TOxicity of Pesticides In ARISTO (the European Industry - Academia Network for RevIsing and Advancing the Assessment of the Soil Microbial TOxicity of Pesticides), leading universities and industrial partners join forces to perform a cutting edge research and doctorate training programme tackling the global challenge of minimising the environmental off-target effects of pesticides.The multi-sectoral approach of ARISTO, interlinking disciplines from soil microbiology, microbial ecology, environmental chemistry and risk assessment, will generate the new generation of Microbial Ecotoxicologists specialized in pesticides-soil microbes interactions. The research challenge of ARISTO is to produce benchmarking knowledge supporting the development of advanced tools and procedures, based on the response of key microbial indicator groups like ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms (AOM) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), for the comprehensive assessment of the toxicity of pesticides on soil microorganisms. ARISTO offers doctorate fellows a challenging training programme build along 5 research objectives:(1) to develop pioneering in vitro tests, as a first conservative step, to assess the toxicity of pesticides on distinct AOM (ESR1) and AMF (ESR2) strains(2) to develop advanced experimental lab and field tests to assess the toxicity of pesticides on natural soil assemblages of AOM (ESR3) and AMF (ESR4), as a more realistic toxicity assessment step(3) to develop an ecosystem-level toxicity assessment: identify the response of soil microbial networks to pesticides (ESR5) and explore the impact of pesticides on microorganisms from different trophic-levels within the soil food-web (predator - prey) (ESR6)(4) to develop novel tools and procedures to determine the soil microbial toxicity of pesticide mixtures (ESR7) and biopesticides (ESR8)(5) to develop & validate advanced in silico tools for prioritizing transformation products (TPs) of pesticides with potential toxicity to soil microbes (ESR9) https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/956496
BACTEPEA Unraveling the molecular dialogue in microbial-assisted plant growth in the presence of heavy metals Agriculture is currently confronting (i) an increasing human population and (ii) limitations of soil use due to, among other reasons, pollution levels above food safety threshold values. Some agricultural practices increase the heavy metal content (HM) of agricultural soil, representing an important threat for the European agricultural development. The use of microorganisms as plant growth promoters has been increasingly studied for a number of years, but it has only recently been proposed to improve plant metal tolerance. Regrettably, plant-microorganism-pollutant interactions are still poorly understood and the molecular underlying mechanisms are mostly unknown. The abovementioned challenges for agricultural production require the study of these mechanisms to better promote a more efficient and sustainable agriculture. This project will venture into new unchartered territory by focusing on the molecular interactions between a probiotic actinobacterium (Micromonospora cremea) and its host, Pisum sativum (garden pea), in the presence of HMs. We will evaluate the capacity of M. cremea CR30 to improve plant tolerance to HM polluted soils, in addition to unraveling the molecular dialogue during the first and late steps of their interaction. Early step interactions are crucial in plant promotion and protection against external stresses, like pollution by HM. Here, we propose the use of new -omic technologies to study these molecular interactions between plants and microorganisms under metal stress, providing a new pathway for an improved soil management. This project addresses a crucial objective in food security, the development of sustainable agricultural practices to control potentially adverse HM effects on plant health. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/832552
BEST4SOIL Boosting 4 BEST practices for SOIL health in Europe Healthy soils are of major importance for the future of the European horticultural and agricultural crop production. Especially in intensive production systems, soilborne diseases are a major factor with a negative impact on soil health. Newly developed best practices and sound crop rotations permit to maintain, improve or re-establish soil health in Europe.The BEST4SOIL project will build a community of practice network across Europe by inter-connecting growers, advisers, educators and researchers. Through this network, knowledge ready for practice on 4 best practices for the control of soilborne diseases (compost/organic amendments; green manures/cover crops; anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD); and (bio)solarisation) will be promoted. Open-access databases with information on the range of pathogens affecting host plants will help the practitioners to build appropriate crop rotations and innovative control strategies.As innovative tool will BEST4SOIL provide tutorial videos (youtube), easily understandable also to growers with limited language skills. Videos, databases and factsheets are edited in 22 official EU languages to facilitate the innovation management of practitioners throughout Europe. The information will be freely accessible and highly comprehensible to guarantee a smooth knowledge transfer from research to practice. BEST4SOIL will deploy local facilitators to set up a network with active communities of practice resulting in an intensive knowledge exchange.The consortium of BEST4SOIL includes advisers, breeder, communicators, educators, growers, and researchers from eight European countries. Together with facilitators in at least twelve more countries, the network will interconnect an important part of the European growers, advisers and educators, the main stakeholders of BEST4SOIL. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/817696
BIOCONTROL-A Biocontrol of Aflatoxin Contamination Using Atoxigenic Strains from Almond and Pistachio Orchards Aflatoxins (AF), the most toxic and carcinogenic compounds among the mycotoxins, are mainly produced by the fungi Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus. Because these fungi are common soil residents of almond and pistachio orchards, these nuts are one of the main sources of human exposure to AF. The consumption of almond and pistachio has increased in recent years in the European Union (EU) due to their positive effects on the consumers? health. Spain has the largest area (587.000 ha) under almond cultivation after USA and its pistachio growing-area is exponentially expanding. Contaminated batches of Spanish nuts by AFs have been frequently detected. Application of atoxigenic strains of A. flavus has successfully reduced crop AF-contamination in the USA and Africa. This biological control strategy uses endemic atoxigenic A. flavus strains, considered best adapted, to displace the AF-producing fungi. Unfortunately, EU farmers do not have the benefit of this type of biological control technology since there are not registered atoxigenic strains in this area. The aim of current project is to: i) improve substrate and application methods of atoxigenic A. flavus; ii) select new biological control agents for their patent and future registration in EU and USA; and iii) construct mechanistic models of risk for AF-contamination. The expected results will have a positive impact improving food safety and the environment and securing economic benefits to EU farmers and agri-food industries. In addition, this project supports capacity building, provides the foundation to the fellow in pursuing his independent scientific career and strengthens collaboration with research groups from EU and USA, three small-medium enterprises (SEMs), and a spin-off company. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/658579
BioGeoInterface ENGINEERING MICROBIAL-BIOSOLIDS COUPLED INTERFACE FOR SUSTAINALBE GEOENVIRONMENT IN EXTREME WEATHER Climatic influences various natural phenomena and affect the overall environmental synergy. Precipitation pattern and temperature are among key phenomena that influence the soils and inturn life. Extended periods of droughts leads to loss of nutrition in soils and increases desertification of land. On the other hand, the increase in temperature (natural or anthropogenic activities) that lead to rise in temperatures in the geoenvironment will lead to unstable ground conditions. This situation is more detrimental in the presence of organic matter/organic soils and has been poorly understood. This study proposes to develop a novel technology to rejuvenate derelict soils by utilising native soil microorganisms and stimulating them with biowaste (such as biosolids), with an aim to commercialise the technology. These studies will require screening of the stimulants and the native soil microbes (consortium) that will be amended with a typical coarse-grained and fine-grained soil. Subsequently the efficacy of biomodification will be assessed based on several physical, and biochemical parameters relating to soil and plants. Further, through this proposed study a engineering behaviour of biomodified soils (organic soils) under elevated temperatures (ThermoHydroMechanical behaviour) will be carried out. This will a major step in this direction as till date the conventional practise has been to understand THM behaviour of soils without biogenic function. These efforts will be followed by developing a mathematical framework that can predict the holistic behaviour of soils under elevated temp. This study will be carried out by Dr.Shashank Bettadapura Subramanyam(ER), Prof.Xiaohui Chen(from UnivLeeds) will be the PI. This collaboration will significantly influence ER's competences in pursuing his interests and achieving career goals and enable a 2way transfer of knowledge between the ER & PI related to biogeotechnics THMbehaviour &numerical aspect in environmental geotechnics. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101031565
BIOGEOS Bio-mediated Geo-material Strengthening for engineering applications Given the increasing scarcity of suitable land for development, soil strengthening technologies have emerged in the past decade and go hand-in-hand with the implementation of the majority of foundation solutions. The goal is to alter the soil structure and its mechanical properties for ultimately securing the integrity of structures. The BIOGEOS project puts the focus on bio-mediated soil improvement, which falls within the broader framework of multi-physical processes in geo-mechanics. The goal of the project is to engineer a novel, natural material under controlled processes, for ultimately providing solutions to real problems in the geo-engineering and geo-energy fields by advancing knowledge around complex multi-physical phenomena in porous media. The bio-cemented geo-material, which is produced by carefully integrating the metabolic activity of native soil bacteria, is produced through the bio-mineralization of calcite bonds, which act as natural cementation for endowing the subsurface with real cohesion and increased resistance. A principal characteristic of the project is its multi-scale approach through advanced experimentation to identify the main physical mechanisms involved in the formation of the bio-mineralized bonds and their behaviour under mechanical loading. The development of such a bio-mediated technology will lead to innovative applications in a series of engineering problems such as the restoration of weak foundations, seismic retrofitting, erosion protection, and the enhancement of heat transfer in thermo-active geo-structures. The project foresees to adopt multiple loading conditions for its laboratory characterization and ultimately pass to the large experimental scale. BIOGEOS further aims to provide new knowledge around the way we perceive materials in relation with their micro-structure by implementing state-of-the-art inspection of the material?s structure in 3D space and subsequent prediction of their behaviour through numerical tools. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/788587
BIOMAP2SOIL Biological analysis of soils and advanced data analytics for precision agriculture maps The growth of precision agriculture is hampered by the variability of soils. Parameters such as soil texture, water content, pH or biological properties are fundamental for determining the need and use of irrigation, seeds, fertilizers or pesticides. However, current sampling and analysis techniques to characterize soils are inefficient and expensive, as they require a large number of samples.BIOMAP2SOIL is a new cost-effective sampling and analysis method, based on our deep farming knowledge and statistical models, which will generate accurate soil maps of relevant parameters, including biological properties. BIOMAP2SOIL provides recommendations for an integrated crop management related to crop selection, irrigation, pest and diseases control, variable seeding and fertilizing, while minimizing the number and cost of sampling and analysis. FARMERS will improve operations, profitability and sustainability of their crops. BIOMAP2SOIL?s recommendations for optimizing crop management will lead to impacts on yield (up to +10%), water and energy consumption (up to -12%), crop diseases (up to -20%), seeds consumption (up to -5%), fertilizers consumption (up to -10%) and pollution (up to -10%), according to our actual experiences. Economic benefits for farmers are estimated in preliminary studies for 6 crops in the range of ?132 ? ?642 per Ha for an average service cost of ?90 per Ha.BIOMAP2SOIL is currently at TRL6, and to reach a TRL9 we need to validate initial correlations achieved between soil enzymes, apparent electrical conductivity and other relevant parameters; but also refine data analytics, software design and the strategy to scale-up the model, based on deep statistics and big data analytics, as well as a network of Strategic Partners, overtaking our fragmented competition.BIOMAP2SOIL is a solution mainly addressed to farmers with irrigation crops, organic farming, high technical infrastructure and vulnerable areas of nitrate pollution. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/884251
BIOMULCH Integrated solution for innovative biodegradation control of agricultural plastic mulches. Nowadays, mulching is an essential technique used in agriculture to satisfy the worldwide growing demand for agricultural products. It consists of covering the soil surface in order to modify climate conditions and favouring the crops. Conventional mulch is made of polyethylene plastic with important limitations: the plastic has to be removed after the harvest (time consuming, expensive & 10-20% remaining at soil) and it is difficult to be recycled due to its high contamination by ground, stones or waste, being the most part (45.2%) placed in landfills. Therefore, plastic mulches cause serious problems of environmental and economic concerns. Other developed mulch alternatives are not sufficient: oxodegradable (based on polyethylene, are a risk of accumulation in environment) and biodegradable (do not guarantee total degradation under uncontrolled conditions and they are three times more expensive).There is a market demand to find alternatives. Our innovative product, BIOMULCH, will be a biobased mulch with controlled biodegradation (independent from temperature, humidity and soil conditions) and being cost competitive (?1,100/ha respect to ?3,000/ha of polyethylene, ?2,078/ha of oxodegradable and ?2,150/ha of biodegradable), covering the current agriculture market needs. BIOMULCH will be commercialised as a kit and will guarantee the farmers the complete mulch film biodegradation when is exactly required by them. The mulch film will be fully degraded in a 30-40 days period with our innovative mulching technique. As a result, it is expected an important growth for consortium companies, obtaining a total turnover above ?354M in 2018-2022. Also it is expected an important benefit for UE, above 759M euros by 2022, derived from savings for farmers and waste savings. BIOMULCH counts already with letters of support of prestigious companies which are very interested in its business model. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/737741
BioPetrify Turning soils into stone Stabilising the soil around us is paramount to our own safety within our homes and surroundings. Today, the most effective and reliable soil stabilisation methods (cement and chemical additives) are expensive and harmful to the environment. Cement production alone represents 5% of all global human-created CO2 emissions. The market for soil stabilisation hasn?t been disrupted in decades, with toxic industrial fluids such as acrylamide, and heavy equipment still required for manufacture and application. It is widely agreed that new technologies are desperately needed to reduce CO2 emissions of the cement industry by 70% by 2050 as well as to eliminate the use of toxic chemicals from soil stabilisation applications. Our innovation, BioPetrify, offers a natural soil stabilisation solution for use in both new and repair construction projects. BioPetrify offers the first liquid agent able to turn soil into stone, harnessing the power of a harmless microorganism in an industrially scalable way, to achieve compressive strength of conventional construction materials, sustainably. No heavy machinery needed, no CO2 released. BioPetrify is readily integrable into existing construction processes and time-scales and tailorable to each unique soil and construction type. Application is even possible under existing structures, where it is 10x cheaper than existing solutions. BioPetrify not only represents the solution to the environmental and physical limitations of current stabilisation methods, but offers a lever for market expansion of current stabilisation material providers (e.g. adding strength to geotextile), with whom we are already partnering. Our primary target customers will thus be European market-leading construction companies. With the potential to displace today?s polluting soil stabilisation methods (a ?24.7 billion market), we expect to grow quickly, selling 400,000 tonnes of our product and creating more than 100 new jobs already by 2026. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/886454
BIOTA THE ORGANIC FERTILISER FOR GENUINE, HIGH YIELD PESTICIDE AND CHEMICAL-FREE ORGANIC FARMING Chemical fertilisers are still widely used in Europe and across the world despite growing global demand for organic food. The damage caused by chemical fertilisers is often long-term and cumulative - they have a profound negative impact on soil quality while the manufacturing process significantly contributes to climate change. Chemical fertilizers are generally preferred for high-volume, industrial farms in Europe. Many organic and bio-fertilisers are inferior to chemical fertilisers where it matters most: improving yields and cost efficiency. A ?5-?10 billion opportunity exists for an organic fertilizer that can address these issues. With a patented, all-natural manufacturing process, Biota will disrupt the farming industry with an organic fertilizer adapted to all types of farming. Our fertiliser products stimulate plant growth and reinforces disease resistance which eliminates the need for pesticides and other chemical crop protection products. While guaranteeing equal or superior yields to chemical fertilisers, our novel organic method goes a step further than current organic fertilisers by being highly customisable. Biota Nutri BV is a Dutch producer of organic fertilizers founded in 2017, who aims to make organic and healthy vegetables affordable and available to everybody though manufacturing organic liquid fertilizers. We estimated that after 5 years of exploitation, we will achieve ?15M in sales and ?7M in profit with an ROI of 640%. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/889261
BIOTAC soil bioremediation through flagellated bacteria: unravelling the mechanisms for enhancing bacterial tactic response Bacterial dispersal is a key driver of pollutant turnover in contaminated soils. Flagellated bacteria able to degrade organic pollutants hold tactic responses to a variety of stimuli and reach pollutant hotspots, enhancing the access to poorly bioavailable carbon sources by steepening pollutant concentration gradients at interfaces. However, bacterial motility in porous media is often restricted due to high cell deposition rates and adhesion to soil particles, and in this sense, the modulating role of biological and chemical effectors is decisive. The aim of BIOTAC is the study of the mechanisms operating with flagellated bacteria for bioavailability enhancements and, therefore, a faster turnover of persistent organic pollutants in soils, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and a pesticide, lindane. We will study, at the microorganism scale, the role of bacterial taxis in chemical gradients (chemotaxis), as well as other tactic responses (repellence, surface taxis) in pollutant bioavailability, modelling and integrating them with other microbial adaptations (i.e. biofilm formation and the production of biosurfactants). We will develop strategies to improve bacterial transport to pollutant sources, using carefully selected biological and chemical effectors (respectively including, mycelial networks and organic compounds -root exudates, humic acids, and fertilizers), that favour flagella-mediated taxis, and co-mobilization of immotile degrading strains. The originality and innovation of the project lies on the macroscale projection of the microscale mechanisms underlying the access of self-propelled bacteria to limitedly available contaminants through an enhanced dispersal. Through experimental and modelling approaches, aiming at balancing biosorption and colloidal transport of the pollutants against biodegradation rates, the project will perform a risk and benefit analysis of the new bioremediation technology. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/895340
BRC Brextor - The horizontal forces concrete pile removal head for high-precision piles preparation The safe connection between the concrete piles and the pile cap is crucial for the stability of a construction project, especially for heavy structures as bridges and high-rise buildings and/or projects in non-cohesive soils (sand, gravel, water). Damaging the reinforcement bars during the pile head removal can result in high financial loss, time waste and therefore, danger for the overall construction safety. Today?s solutions cannot guarantee a secure and efficient pile head removal, as they all apply vertical forces endangering the concrete structure. On top of that, high amounts of energy are lost during the operation and OPEX is very high.With Brextor we want to revolutionize the construction industry, by offering an innovative concrete pile milling head which applies horizontal forces to the pile and can thus control 100% the applied energy for an accurate and secure pile head removal minimizing the energy loss. Moreover, our method can guarantee an up to 4 times faster pile breaking at an up to 3.5 times lower OPEX. We also minimize the human risk factor as minimum worker intervention is required. We started working on Brextor since 2007, and our current prototype has attracted the interest of the largest Swiss construction companies, having already used the first version of our technology in >100 sites in the country, including important construction as the Roche Tower in Basel in 2018. It has also been pilot used in Germany and Philippines. We will sell Brextor to construction companies and building contractors via direct sales for the Swiss region and distributors. With an additional investment of ?2.5 million, we aim to sell ~1,100 units in a 5-year period (2022-2026) creating a business opportunity of ?81.5 million and generating an astonishing ROI2026 of 5.52 https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/868136
BuildingTomorrow Building a Better Tomorrow: Development Knowledge and Practice in Central Asia and Beyond, 1970-2017 The landscape of post-Soviet Central Asia (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrygzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan) is littered with the physical remnants of Soviet development, both positive ?health clinics and schools ? and negative - decaying factories, polluted soil, and dried out rivers. Less visible are Soviet development?s political, intellectual, and institutional legacies. Yet just as post-socialist states and international development organizations have been forced to deal with the physical legacies of socialism, their approaches to economic development, welfare provision, and governance has been shaped by the socialist past. After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the newly independent states of Central Asia invited international institutions and foreign donors to help them achieve prosperity and transition to a market economy. At the time, most development institutions and national governments subscribed to the so-called ?Washington Consensus? which emphasized financial discipline, minimum state regulation, and open borders. This project proposes to study the influence of Central Asian economists, activists, specialists, and government officials who straddled the Soviet/post-Soviet divide by going to work in national and international development institutions after independence. By studying these individuals and the legacies of their work will allow us to investigate how ideas and practices of economic development and welfare provision were shaped and reshaped at the local and international level. The project will uncover how international development transformed post-Soviet Central Asia, and how the encounter with post-socialist states transformed paradigms and practices of international development. The research will thus make an innovative scholarly contribution to understanding the legacy of socialism, the history of economic development, and the the global history of development. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/865898
CarboPlex Development of carbon-rich biochar-mineral complexes for soil amendment, carbon sequestration and beyond (CarboPlex) Aim of this project is to investigate and exploit the potentials of a new material termed biochar-mineral complex (BMC). The simple yet ground-breaking idea is to use common waste streams to produce BMCs with distinct properties. Primary target is the use of BMCs as soil amender, especially in soils, where the delicate but crucial structure of organo-mineral complexes is threatened by unsustainable soil use or climate change. Where pure biochar is known to face its limits, BMC because of its mineral part is assumed to enable much higher functionality (i.e. water and nutrient storage). To provide evidence-based information on production, properties and soil effects of BMC, a systematic study will be conducted. The highly interdisciplinary work is split into five strongly interconnected work packages, which cover the whole BMC lifespan from production to soil use and technology assessment. Most of the work will be conducted at the University of Edinburgh (UoE). A secondment is planned at Enrich Environmental Ltd., an innovative Irish waste treatment SME, where the potentials and requirements for successful large-scale implementation will be investigated. Introducing this original work to the scientific communities (i.e. waste, agriculture, soil, material science) is expected to make enormous impact. Strong attention is also paid to dissemination of the results to the industry, other stakeholders and the general public. The ER, in addition to the expected excellent research, profits greatly from new experiences with pyrolysis (UKBRC) and business management (Enrich) supporting his strive for an academic career as professor. The UoE benefits from the ER?s experiences in hydrothermal carbonization and gaining competence in BMCs. Enrich, in return, has strong interest to expand its range of products and to integrate innovative processes such as BMC production. Naturally, the ER, UoE and Enrich are strongly committed to the planed action and a most successful outcome. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/661323
CASUABIOTA Exploration of the soil biota associated to Casuarinaceae trees from tropical ultramafic areas. Pioneer plant species native to tropical ultramafic areas can be useful tools for the restoration of ultramafic soils degraded by nickel mining activities. Casuarinaceae trees are well known for its capacity to grow on nutrient-poor areas. This is possible thanks to multiple adaptations, including the formation of actinorhizal symbioses with nitrogen-fixing Frankia actinobacteria. Members of the genera Gymnostoma and Ceuthostoma (both from Casuarinaceae) colonise degraded ultramafic soils and promote the recovery of soil fertility. However, they produce high amounts of slow-degrading litter which (among other effects) reduce the colonisation by other plant species.The project CASUABIOTA is intended to improve our knowledge of soil biota associated to Casuarinaceae from ultramafic areas of SE Asia. The project has two main objectives: 1) to advance our knowledge about Casuarinaceae-associated frankiae and its tolerance to nickel, and 2) to obtain insights about the composition of Casuarinaceae litter and the organisms involved in its degradation, with a special interest in earthworms and saprophytic fungi. To accomplish these objectives, a sampling campaign aimed at plants, litter, root nodules and earthworms will be performed in ultramafic areas from Sabah State (N of Borneo, Malaysia). Collected material will be subjected to different analyses (litter composition, earthworm barcoding, soil fungal metabarcoding) and two manipulative experiments on litter degradation will be performed on vermireactors and on mesocosms. Expected results include the identification of Ni tolerant Frankia strains, the assessment of litter effects on the composition of soil fungal and earthworm communities and the optimisation of a biological method to accelerate the degradation of Casuarinaceae litter.This knowledge will ease the use of Casuarinaceae for the restoration of tropical Ni-mine spoils. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/892814
CC-TOP Cryosphere-Carbon on Top of the Earth (CC-Top): Decreasing Uncertainties of Thawing Permafrost and Collapsing Methane Hydrates in the Arctic The enormous quantities of frozen carbon in the Arctic, held in shallow soils and sediments, act as ?capacitors? of the global carbon system. Thawing permafrost (PF) and collapsing methane hydrates are top candidates to cause a net transfer of carbon from land/ocean to the atmosphere this century, yet uncertainties abound. Our program targets the East Siberian Arctic Ocean (ESAO), the World?s largest shelf sea, as it holds 80% of coastal PF, 80% of subsea PF and 75% of shallow hydrates. Our initial findings (e.g., Science, 2010; Nature, 2012; PNAS; 2013; Nature Geoscience, 2013, 2014) are challenging earlier notions by showing complexities in terrestrial PF-Carbon remobilization and extensive venting of methane from subsea PF/hydrates. The objective of the CC-Top Program is to transform descriptive and data-lean pictures into quantitative understanding of the CC system, to pin down the present and predict future releases from these ?Sleeping Giants? of the global carbon system.The CC-Top program combines unique Arctic field capacities with powerful molecular-isotopic characterization of PF-carbon/methane to break through on:The ?awakening? of terrestrial PF-C pools: CC-Top will employ great pan-arctic rivers as natural integrators and by probing the <eb>13C/?14C and molecular fingerprints, apportion release fluxes of different PF-C pools.The ESAO subsea cryosphere/methane: CC-Top will use recent spatially-extensive observations, deep sediment cores and gap-filling expeditions to (i) estimate distribution of subsea PF and hydrates; (ii) establish thermal state (thawing rate) of subsea PF-C; (iii) apportion sources of releasing methane btw subsea-PF, shallow hydrates vs seepage from the deep petroleum megapool using source-diagnostic triple-isotope fingerprinting.Arctic Ocean slope hydrates: CC-Top will investigate sites (discovered by us 2008-2014) of collapsed hydrates venting methane, to characterize geospatial distribution and causes of destabilization. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/695331
CERESiS ContaminatEd land Remediation through Energy crops for soil improvement to liquid biofuel Strategies Biofuels are one of few options for decarbonizing transport in the short to medium term. However, they are often criticised for indirect land use change (ILUC), which is critical due to lack of high quality agricultural land and increasing world population. At the same time, significant contaminated land areas remain unused. CERESiS aims to provide a win-win sustainable solution to both issues by facilitating land decontamination through phytoremediation, growing energy crops to produce clean biofuels. In the longer term, this will increase the land available for agriculture, while producing non-ILUC biofuel.The project is based on three pillars. The phytoremediation pillar will identify a range of promising energy crops, focusing on key contaminants worldwide. They will be trialed in North, South, Eastern Europe and Brazil, with samples characterised and converted to biofuels. The technological pillar will optimize two clean biofuel conversion technologies, Supercritical Water Gasification & Fast Pyrolysis integrated with novel contaminant separation technologies, focusing on eliminating, stabilising or retrieving the contaminants in an easy to manage form. The Decision Support pillar will develop an open access, modular and expandable Decision Support System able to identify optimal solutions for each application. It will incorporate land, phytoremediation, technological, economic, environmental parameters providing critical information to stakeholders & policy makers on the suitability of combinations of phytoremediation strategies and conversion technologies for particular sites, contaminants, environmental restrictions etc. It will include Techno-economic analysis of pathways, LCA & LCC, supply chain optimization, and performance assessment against SDG goals.Partners from five EU countries, Ukraine, Brazil and Canada representing the entire value chain collaborate for the development and assessment of the integrated pathways. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101006717
CHROME Linking Chemical diversity and Reactivity of Arctic dissolved Organic Matter for its integration in Earth system models Organic carbon is exported from terrestrial to freshwater ecosystems where, not only is it being degraded and eventually lost as carbon dioxide, but such degradation occurs faster than in soils or marine systems. Across freshwaters, variations in organic matter degradation and reactivity have been related to compositional changes in organic matter. The flux from terrestrial to aquatic systems seems to be increasing associated to anthropogenic perturbations. However, despite the relevance of these fluxes for the global C cycle, Earth System Models (ESMs) are just starting to consider them. In that sense, a particularly crucial region deserving urgent attention is the Arctic, as permafrost soils hold a massive C stock that is vulnerable to being mobilized towards freshwaters. Such transfer could turn that vulnerable C stock from a sink into a carbon dioxide source. Therefore, determining the reactivity of that organic matter flux and incorporating it in surface models is key at the moment. The foundation of CHROME is the idea that the chemical diversity of organic matter explains its reactivity and, as such, should be considered in biogeochemical models. CHROME represents the first attempt to incorporate organic matter chemical diversity to ESMs, and will do so by: i) developing and selecting functional chemical diversity indices as indicators of Arctic organic matter reactivity and ii) implementing that knowledge in a regional branch of an ESM. CHROME is based on the good match between the previous experience of the applicant and the excellence of the host institutions, leaders in the field of biogeochemical research in Arctic ecosystems (USGS, Boulder) and in global modelling (LSCE-CNRS, France). CHROME will constitute a key advance in C biogeochemical understanding and modelling, which will position the fellow at the forefront of geosciences research. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/839709
CIRCASA Coordination of International Research Cooperation on soil CArbon Sequestration in Agriculture Targeting ambitious changes in agricultural practices that would preserve restore and enhance soil carbon and soil health requires an increased coordination of international research cooperation. The specific challenge lies in the identification, implementation and verification of agricultural soil management practices which create a positive soil/ecosystem carbon budget at the farm and landscape levels, sequester carbon, improve soil structure and soil quality and provide climate change adaptation while contributing to sustainable development. In this context, the CSA CIRCASA has an overarching goal to develop synergies on research in this field at European Union and global level, targeting four realistic and highly complementary objectives:O1. Strengthen the international research community on agricultural soil carbon sequestration;O2. Provide an improved understanding of agricultural soil carbon sequestration and its potential for climate change mitigation and adaptation and for demands of increased food production;O3. Synthesizing stakeholder?s views and knowledge needs on agricultural soil carbon sequestration and climate changeO4. Favor a more structured approach, by preparing an International Research Consortium (IRC)These four objectives will produce measurable outputs during the time frame of the project and create significant outcomes for the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and of the Paris agreement (COP21, 4 per 1000 voluntary initiative) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). CIRCASA will benefit from the participation of three major initiatives: the Global Research Alliance on agricultural greenhouse gases (GRA), the Joint Programming Initiative on Sustainable Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change (FACCE JPI) and the 4 per 1000 - Soils for Food Security and Climate - initiative, and from the contribution of the CCCAFS and the WLE programs of the CGIAR. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/774378
CLAYLAB A virtual geomechanics laboratory for clay Natural clays are fascinating materials, especially so-called quick clays, a major geohazard, which are natural soils that can have a sudden irreversible phase change from solid to liquid due to small perturbations in environmental conditions. The aim of the project is to gain understanding of the complex behaviour of natural sensitive clays, including quick clays, by creating a virtual CLAYLAB. CLAYLAB is a virtual geomechanics laboratory for probing the behavior of clays starting at the materials science scale by incorporating clay specific physics in Discrete Element Modelling (DEM), based on experimental image and force data that spans nm - m. The novel multi-scale experimental data available at the host institution is combined with micro-mechanical computational and theoretical methods such as adding Level Sets for shape to DEM with the expertise of the ER. By taking advantage of cutting-edge imaging techniques, such as X-ray Computed Tomography, where computer-based mathematical schemes such as level sets are applied to generate a unique ?digital twin? for each particle. Furthermore, complementary data is gathered on the physico-chemical processes using a combination of X-ray scattering and Atomic Force Microscopy. Ultimately, a virtual CLAYLAB will be created, so that the digital samples match the physical behavior of their real counterparts at the engineering scale. CLAYLAB will enable us, for a first time, to understand the phenomena such as quick clay landslides, and enable us to probe into the materials response beyond what is possible when using laboratory techniques on their own. This understanding ultimately offers a platform to develop novel ground improvement ideas for landslide mitigation. Finally, CLAYLAB will help to ameliorate time consuming as well as expensive real laboratory testing procedures for probing soil response for engineering applications. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101030300
C-LEAK Rivers as leak in the terrestrial C sink Lateral displacement of carbon (C) from soils across inland waters towards the ocean has been intensified due to anthropogenic perturbations and has significant influence on the anthropogenic C budget and the terrestrial C sink. However, Earth System Models (ESM) which are used to simulate the terrestrial C sink at global scale still ignore these lateral fluxes.The project presented here aims at assessing the impact of lateral C fluxes on the anthropogenic CO2 budget using a mechanistically-based approach. To this end, JULES, the land surface component of the UK ESM, will be upgraded with an explicit representation of fluvial transports of soil derived C, including decomposition of organic C in transit and net C fluxes to the atmosphere and aquatic sediments. The model will be calibrated, applied and validated at subcontinental scale for the UK, but the technical developments will support future applications across scales, from catchment to the globe. Historical simulations (1850-2010) will be run to attribute climate change, land-use change mediated soil erosion, and river damming to changes in C exports and C burial in aquatic sediments. Future simulation (until 2100) under contrasting climate and land-use scenarios will be run in order to assess the fate of the inland water C cycle.At the University of Exeter, the fellow will gain experience in Earth System Modelling and improve his process understanding of soil erosion, fluvial transport and sedimentation of C. This combination of expertise will put the fellow into a unique position which meets a clearly defined need in ESM development and increases his chance to obtain a permanent position at a leading European research institute. This project promotes the knowledge transfer in Earth System Modelling between the University of Exeter (GB), Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace (F) and the Universit<U+0082> Libre de Bruxelles (Be) and the interdisciplinary exchange between climate science, soil science and geomorphology. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/703813
CLIMIFUN Climatic and temporal control on microbial diversity-ecosystem functioning: insights from a novel conceptual model (CLIMIFUN). Despite the importance of soil microbial communities for ecosystem functioning and human welfare, little is known about the mechanisms controlling the composition and diversity of these communities, and the role of their attributes in providing multiple ecosystem functions and services such as nutrient cycling and decomposition (i.e. multifunctionality). Many studies have identified climate, stage of ecosystem development and soil characteristics as main drivers of plant and animal diversity. However, much less is known about the interactive effects of climate, soil properties and time in controlling microbial diversity and multifunctionality during ecosystem succession. This lack of knowledge hampers our ability to predict microbial community shifts and their consequences for ecosystem functioning under climate change, and limits the inclusion of soil microbes in global biogeochemical models. The main research objective of this action is to gain a deeper insight into the patterns and mechanisms that drive soil microbial diversity and multifunctionality under changing environments. We will use a novel conceptual framework combining long-term chronosequences, climate change experiments and structural equation modelling to quantitatively evaluate the role of time, climate and multiple soil drivers in controlling microbial diversity and multifunctionality. The research outlined in this proposal includes a range of state-of-the-art biochemical, molecular and genomic methods for the analysis of microbial communities and multifunctionality that ensure the maximum utility and impact of our results. Altogether, CLIMIFUN will reveal the factors that control soil microbial diversity and multiple functions linked to plant production and nutrient cycling under a changing environment. This work will thus address a key knowledge gap relevant to supporting increases in global demand for food and fibre over the next decades, and a research priority for H2020. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/702057
Coupled Constitutive and numerical modelling of saturated and unsaturated soils The proposal focusses on investigating the incorporation of microstructural aspects of soil fabric into an existing coupled mechanical and retention framework for saturated and unsaturated soils. Particular emphasis will be given to two challenging patterns of microstructural behaviour: (1) Soils exhibiting a highly directional-dependent response, as a consequence of a particular orientation of their internal structure (anisotropic behaviour); (2) Soils exhibiting large swelling deformations on wetting, as a consequence of the presence in the soil of highly expansive clay minerals (expansive behaviour). Both of these aspects are intimately related to the internal clay fabric (micro-level) and an improved understanding of the influences that the microstructural fraction has on the global soil response (macro-level) is central to the development of a novel constitutive model capable to represent comprehensively these advanced features of soil behaviour. Full implementation of such constitutive model into a finite element formulation will provide a unique computational tool from where practitioners and researchers will be able to assess, in a unified manner, simple and advanced geotechnical engineering applications involving both saturated and unsaturated soil behaviour. Effectively, the use of a more reliable material representation in geotechnical designs, by means of the implemented model, will facilitate a safer construction and serviceability of civil infrastructures supported on the ground while potentially reducing associated costs. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/706712
Cyano4REST Cyanobacteria for restoration of degraded soils Frequent land degradation problems in drylands make necessary the adoption of effective and low cost restoration strategies for a sustainable development of these areas. However, water scarcity and low soil fertility inherent to drylands make difficult implementation of traditional restoration techniques based on plant cover establishment. Recent studies point to the viability of cyanobacteria and their secreted exopolysaccharides (EPS) as an eco-friendly biotechnology technique for restoration of arid degraded soils. However, cyanobacteria utilization is limited due to lack of knowledge regarding the factors involved in the success and failure of inoculated cyanobacteria. The general objective of Cyano4REST is cover the gap in knowledge on the relationships between the characteristics of the polysaccharidic matrix produced by cyanobacteria in the soils and its role in affecting soil hydraulic properties, soil stability and CO2 fluxes in biocrusts. The specific objectives are: 1) Identification and culture of cyanobacteria species present in biocrusts from different arid and semiarid regions; 2) Chemical and macromolecular characterization of the EPS secreted by cyanobacteria species and their influence on biocrust development; 3) Analysis of the influence of cyanobacteria inoculation on soil properties and CO2 fluxes on different textured soils; 4) Cyanobacteria inoculation on soils under field conditions and analysis of their influence on soil fertility and stability, soil moisture, and CO2 fluxes. This project represent a significant step forward the development of successful strategy for soil restoration based on the artificial inoculation of cyanobacteria. Cyano4REST will thus increase the European research visibility in the development of new biotechnological techniques to promote sustainable development, ensure the protection of the environment and combat climate change, one of the priority areas of the H2020 program. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/706351
Cyanolichens Genetic diversity of cyanobacterial symbionts of lichens and of free-living populations of Nostoc in biological soil crust communities of threatened alvar grasslands Contemporary nature conservation policy in Europe has identified the protection of alvars and other semi-natural grasslands to be important for halting biodiversity loss. Loss of biodiversity implies not only species and communities but also loss of genetic diversity. To design effective conservation strategies for threatened biodiversity, the basic biology of the target organisms needs to be understood. Lichens are symbiotic entities consisting of at least two components, a fungus (mycobiont) and algae and/or cyanobacteria (photobionts), living in intimate symbiotic association. The genetic diversity of cyanobacteria will be studied in cyanobacterial lichens (cyanolichens) and in free-living cyanobacteria that form biological soil crusts (BSC) in North European alvars. The main DNA markers used will be tRNALeu (UAA) intron and 16S sequences for cyanobacteria and ITS sequences for lichen mycobionts. Cyanobiont specificity of lichen mycobionts and possible overlap in the cyanobiont spectra of different lichens will be determined. Also free-living Nostoc genotypes from the same habitats will be screened in order to establish their potential role in the symbiont pool. The diversity of lichen cyanobionts and free-living cyanobacteria in alvars, restored alvars and alvar-like substitution habitats will be compared to determine the effects of disturbance history on genotype diversity patterns. This study targets the very poorly known relationships between lichen-symbiotic cyanobacteria and their free-living relatives and will be the first of its kind in any grassland environment. The results will significantly improve our understanding of lichen biology and community ecology, and especially of the role of symbiont specificity in generating and maintaining lichen diversity. The results will have wide practical application in the design of conservation measures to protect the highly specialized BSC communities of the remaining semi-natural grassland in North Europe. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/659070
DataStories DataStories: Making Use of Interpretive Judgments of Data Creators The creative, situated, and interpretive nature of data collection is well established by scholars across disciplines. Archaeologists recording the color of soil interpret its hue differently. Library catalogers disagree on the title of a book. Collectors of plant specimens provide different kinds of information about the specimen's location: some provide coordinates, others describe landmarks, some record details of the terrain. Interpretive flexibility in data creation occurs despite the use of standardized structures and protocols to enforce consistent data. It even occurs when data is collected by computers. For example, smartphones, fitness trackers, and other devices record the number of steps users take when carrying the device. But although the recording of steps is automatic, people use these devices in flexible, creative ways: they carry them during certain activities but not others, use different devices for different activities, and so on. In the DataStories project, I argue that interpretive judgments of data creators are valuable forms of information, and we should study them and learn from them, not ignore or eliminate them. DataStories seeks to answer the following question: What can we learn from understanding the range of interpretive judgments that appear in a dataset? DataStories has three objectives: 1. To empirically investigate the alternate stories within datasets that arise from data creators? interpretive judgments. 2. To demonstrate how the variation that arises from data creators? interpretive judgments is valuable information. 3. To develop a methodological framework for telling these data stories. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/793340
DeepGeo Deep Gaussian Processes for Geostatistical Data Analysis Urban soil contamination resulting from former land-use is important but challenging to measure. Direct measurements are expensive and time-consuming to acquire, making a city-wide assessment impossible. Current statistical methods for modelling the distribution of pollution in urban environments, such as kriging, often fail to do so properly, since the contamination is highly local and uncorrelated with the surroundings. The problems can be mitigated by using multi-output models, such as co-kriging, where several datasets are modelled concurrently. The methods are, however, slow to train and have limited flexibility. DeepGeo will develop state-of-the-art methods for assessing urban soil contamination and provide an open-source software library for geostatistical data analysis, directly making the novel discoveries available to a wide audience. DeepGeo aims to solve the mentioned problems by the use of deep Gaussian processes for estimating urban soil pollution. This recently developed class of models promises enormous flexibility and can model highly nonlinear correlations between outputs, making them far superior to standard co-kriging. They do, however, suffer from scalability issues and empirical studies show flexibility issues with increasing depth.DeepGeo will address the scalability issue by developing new algorithms for approximate inference and for inducing sparsity. Inspired by recent advances in training of deep neural networks, specialised covariance functions that allow for deeper Gaussian process architectures will be constructed. Finally, new and improved methods for learning complicated correlations between outputs will be investigated, thus increasing the amount of information that can be gained from already available data.By making the developed methods available as open-source software, DeepGeo seeks to reach a broad range of research fields as well as benefitting the geochemical industry. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/800581
DEFCOMANT Establishing defined communities of Antarctic soil bacteria as potential sources of antimicrobials The discovery of antibiotics is one of the greatest achievements in human medicine. However, the introduction and overuse of antibiotics led towards selection of multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens that are one of the major concerns of modern medicine. Novel antibiotic classes are the most promising way to overcome current antibiotic resistance. To achieve this goal, antibacterial drug development is re-focused once again on natural products, especially by sourcing not-yet-explored or underexplored environments that represent a rich source of potentially bioactive microorganisms. One of such unique and intact environments is Antarctica with surprisingly high microbial biodiversity. The Antarctic soil microbiome has been proven as a rich reservoir of biosynthetically active bacteria with potential to produce novel antimicrobial molecules. However, simple exploration for antimicrobials among isolated microorganisms has its limitation, one of which is supressed expression of biosynthetic genes in laboratory conditions. The aim of the proposed project is to search for antimicrobial metabolites among unique Antarctic isolates and to streamline the process through a novel approach. Biosynthetic potential of isolates will be firstly characterized through genomics to identify the most promising strains. Afterwards, a novel tool, co-cultivation combined with high advanced omics methods will be implemented to design and grow well-defined microbial communities. Mutual microbial interactions in communities will stimulate metabolic activities of individual strains and expression of otherwise ?silent? genes resulting in production of various compounds, some of which may express antimicrobial activities. This project will result in establishment of the first defined Antarctic microbiotas and access their full biosynthetic potential to produce bioactive compounds, especially those active against the most critical multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens in human healthcare. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101020356
DIMR Data Intensive Modelling of the Rhizosphere Processes We rely on soil to support the crops on which we depend. Less obviously we also rely on soil for a host of 'free services' from which we benefit. For example, soil buffers the hydrological system greatly reducing the risk of flooding after heavy rain; soil contains very large quantities of carbon, which would otherwise be released into the atmosphere where it would contribute to climate change. Given its importance it is not surprising that soil, especially its interaction with plant roots, has been a focus of many researchers. However the complex and opaque nature of soil has always made it a difficult medium to study.In this ERC research program I will develop a state of the art image based model of the physical and chemical properties of soil and soil-root interactions, i.e., a quantitative, model of the rhizosphere based on fundamental scientific laws. This will be realised by a combination of innovative, data rich fusion of structural and chemical imaging methods, integration of experimental efforts to both support and challenge modelling capabilities at the scale of underpinning bio-physical processes, and application of mathematically sound homogenisation/scale-up techniques to translate knowledge from rhizosphere to field scale. The specific science questions I will address with these techniques are: (1) how does the soil around the root, the rhizosphere, function and influence the soil ecosystems at multiple scales, (2) what is the role of root-soil interface micro morphology and mycorrhizae on plant nutrient uptake, (3) what is the effect of plant exuded mucilage on the soil morphology, mechanics and resulting field and ecosystem scale soil function and (4) how to translate this knowledge from the single root scale to root system, field and ecosystem scale in order to predict how the climate change, different soil management strategies and plant breeding will influence the soil fertility. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/646809
DormantMicrobes Revealing the function of dormant soil microorganisms and the cues for their awakening Soils are considered the last scientific frontiers that harbor one of the most diverse microbial communities on Earth. It is hypothesized that this diversity allows for redundancy in microbial key processes, thereby ensuring ecosystem stability. Much of this functional redundancy is embodied in non-active, dormant microorganisms that represent the ?microbial seed bank?, which is characterized by a high number of low abundant taxa. Based on the recent theory of a ?dynamic rank-abundance curve?, it is hypothesized that the rare dormant organisms can be recruited to participate in a given function upon resuscitation with environmental cue(s). In this project I will test this hypothesis on a level that matters for ecosystem processes ? the functional level ? by an innovative approach combining stable isotope probing (SIP) and sequencing with process-level and single-cell activity analysis.By testing 4 hypotheses, we will (1) reveal environmental cues that resuscitate dormant microorganisms involved in major soil functions and identify the activated microorganisms. The activity of the resuscitated communities will be analyzed at the process level, as well as at the single-cell by NanoSIMS, thereby allowing us to elucidate the impact of dormancy/resuscitation dynamics on targeted processes at the population and ecosystem level. (2) We will investigate the genetics of microbial dormancy-resuscitation strategies in a natural model environment for dormancy, an arid ecosystem, by metatranscriptome analysis of critical dormancy-resuscitation steps. (3) We will retrieve genomic information of primarily rare, but after resuscitation active, microorganisms involved in important soil processes, as they presumably contain so far unknown genomic potential. In summary, this project will generate essential knowledge on the stability of microbial key processes and on the diversity, the function and the genetics of the dormant majority in terrestrial ecosystems. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/636928
DROUGHTROOT Plants in search of water: physiological and molecular interplay between root hydraulics and architecture during drought stress Plants have to constantly adjust their water status during development and in response to very changing environmental conditions, recently increased by climate change. By exploring the soil and taking up water, plant roots play a crucial role in these processes. Drought exerts deep effects on root functions by altering root cell water permeability (hydraulics) and modulating the growth and architecture of the root system. Water channel proteins named aquaporins adjust root hydraulics in response to many stimuli, including drought stress. Auxin plays, together with abscisic acid (ABA), a pivotal role in root growth and development and regulates aquaporins during lateral root formation (LRF). The present project proposes a frame for integrating these effects by exploring functional links between root architecture, aquaporins and hydraulics, phytohormones, and modelling. Responses to water stress will be studied from the elementary level of LRF up to the whole root level to identify complex interactions and signalling pathways. The Arabidopsis root was chosen as a model for accelerated discovery, as it allows a unique combination of developmental biology, genomics, biophysics and mathematical modelling, with the purpose to transfer this knowledge to crops. This novel and multidisciplinary project will be carried out by a researcher with a strong scientific expertise on agriculture and plant molecular physiology which perfectly matches the proposed project. The latter will be implemented within a consolidated group and an internationally recognized institution (Aquaporin team, BPMP, CNRS/INRA/SupAgro/UM2 Montpellier, France). This combination provides a unique scientific platform for the research training of the applicant and the development of frontline research in plant science. The overall project will be strongly beneficial for the development of the applicant?s independent research career and will definitely strengthen his scientific profile. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/657374
DRUGSBUGS Improved therapies for soil-transmitted helminthiases: exploring pharmacomicrobiomics, novel drugs and microfluidic assay platforms An estimated 1.5 billion people are infected with soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) causing a global burden of 1.9 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Current treatment options are limited. Preliminary studies in my lab hint towards a gut microbiome mechanism responsible for treatment failures of the most efficacious treatment currently available, albendazole-ivermectin. I propose an innovative 5-year project (?DRUGSBUGS?) that holds promise for major breakthroughs in anthelminthic drug discovery and development. I will deepen the understanding of current and potentially upcoming anthelminthics, in particular the microbiome-driven modulation of anthelminthic treatment. I will investigate underlying gut microbial structures in human stool samples associated with efficacy of albendazole-ivermectin treatment. Findings will be experimentally validated in vitro and in vivo. In addition, I speculate that emodepside will emerge as a novel key player in the anthelminthic drug armamentarium, which will enhance efficacy and reduce the risk of selection of resistant helminth populations. DRUGSBUGS proposes two Phase 2a dose selection trials with emodepside against Trichuris trichiura and hookworm in adults. Subsequent Phase 2b studies will assess whether emodepside is superior to albendazole against hookworm and T. trichiura. Using a microsampling technique, I will characterize the pharmacokinetics of emodepside in patients infected with T. trichiura and hookworm. In parallel, investing in innovative new technologies in the field of drug discovery will facilitate the discovery and development of the next generation of anthelminthics. I propose to study drug effects on motility and viability of different STH larvae applying electrical impedance spectroscopy on a microfluidic chip platform. My proposed research is of considerable public health relevance since it will ultimately result in improved treatments for soil-transmitted helminthiases. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101019223
DRYSOM Unraveling long-term soil organic matter dynamics under drought in forest soils and their link to ecosystem properties Severe drought periods are predicted to increase in Central Europe. The increasing frequency of drought will affect the growth and carbon (C) storage in forests. While drought effects have intensively been studied for plants, much less is known about their impact on soil processes. Soils store more C than atmosphere and vegetation together, and contribute to CO2 removal and thus to mitigate climate change.The proposed project aims to estimate how reoccurring summer drought affects long-term dynamics of soil organic matter (SOM) in forest soils. Our research will be carried out in a unique 15-year-long irrigation experiment in a dry oak and pine forest. The project will advance the knowledge and improve its transfer between disciplines by (1) tracing C inputs and fluxes from roots and mycorrhiza into soils and losses of ?old? SOM by applying novel isotopic approaches, and relating these changes to soil microbiota analyzed by DNA, (2) determining drought impacts on SOM stability and its sources by innovative marker molecules approaches in SOM pools, and (3) linking these results ecosystem properties measured by collaborating research groups. The use of a long-term experimental set up, together with novel techniques, will offer a unique opportunity to identify the unknown drought-induced effects on belowground C cycling at long time scales. These results will be important for facing current climate change impacts, and will be communicated not only to scientists but also to policy makers and to a wider public.The project will enhance the researcher?s skills in cutting-edge methodologies and techniques, boost teaching and writing skills and increase communication competences, through an ad-hoc spectrum of training activities. As such, future career opportunities will highly improve and the fellowship will be a key milestone for the researcher to become an independent and leading scientist in research on SOM dynamics in forests under long-term drought. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/846134
EASY-CROPS Enhancing endosymbiotic interaction to increase crops production Nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) are essential for all aspect of plant growth. As a paradox, they are poorly available in soil, leading to extensive use of fertilisers to fulfil the demand of a growing population. However, this agronomical practice is detrimental to the environment. To exploit N and overcome P starvation, numerous plant families interact with mutualistic root-endosymbionts such as nitrogen-fixing bacteria with legumes, or phosphate-delivering arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) with the 80% of land plants. Despite the benefit of these endosymbioses, P and N fertilizers reduce AM and nitrogen-fixing bacteria endosymbioses. In addition, climate change impact endosymbioses with a decrease in nitrogen-fixing symbiosis at high temperature, in acidic and saline soils. Therefore, it is imperative to develop novel strategies to enhance endosymbioses in crops and optimize N and P nutrition under global warming.The success of root endosymbioses relies on the molecular dialogue between symbionts and plants. One of the core functions of this dialogue is to stimulate the release of calcium by the plant nucleus to switch on the symbiotic program. This calcium release is mastered by the cyclic nucleotide gated channels (CNGC)15. A recent Mtcngc15c-easy allelic variant discovered in the proposed laboratory presents spontaneous calcium release and increase of nodulation and mycorrhization. My objectives are to reveal the effect of CNGC15c-EASY mutation on the channel activity and symbioses, and use this knowledge to translate this system into crops. In addition to discover a novel strategy to improve plant production, this work will give me training in plant biology technics and structural biology. Simultaneously, the project will benefit from my expertise in microbiology. Finally, the work in the proposed destination centre will also provide me a valuable international network and skills for my future career. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/891144
EASYPONIC The unique “Nanny” sensor and app that cares and engages growers through the hydroponic process Business Opportunity:. Hydroponics is a closed-loop food production system in a controlled environment and grows without soil, also known as soilless growing. It is a sustainable solution for meeting growing demand of food consumption, reduces water waste (+70%) and contamination, increases crop production and enhances the community environmental-care feelings. Despite advantages, the process must be professionally controlled to avoid constant losses ending of users? disappointment.Easyponic endeavours to scale-up a cost-effective, easy-to-use ICT based product that provides a solution to control the whole hydroponic process without having a professional knowledge of the methodology. Easyponic is based on a compacted hardware the ?Nanny? that cares about the crops and automates the monitoring process by sending the user all the information and actions that should be taken though a mobile application, which engages the users through its gaming features.Easyponic targets Non-professional growers (B2C) & Small-medium greenhouse farmers (B2B) providing both with a cost-effective solution that engage the user and controls the process through the value of information, preventing alarms and training.Easyponic has gone through processes of ?design thinking? and ?customer discovery & validation? - with more than 95k? already invested - at the national level (TRL6). Our successful demonstration results position us to continue to advance during the next phases in the validation process under the SME Phases 1 and 2, going from TRL6 to TRL9.Easyponic aims to get 44,5 M? of incomes by 2021 targeting EU, US and Indian Markets https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/736154
ECOHERB Drivers and impacts of invertebrate herbivores across forest ecosystems globally. Forests slow global climate change by absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide but this ecosystem service is limited by soil nutrients. Herbivores potentially alter soil nutrients in a range of ways, but these have mostly only been recorded for large mammals. By comparison, the impacts of the abundant invertebrates in forests have largely been ignored and are not included in current models used to generate the climate predictions so vital for designing governmental policiesThe proposed project will use a pioneering new interdisciplinary approach to provide the most complete picture yet available of the rates, underlying drivers and ultimate impacts of key nutrient inputs from invertebrate herbivores across forest ecosystems worldwide. Specifically, we will:(1) Establish a network of herbivory monitoring stations across all major forest types, and across key environmental gradients (temperature, rainfall, ecosystem development).(2) Perform laboratory experiments to examine the effects of herbivore excreta on soil processes under different temperature and moisture conditions.(3) Integrate this information into a cutting-edge ecosystem model, to generate more accurate predictions of forest carbon sequestration under future climate change.The network established will form the foundation for a unique long-term global monitoring effort which we intend to continue long after the current funding time scale. This work represents a powerful blend of several disciplines harnessing an array of cutting edge tools to provide fundamentally novel insights into an area of direct and urgent importance for the society. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/682707
ECONOMY Plant Ecology for Nitrous Oxide Mitigation and Sustainable Productivity Agricultural soils are the dominant source of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas as well as a major cause of ozone layer depletion. Recent findings show that combinations of plants with complementary root traits can increase nitrogen (N) uptake leading to lower N2O emissions. Based on the microbiology behind soil N2O emissions and on plant-trait based ecology, this project aims to build on this finding and develop a novel N2O mitigation strategy. We aim to reveal how plants and plant interactions via their traits and trait combinations can be used to reduce N2O emissions in a context of climate change related disturbances (drought and intense rainfall). Starting with microcosm incubations using monocultures of different plant species, we will quantify the relative importance of specific plant traits as means to regulate N2O emissions. An ensemble of inter- and multi-disciplinary techniques will be applied to analyse the ecological and agronomical plant characteristics of potential relevance as well as the plant-specific microbiological communities of importance for the N-cycle. Subsequently, greenhouse mesocosm experiments will be used to expand the acquired knowledge to cover interactions between plants and stresses induced by climate change factors. A meta-analysis of published and unpublished datasets will allow further elucidation of specific and interactive mechanisms, differentiated by environmental and management factors and to include studies over longer time frames. Finally, the generated results will be used to calibrate and validate a process-based model in order to extrapolate our findings to regional levels. Deliverables will be peer-reviewed papers, new experimental data on a new N2O mitigation strategy, improved model tools to simulate mitigation and reports to policy makers and stake holders on a N2O mitigation strategy that concurrently maintains / increases agricultural production. Overall, ECONOMY will guide future N2O mitigation policy. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/656632
EJP SOIL Towards climate-smart sustainable management of agricultural soils The main objective of EJP SOIL is to create an enabling environment to enhance the contribution of agricultural soils to key societal challenges such as climate change adaptation and mitigation, sustainable agricultural production, ecosystem services provision and prevention and restoration of land and soil degradation.The EJP SOIL will build a sustainable European integrated research community on agricultural soils and will develop and deploy a roadmap on climate-smart sustainable agricultural soil management.The EJP SOIL roadmap is based on a knowledge framework with 4 interacting components. Knowledge development is set out in project calls with internal and external partners. Knowledge sharing & transfer is framed in capacity building for young scientists, enhancing general public awareness and fostering societal understanding and appreciation of agricultural soil management and its contribution to society. Knowledge harmonization, storage & organization supports harmonised soil information and reporting practices. Knowledge application deals with ways to overcome barriers for adoption of novel practices in a European context, co-developing adequate tools and providing evidence-based recommendations for EU policies.EJP SOIL activities in interaction with stakeholders, MSs and DG AGRI will pursue the long-term goal of promoting farmers as stewards of land and soil resources and support policy development and deployment, in particular the CAP and Climate policies. The EJP SOIL addresses 6 expected impacts with targeted activities in response to societal, scientific, policy and operational challenges. A first annual workplan based on the roadmap is provided as part of the proposal.The EJP Soil consortium unites a unique group of 26 leading European research institutes and universities in 24 countries. The consortium has developed this proposal in close collaboration with its programme owners and has secured over 40M? in co-funding and 10M? for external calls over 5 years. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/862695
Envisage ENVISAGE (Development of Environmentally-friendly Innovative Solutions for Affected Grounds and Ecosystems) In line with our growth strategy, INOQ is looking for an innovation associate to lead our business expansion project into the soil remediation market in Europe. With more than 20 years of experience, our company INOQ is a leading developer of mycorrhiza products used as microbial biostimulants for reforestation, food production, horticulture and others. With ENVISAGE we will provide mycorrhizal fungi to soil remediation companies as a complement and/or alternative to current remediation techniques for contaminated or affected groundsDuring the last decades, governments and private institutions have stressed their interest towards substitution of ecologically unfriendly and expensive remediation techniques with new forms of bioremediation. Given its relevance to our life, the governments and private actors from the EU member states have incurred in large amounts of soil remediation related expenses during the last years (more than ?31 Billion from 2000 to 2010). To date there are many laboratory applications of mycorrhizal fungi on soil remediation, but no commercial applications in Europe. Therefore we identify our competitive advantage given our technical and commercial experience with similar applications. Based on our preliminary market analysis and based on advisory from industry experts, this market would represent for INOQ a business with an annual revenue value of at least ?5 Million during the first 3 to 5 years. The envisaged profile has been considered to combine complementary skills and expertise. The innovation associate will use her/his research and qualitative/quantitative data analysis skills, as well as her/his bioscience and technical background to connect the market and industry related knowledge to our biotechnology. The incumbent will have a strategic role in INOQ, occupying the position of Business Innovation Manager. She/He will contribute to drive our company to become a reliable biotechnological partner in European soil remediation market. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/739739
EUsoil-C-FLUX Impact of climate warming on soil exoenzyme kinetic properties and their role in forecasting carbon flux The majority of the Earth?s terrestrial carbon (C) is stored in the soil as organic carbon, at quantities more than three times the size of the atmospheric carbon pool. Response of this vast reservoir of C to climate change is highly uncertain and changes may alter multiple soil ecosystem services such as climate regulation, food production and water purification. Soil microorganisms drive the decomposition of soil organic C and determine C losses from soils to the atmosphere through soil respiration (Rsoil). To date, no consensus has been reached on the direction or magnitude of Rsoil responses to climate change with contrasting results and conflicting theory making future predictions unreliable. Up to now, research into rising temperature respiratory responses has focussed on substrate depletion mechanisms and metabolic adjustments, with little attention being paid to the importance of change in exoenzyme kinetic properties. Bringing together state of the art measurements from different rarely combined disciplines, this EUsoil-C-FLUX project will focus on soil exoenzyme thermal adaptation to unravel new mechanisms of Rsoil response to climate warming at the European scale. To this end, this project proposes to (i) determine the local adaptation of soil exoenzyme kinetic properties across Europe, from Greece to Iceland in three major habitats (grassland, forest and peatland); (ii) impose a controlled warming experient on these soils in a unique world leading research facility (the European Ecotron of Montpellier); (iii) use cutting edge and interdisciplineray technology (isotope labelling, high throughput DNA sequencing, radio carbon dating) to provide a detailed mechanistic understanding of Rsoil responses to warming; and finally (iv) incorporate the new findings into the latest mechanistic C models to better predict Rsoil response to climate change, a prerequisite to fulfill a key priority of the European Union in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/892654
EXCALIBUR Exploiting the multifunctional potential of belowground biodiversity in horticultural farming Excalibur plans to deepen the knowledge on soil biodiversity dynamics and its synergistic effects with prebiotic and probiotic approaches in horticulture, using a multi-actor approach. To pursue this aim, new multifunctional soil microbial inoculants (bio-inocula) and bio-effectors will be tested on three model crops of economic importance (es. tomato, apple, strawberry) under different experimental and open-field conditions across Europe, and the feed-feedback effect of/on native biodiversity monitored. In order to go beyond the multitude of studies on the links between soil biodiversity and plant health, Excalibur will develop a comprehensive strategy of soil management improving the effectiveness of biocontrol and biofertilization practices in agriculture. For this purpose Excalibur plans to: 1) focus on multiscale interactions between plants and belowground organisms to exploit the potential of multifunctional bio-inocula and bio-effectors; 2) optimize the formulation and the application methods of these products based on native soil biodiversity dynamics; 3) develop a strategy to improve the exploitation of soil biodiversity interactions with bio-effectors and bio-inocula by assessing their impacts on crops and biodiversity under contrasting agricultural management practices (conventional, organic) and biotic/abiotic stress conditions; 4) to build a multi-criteria model to assess soil biodiversity status of cropping systems for a more efficient use of bio-effectors and bio-inocula; 5) develop technical tools to monitor the persistence and dispersion of bio-inocula under field conditions for eco-toxicological and agronomical purposes; 6) evaluate the effects of the new strategy on economy, environment quality and ecosystem functions; 7) disseminate results to all stakeholders with a dynamic and comprehensive methodology and encourage the adoption of best practices derived from the new strategy at local, regional and global level. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/817946
FIBER Understanding soil fertility impacts on terrestrial biomass production in a changing environment The feedback between climate and the land carbon (C) cycle poses one of the largest uncertainties in climate change projections. FIBER targets the unresolved challenge for Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (DGVM) to simulate effects of soil fertility and nutrient deposition on biomass productivity (BP) and the land C balance. Accumulating evidence documents how plants adjust their growth strategies and C allocation under multiple limiting resources. Current DGVMs lag behind these new insights, produce widely diverging results for C cycling and nutrient limitation under future scenarios and fail to explain the observed land C sink. This work will provide a new global modelling approach to simulating flexible plant C allocation following optimality principles. A better understanding of the controls on BP is crucial for assessing climate change impacts on ecosystem services and to reduce uncertainty in C cycle and climate change projections.I will develop a new type of plant growth model to predict increased root growth and export of labile C to soil biota on infertile soils and under low N inputs, consistent with powerful data from forest inventories and ecosystem manipulation experiments. By accounting for trade-offs between different growth strategies and a C cost of nutrient uptake, I will simulate the plant C economy under optimality constraints ? a powerful approach, supported by observations but not exploited for DGVMs. The project is conceived to combine the relevant expertise and exploit the pioneering science of leading European researchers with my integrating role and demonstrated model development skills. Collaboration with two secondment hosts will facilitate the mining of their large data resources and fusing data into model predictions using Bayesian statistical tools. This project will integrate new model components developed at my current host institute and will be a crucial step on the way to building the next generation of vegetation models. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/701329
FireIce Fire in the land of ice: Climatic drivers and feedbacks 2019 was the largest fire year since at least 1997 within the Arctic Circle, largely driven by Siberian fires. The arctic-boreal region stores about two atmospheres worth of soil carbon with 90 % currently locked in permafrost soils, or perennially frozen ground. Fire releases parts of this carbon stock, which may induce a vigorous climate warming feedback.FireIce will investigate feedbacks between climate warming and arctic-boreal fires by studying direct and longer-term carbon emissions from fires. FireIce will acquire highly needed observations of carbon emissions from Siberian forest and tundra fires. On top of the direct fire emissions, fires accelerate permafrost degradation, which leads to greenhouse gas emissions for several decades. Their sum may be substantially larger than the direct emissions, yet is largely unknown. In addition, FireIce will investigate the relative contribution of CH4 from smoldering fires to fire emissions. CH4 emissions represent a small, yet not well known, fraction of carbon emissions from fires, but CH4 is a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2.FireIce will investigate feedbacks between climate warming and arctic-boreal fires by studying controls on fire size and ignition. Fire growth can be limited because of fuel or fire weather limitations. The fire weather control is sensitive to warming, which may lead to larger future fires. Lightning ignition is the main source of burned area in arctic-boreal regions, and more lightning is expected in the future. By combining contemporary controls on fire size and ignition, and future predictions of climate and lightning, FireIce will assess the vulnerability of arctic-boreal permafrost and soil carbon to increases in fire. FireIce?s results will be relevant to evidence-based policy. FireIce?s innovations are conceptual, i.e. unstudied aspects of an emerging warming feedback loop, methodological, e.g. inclusion of novel spaceborne data, and geographical, i.e. a focus on Siberia. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101000987
FIREMAN Breaking new ground for soil restoration: function and fate of core beneficial microbial consortium coated by pyrogenic carbon One of the most challenging tasks in ecology is to reclaim landscapes being disturbed by anthropogenic activities. Many human endeavours have been put forth for improving microbial activities and their structures, soil organic carbon level and plant reestablishment after depleting the top earth. Global use of pyrogenic carbon shows promising prospect on C sequestration and soil restoration, but there is a noticeable delayed advancement in improving its benefits. In accordance to UN Climate Smart Agriculture and UN Sustainable Development Goals, this project will seek a novel strategy for soil restoration by using pyrogenic carbon and core microbial communities (CBMs), to gain multiple benefits including aspects of waste management, C sequestration and plant regeneration. The project will make use of unique habitats for CBMs selection at both a long-term natural successional post mining site and a well-recorded reclaimed meadow in Czech Republic, Central Europe. The main objective of this project is to assess if pyrogenic carbon could ensure the function of CBMs during their transplantations from donor to recipient soils: 1) disentangle the ?refuge? effect of pyrogenic carbon on CBMs from macro-fauna by isotopic analysis, and microbial oxidation effect on pore structures and hydrophobicity of pyrogenic carbon, and 2) clarify the compositions of CBMs and their functions to responsive plant species in undeveloped soils. The transfer of knowledge between the host institution and the candidate will pave a solid way for the researcher?s scientific career, and future collaborations between the researcher, the host and the secondment are foreseen. Altogether, this project will provide a promising potential to increase the competitiveness of EU in using bio-wastes and soil inoculants for circular economy by bridging in waste management and soil restoration. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101003391
FLAME Future ResiLient Forest in a ChAnging ClimatE: isotope observations and mechanistic modeling of soil water residence time and vegetation water uptake dynamics The time that precipitated water resides in soil (residence time) varies from a few days to several months or even years, and increases with soil depth. How much of the water used by plants originates from the growing season precipitation and how much of it comes from previous events or seasons largely depends on storage capacity, permeability, and residence time of precipitation in soil. It is unclear how the dynamics of subsurface water storage and release, the seasonal origins and turnover time of water used by plants, and plant water uptake depths will change when environmental conditions change (e.g. receding groundwater, more frequent droughts). Yet, they are the most crucial in predicting vegetation resilience in response to drought. Studying the resilience of different plant species to climate change will facilitate promotion of climate-smart forest as conservation, afforestation, and restoration practices at several scales.Previous studies have attempted to improve the mechanistic understanding of ecosystem response to dry conditions or climate change by focusing either on vegetation water availability1 or plant physiological adaptation strategies2-4, but the combined effects of shifting terrestrial water availability and atmospheric demand have not been mechanistically investigated. In order to understand terrestrial ecosystems? response to a changing climate, it is crucial to characterize precipitation partitioning in terrestrial systems, species-specific water uptake strategies, and plants' adaptive water use efficiency, all in a coupled framework. FLAME will use a newly developed high-frequency in-situ measurements of stable water isotopes (18O and 2H) in soil and xylem as a unique natural signature to trace the origin of vegetation water uptake and its residence time in subsurface. It will combine these observations with a high resolution physically-based water and vegetation uptake model to track water. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101033274
FlexMod A Flexible, Data-driven Model Framework to Predict soil Responses to Land-use and Climate Change Soil organic matter is the largest land carbon (C) pool, vulnerable to land-use change and climate change. Soil C models are used to assess current organic C stocks and make predictions under future conditions. These models are typically developed to make predictions over centennial timescales. Given the ?4 per mil? initiative, there is now a critical need for annual-to-decadal soil C stock predictions to evaluate land management decisions and hold participants accountable to stated goals. The project proposes a new soil model framework to make predictions at annual-to-decadal timescales by developing a Bayesian forecasting model from a deterministic soil carbon model with the capacity to ingest multiple data types, propagate uncertainty from data and parameters into predictions, and update predictions when new data become available. The main focus is probabilistic prediction of soil C changes under land use and climate change for the next two decades. Specifically, the project plans build a forecasting model version of the Millennial model, recently developed by the researcher with University colleagues. The Millennial model is an evolution of the commonly used soil C model Century ? also incorporated in the global land surface model (ORCHIDEE) of the host institution (LSCE) - but in contrast to Century, Millennial includes soil pools that correspond directly to measurements. First, we will develop the Bayesian calibration of modeled temperature response against warming experiment data, using the Millennial model to integrate measurements from the multi-national, collaborative whole-soil warming experiments FORHOT and BBSFA. Then, we will develop the Bayesian calibration of the modeled land management response against field data with different amounts and quality of added litter. We will then incorporate this new model into ORCHIDEE to predict soil C storage for near term land-based mitigation objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/834169
FlocDOM A broad ecological approach to study the biological uptake of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and DOM-flocculates in the rapidly changing Arctic coastal ecosystems The Arctic Ocean receives a vast amount of organic carbon via runoff from surrounding glaciers and thawing permafrost soils. This dissolved organic matter (DOM) comprises one of the world?s largest active carbon pools, i.e. can be respired to CO2 by heterotrophic organisms. Yet our understanding of how well this terrestrial carbon is degraded in the marine environment is poor. As recent climate warming accelerates the input of carbon to the coastal Ocean it becomes more urgent to study this matter as it may play a major part in determining whether the Arctic Ocean becomes a sink or a source of CO2 in the future. In the saltwater-freshwater interface of coastal environments, the salinity change causes the charge of the DOM molecules to change causing about 10-20% of this carbon pool to aggregate/flocculate into larger particles. Bacteria are the main degraders of DOM, however, with flocculation, a great proportion of the carbon becomes available to larger heterotrophic organisms, such as pelagic protists and benthic filter feeders. Via these flocs the carbon enters the food web at a higher level and escapes the microbial loop. This path is however rarely considered. The overall aim of this project is to improve the knowledge on the response of heterotrophic organisms to terrestrial organic carbon supply (both from glaciers and soils) with focus on the coastal ecosystems of Greenland. I will track the degradation paths of both DOM and flocculated DOM using a combination of controlled laboratory studies and field studies using radioisotope tracers. The project ?FlocDOM? proposes a much-needed effort for a holistic ecological approach to assess the effects of increased runoff in the Arctic and to quantify for the first time the salt-induced aggregation, subsequent mineralization and burial of various terrestrial DOM pools in the Arctic. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/800371
FORECAST Quantifying the impact of climate change on orchid mycorrhizal symbiosis in Mediterranean biodiversity hotspots Compounded by habitat fragmentation and the pervasive impact of climate change, biodiversity, particularly in global biodiversity hotspots, faces an uncertain future. Orchids, among the most threatened plant groups in the world, have symbiotic associations with soil fungi in order to establish new individuals from seeds. Yet this important interaction between orchids and fungi is poorly understood in the context of rapid environmental change. The FORECAST project will provide a detailed investigation into the symbiotic relationship between a high profile orchid group of high conservation concern in Mediterranean habitats in Australia, the spider orchids, (genus Caladenia) and their fungal associates, using a combination of molecular, field, and physiological experiments. This will be used as a model system to predict the response of orchids to ongoing climate change and the resilience of these fungal symbioses in degraded and natural environments. Subsequently, during the incoming phase, the project will transfer the skills and perspectives learned from the outgoing phase and focus on members of European orchid Anacamptis in the Mediterranean. The fellowship will be hosted by Prof. Michael F. Fay at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew with a two year outgoing period at the Curtin University of Western Australia under the supervision of Prof. Kingsley W. Dixon, one of the world?s leading experts in the field of orchid ecology and conservation. I will learn state-of-the-art techniques for the study of orchid mycorrhizal fungi in Australia and transfer them to one of world?s leading botanic gardens and conservation centres, RBG Kew. This work will be facilitated by ongoing collaborations with the University of Naples Federico II. The ultimate goal of the FORECAST project is to develop new multi-faceted strategies for ongoing orchid conservation in Mediterranean habitats under climate change, thereby uniting conservation approaches in both Australia and Europe. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101031324
FORENSHYD Forensic Hydrogeology Contaminant events disrupt stability and resilience of increasingly vulnerable soil and groundwater. Identifying where, when and how much contaminant spill is released into aquifers is critical for strengthening the competitiveness of EU in risk-reduction management, and Forensic Hydrogeology, a growing discipline that applies scientific knowledge in legal resolutions. Existing model solutions estimate the origin and affected area, but numerical challenges impose too restrictive assumptions to properly account for multiple sources or suitable aquifer characterization. The scientific goal of FORENSHYD is to develop a novel, flexible and reliable ensemble Kalman filter data assimilation method (EnKF) for the optimal identification of contaminant sources and occurrence of reactive pollutants in near-actual conditions. Latest assessed developments of Dr. G<U+00A2>mez-Hern<U+00A0>ndez set EnKF as an excellent optimization tool for the simultaneous identification of the spatial variability of conductivities, the location, and the release function of polluting sources. A step toward coupling the algorithm with machine learning techniques may overcome ill-posed solutions, stemmed from nonlinearities between parameters and variables in the state equation, to solve kinetic-controlled reactive transport problems and to optimize data collection in groundwater observation network systems, a topic of renewal interest in administration and industrial sector. We test spurious effects of aquifer heterogeneity, reactive parameters, and initial/boundary conditions in synthetic scenarios, sandbox experiments and two demonstration sites. Transfer of this novel technology in well-reported, practical and universal open source packages will reinforce the leadership and employability in the global market of intersectorial and interdisciplinary European stakeholders. The societal value of FORENSHYD is to improve mitigation strategies, and clarify environmental liability, in liaises with Horizon 2020. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/895526
FOUNDATION Fusarium oxysporum mediated underpinning of cell type-specific modulation in multiple host interaction Fungi have a devastating impact on human nutrition and health. Each year, fungal pathogens provoke enormous agricultural losses in crop plants and contaminating food with harmful mycotoxins. The soil-borne fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum infects plant root and vascular tissue, causing wilt disease in over a hundred different crops, including both dicots and monocots. A particular aggressive strain of this pathogen, tropical race 4, is threatening banana plantations worldwide. Currently, there is little information on the crucial biotrophic infection stage of vascular pathogens, from penetration of root to colonization of xylem vessels. Fusarium provides an excellent model to investigate the cell-specific sensing and adaptation and suppression of plant immunity related to early infection stages. The host group has recently reported the chemotrophic sensing mechanism used by this pathogen, and identified host plant signals perceived by Fusarium in the soil. Moreover, their work revealed a combined action of enzymes involved in fungal cell wall remodelling and plant cell wall degradation which contributes in virulence of this pathogen. In this project, we aim to identify the cell-specific virulence genes that F. oxysporum uses to colonize a dicot host (Arabidopsis) versus monocot (Banana) that has a fundamentally distinct vascular tissue architecture. We will use dual RNA-Seq coupled with Laser capture microdissection (LCM) to identify core compatibility components in both the pathogen and the plant, that are essential for establishing wilt disease. This will lead to identification and characterization of potential targets in this interaction that could be used to develop novel resistance strategies in ongoing banana breeding efforts. This project will thus advance fundamental knowledge of how a fungus senses and colonizes such a broad host range, while creating new opportunities for crop protection by dissecting the interaction at a cell-type specific resolution. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/750669
FRAGMENT FRontiers in dust minerAloGical coMposition and its Effects upoN climaTe Soil dust aerosols are mixtures of different minerals, whose relative abundances, particle size distribution (PSD), shape, surface topography and mixing state influence their effect upon climate. However, Earth System Models typically assume that dust aerosols have a globally uniform composition, neglecting the known regional variations in the mineralogy of the sources. The goal of FRAGMENT is to understand and constrain the global mineralogical composition of dust along with its effects upon climate. The representation of the global dust mineralogy is hindered by our limited knowledge of the global soil mineral content and our incomplete understanding of the emitted dust PSD in terms of its constituent minerals that results from the fragmentation of soil aggregates during wind erosion. The emitted PSD affects the duration of particle transport and thus each mineral?s global distribution, along with its specific effect upon climate. Coincident observations of the emitted dust and soil PSD are scarce and do not characterize the mineralogy. In addition, the existing theoretical paradigms disagree fundamentally on multiple aspects. We will contribute new fundamental understanding of the size-resolved mineralogy of dust at emission and its relationship with the parent soil, based on an unprecedented ensemble of measurement campaigns that have been designed to thoroughly test our theoretical hypotheses. To improve knowledge of the global soil mineral content, we will evaluate and use available remote hyperspectral imaging, which is unprecedented in the context of dust modelling. Our new methods will anticipate the coming innovation of retrieving soil mineralogy through high-quality spaceborne hyperspectral measurements. Finally, we will generate integrated and quantitative knowledge of the role of dust mineralogy in dust-radiation, dust-chemistry and dust-cloud interactions based on modeling experiments constrained with our theoretical innovations and field measurements. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/773051
FREEDD A real-time answer to environmental heavy metal contamination Heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury are toxic, causing neurological and kidney damage in humans, and can be lethal in high doses. Exposure to these metals is most commonly via a contaminated food-chain resulting from air, water and soil pollution caused by industries. The greatest hazard to human health is aquatic pollution as waterways allow for contaminant mobility facilitating entry into the food-chain through drinking water and the fishing industry. The EU restricts heavy metal emissions and thus waste water streams require regular testing. Currently, quantitative and accurate heavy metal water and wet soil testing is carried out using expensive lab-based chemical or spectroscopic techniques. These techniques require high levels of expertise and maintenance and do not allow real-time field testing, thus creating long waiting times for results, which can not only be costly but also allow for unchecked heavy metal leaching into the environment. This has created a need for rapid, efficient, accurate, field-adapted and affordable identification of heavy metal content in waterways and wet soil. Our company, Envic-Sense, founded by engineers Eva-Lena and Peter G<U+0086>rdhagen in 2006, have developed FREEDD, a portable, fast, accurate and quantitative instrument that tackles these challenges and revolutionises how pollutants in the environment are measured. Our patented field-adapted alternative, based on quartz crystal microbalance technology, can accurately measure heavy metals in water in real-time in concentrations as low as 5 ng/l (cadmium), 0.1 g/l (mercury), 0.17 g/l (arsenic) and 20 g/l (lead). We aim to revolutionise how pollutants in the environment are measured delivering a fast, reliable and quantitative results with uncompromising accuracy, enabling rapid pollutant containment and remediation. With FREEDD, Envic-Sense will triple in size over the next five years, create a new value chain and potentially hundreds of jobs. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/807329
GAiNS Gibberellic acid signaling and dynamics during arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis and rhizobial-legume symbiosis The association of microbes at the root-soil interface is an ancient adaptation integral for nutrient acquisition. Most land plants, including trees and crops, associate with mutualistic fungi called mycorrhizae. Legumes have adapted specialized root structures termed nodules for association with nitrogen-fixing bacteria (rhizobia). While there are differences among the species that beneficially associate with plants, there is a large overlap in the key players regulating both symbioses. One important regulator is gibberellin or gibberellic acid (GA), a plant hormone that has diverse and important functions in plant growth and development. While GA inhibits infection events, there is conflicting evidence for the role of GA as an important positive and negative regulator of nodule organogenesis. Here, I propose to determine the mechanism of GA regulation in symbiosis in the model plants Medicago truncatula and barley (Hordeum vulgare). My approach combines the use of a state-of-the-art GA biosensor to characterize and model GA fluctuations in symbiosis in combination with transcriptomic and genetic approaches to characterize GA-signaling response in M. truncatula and H. vulgare. Upon completion of this project, we will gain an understanding of the dynamics of GA signaling in symbiosis and define downstream GA targets that are of special interest for engineering enhanced symbiosis in cereal species. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/844398
GLOBALECOEVO Integrating Microbial Evolution into Biogeochemical Models to Predict soil Response to Drought Soil is both the largest sink and source of organic carbon (C) exchanged with the atmosphere. These exchanges result from biological processes, the primary source being the decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM), which is controlled by physical factors such as climate. As such, soil C emissions are very vulnerable to climate change but can also be reduced with new land management practices if we can predict the outcomes of soil carbon-climate feedbacks. However, predictions from the existing large-scale soil C models strongly diverge, and reveal large uncertainties in the processes and controls at play. One of these uncertainties is the effect of change in precipitation regimes on SOM decomposition mediated by soil microorganisms. Functions describing the decomposition response of soil carbon to soil moisture are static in current large-scale models, yet recent empirical studies show that decay responses under new soil moisture conditions can change due to shifts in microbial communities. Recent evidence suggests that evolution is a key processes driving these shifts in microbial communities. This project proposes to integrate variable decomposition-moisture functions into a large-scale soil C model to reflect precipitation history and carbon substrate influence on microbial responses to changing soil moisture. These functions will be calculated from a mechanistic microbial model that accounts for both ecological and evolutionary processes. The mechanistic model will be an updated version of the trait-based model DEMENT developed by the fellow?s supervisor at the partner institution (UC Irvine). The moisture response functions will be integrated into a commonly used soil carbon model, RothC, that has been incorporated into the global land surface model (ORCHIDEE) of the host institution (LSCE). https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/891576
GLOBALTOX Toxicity of anthropogenic multi-stressed soils under a global warming perspective Concept: Global climate change is displayed as a set of stressors (increasing temperature and CO2 levels, decreasing soil moisture content, higher UV radiation exposure) potentially impairing both biotic and abiotic ecosystem components. This may worsen in environments degraded by human activities where organisms have to deal with multiple stress factors, i.e. in multi-stressed environments, and the toxicity of the contaminants present may change depending on climate conditions. GLOBALTOX aims at assessing how the toxicity of anthropogenic multi-stressed soils may be affected under the current global warming perspective, using soil invertebrates as bioindicators along with soil physicochemical and microbiological parameters.Methodology: An inter/multidisciplinary ecotoxicological approach will be applied to soils from different environments with high human pressure (metal mining and agricultural areas), different soil invertebrate species (collembolans and enchytraeids) and single and multiple combinations of different climate factors (air temperature, soil moisture content, atmospheric CO2 concentrations and UV radiation). Climate factor combinations will be based on the emission scenarios predicted by the IPCC by the year 2100. For a complete overview of the problem, the project will rely on changes in key soil parameters (pH, organic matter, nutrient cycling, microbial community) and soil invertebrates (body metal concentrations, enzymatic biomarkers, DNA-damage, gene expression) to understand the effects at organism/population level (survival and reproduction).Impact: The foreground derived from the project will improve the environmental risk assessment of anthropogenic-degraded areas under future scenarios of climate change. GLOBALTOX will promote the social perception and awareness of anthropogenic contamination under a global warming perspective and the suitability of using soil invertebrates as bioindicators of toxicity changes. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/704332
GloSoilBio The impact of multiple global change drivers on soil biodiversity Local biodiversity is being impacted by multiple drivers of global change, including land use change, climate change, and pollution. Yet, our understanding of how these multiple drivers interact to cause shifts in biodiversity is limited, and the data that is used in large-scale synthesis analyses are often heavily biased towards taxa such as plants, birds and some marine organisms. Although soils harbour extremely high levels of diversity and this biodiversity supports critical ecosystem functions and services, soil biodiversity is very rarely considered in large-scale syntheses examining biodiversity change. As a result, it is still regarded as a ?black box? in the context of global change impacts. Therefore, the objectives of the GloSoilBio project are to investigate how global change drivers interact to impact soil biodiversity and understand how different global change drivers are affecting diversity change over time. The results from this project should help to inform management of global change impacts on soil biodiversity and to address EU- and global-level policy goals relating to the sustainability of life on land. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101033214
GREENER InteGRated systems for Effective ENvironmEntal Remediation Increasing chemical pollution seriously compromises the health of ecosystems and humans worldwide. Hazardous compounds, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heavy metals and emerging pollutants contaminate soils/sediments, ground and surface waters. To prevent/minimise the risks associated with the accumulations of these chemicals in the environment it is key to establish low-cost/green methodologies for the treatment and redevelopment of contaminated areas. Several physico-chemical methods have been explored to remove pollutants in the environment, but these are complex, energy consuming or expensive. The exploitation of the capability of bacteria, fungi and phototrophs to transform toxic contaminants into harmless end-products, can lead instead to cheap and sustainable bioremediation alternatives.GREENER proposes the development of innovative, efficient and low-cost hybrid solutions that integrate bioremediation technologies with bio-electrochemical systems (BES). BES, such as microbial fuel cells, break down organic contaminants through the action of electroactive bacteria while generating electrical current. We will investigate the synergetic effect of different bioremediation strategies and demonstrate effective pollutants removal in water and soil/sediments, while generating side products of interest, such as bioelectricity. The type and entity of contamination, along with the specific physico-chemical/microbial characteristics of the environment to be depolluted, will feed into a decision-making toolbox. The latter will allow the establishment of ad hoc integrated solutions, which will take into account effectiveness of biodegradation, costs, environmental risks and social aspects. Fundamental research will be performed at lab-scale, while pilot-tests will be used to proof the scaling-up feasibility for field applications. Environmental benefits and risks, compared to standard remediation approaches, including energy efficiency, will be investigated. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/826312
GroundCLeaner Fast and cost-effective combined remediation technology for the elimination of chlorinated and other hydrocarbons from soil The business of our company, IEG Technologie GmbH is soil remediation by using our groundwater circulation technologies.The GroundCLeaner proposal addresses to increase our competitiveness by developing a disruptive, rapid and costeffectivemethod to remediate soils contaminated by chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOC), representing majorthreat to the quality of the European environment. The innovative method combines the state of the art ground waterrecirculation well (GWC) technology, patented by us, and a recently developed electro-biological treatment. Our aim is tofurther exploit the results of the novel technology proposed by providing a wider range of treatment. We aim at marketing thisnew combined technology for removal of CVOCs from soil, our services will include design, manufacturing, assembly, startup,maintenance and operation. The proposed technology targets to reduce the operational costs of remediation up to 70 %.The success of our solution would strengthen our international position on the market and would make us grow by becomingmarket leader for chlorinated compound remediation. During this phase 1 proposal we would like to carry out a technologicalfeasibility study, market assessment, risk assessment, a study on or freedom to operate, develop a detailed work plan for aPhase 2 application and elaborate a business plan. After successful phase 1 application we intend do phase 2 proposal, inwhich we develop the marketable GroundCleaner technology. The present proposal targets to make a pan-European impactas it will reduce the estimated ?17.3 billion spent by EU countries, and 2.2 billion spent by EU Structural Funds for reversingthe environmental consequences of soil and water pollution caused by industrial and other activities. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/663792
GROW GROW Observatory The GROW Observatory (GROW) will create a sustainable citizen platform and community to generate, share and utilise information on land, soil and water resource at a resolution hitherto not previously considered. The vision is to underpin smart and sustainable custodianship of land and soil, whilst meeting the demands of food production, and to answer a long-standing challenge for space science, namely the validation of soil moisture detection from satellites. GROW is highly innovative project leveraging and combining low cost consumer sensing technology, a simple soil test and a large user base of growers and plant enthusiasts to contribute individual soil and land data. It is designed to engage primarily individual growers and small-scale farmers across Europe, and to enable them to develop new wisdom and innovative practices through the collective power of shared and open data and knowledge. Citizens contributing data will gain access to the first single-source comprehensive crop and watering advice service for individual and small-scale growers incorporating scientific and crowdsourced information. Moreover, they will develop ?campaigns? (coordinated sampling operations) around local needs and issues, to underpin smarter decision-making and implementation of policy objectives. GROW will actively identify and enable new and credible social and business innovation processes, creating potential new services, applications and markets. The outcome will be a central hub of open knowledge and data created and maintained by growers that will be of value to the citizens themselves as well as specialist communities in science, policy and industry. The GROW partnership will connect and scale to globally dispersed communities linked through digital and social platforms, and a wide range of additional citizen associations and NGOs in sustainable agriculture, gardening, food democracy and land management. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/690199
GUTWORM Unravelling host intestine-parasite interactions that define immune responses to whipworms Whipworms (Trichuris trichuira) are soil-transmitted helminths that infect about 700 million people in the tropicsand sub-tropics and cause the human disease, trichuriasis. Whipworms live preferentially in the cecum of theirhosts where they tunnel through epithelial cells and cause inflammation potentially resulting in colitis. Despiteextensive research, the role of whipworm interactions with epithelial and immune cells in triggering parasiteexpulsion remains unclear, hindering the development of anti-parasite therapies. The ultimate goal of my researchproposal is to investigate and understand this interaction in detail. To achieve this, I will use T. muris, a mousemodel of T. trichuira infection in humans. This research proposal has three key aims. First, to identify new parasiteand host genes that could interplay and modulate immunological outcomes. Second, to characterize the role of hostgenes in whipworm infection and immunity. Here, novel and known candidate mutations conferring susceptibilityto colitis identified through the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute - Mouse Genetics Project will be targeted. Thus, Iwill challenge mutant mouse lines with T. muris and evaluate the influence of these mutations on anti-parasiteimmunity and expulsion. Finally, upon identification of key genes regulating the immune response to whipworms, Iwill explore the mechanism of action of selected genes and their effect on the parasite. For this, I will takeadvantage of the vast range of ?omic? technologies and facilities available at the WTSI. This project will generatenovel fundamental data on host-whipworms interactions and also support future efforts to control these parasites bythe identification of potential new therapeutic targets. Moreover, resulting knowledge of the parasiteimmunologicalinterplay could be exploited to understand other intestinal inflammatory diseases such as ulcerativecolitis that have many similarities with trichuriasis. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/656347
GYPWORLD A global initiative to understand gypsum ecosystem ecology Gypsum soils occur worldwide and represent natural laboratories of evolution and ecology. The unusual mineral content of gypsum soils is a significant barrier to the growth of most plants, and yet these soils host highly diverse endemic floras that have evolved independently on five continents. Nevertheless, these ecosystems are poorly understood compared to those of other unusual substrates. Little is known about the conservation status of gypsum floras, the potential impact of climate change on them, and their responses to mitigation and restoration. We propose an integrated global study of the ecology and evolution of plant and lichen life on gypsum, including eight gypsum-rich regions from four continents that differ in geological origin, climate, and flora. We will 1) assess the plant and lichen diversity of gypsum; 2) investigate the evolutionary origins and assembly of these floras; 3) evaluate potential adaptive mechanisms on gypsum, the functional structure of gypsum plant and lichen communities, and the processes regulating gypsum ecosystem function; 4) analyse the responses of gypsum communities to global change drivers and explore how gypsum ecosystem restoration/conservation may help mitigate the effects of global change; 5) promote the study of gypsum ecosystems; and 6) communicate the ecological and conservation value of these ecosystems to the public. With the involvement of gypsum experts from 18 academic and non-academic organizations from 11 countries, this project provides an innovative, integrative, and interdisciplinary approach to address key questions in gypsum ecosystem ecology, evolution, and management. The project thus strengthens existing international collaborative networks and consolidates Europe?s leadership in gypsum ecosystem research, including management and conservation plans and the identification of traits for crop improvement on gypsum soils, enhancing its attractiveness as a leading destination for related R&D https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/777803
HAC ADVANCED TREATMENT OF CONTAMINATED SOIL Human polluting activities take many forms but one of the most serious types of pollution is soil contamination. In the EU alone there are an estimated 2.5 million sites with polluted soil. Alpha Cleantec AG has invented a new process for transforming contaminated soil into clean soil. The new process has two main advantages over conventional soil remediation techniques: it is inexpensive and does not cause environmental side-effects. Alpha Cleantec's simple but effective solution is accomplished with the use of commonly available chemical compounds. The solution can be applied in- and ex-situ to clean most of the commonly encountered pollutants such as hydrocarbons, PCBs, dioxins, pesticides etc. With this solution, Alpha Cleantec wants to help clean up the environment and contribute to healthy living. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/866600
HARVEST Healthy Apples Research: Valuing Environmental Sustainability of Topsoil The HORIZON 2020 societal challenges highlight the need to innovate on agricultural practices that increase agroecosystem resilience and foster efficient use of available water and nutrients. This is particularly relevant for baby food production systems since there are stringent European regulations that limit the amount of chemical residue levels in baby food. The HARVEST project will develop a novel soil health strategy to decrease the use of chemicals in DANONE?s fruit production systems for baby food that simultaneously enhance soil-borne disease suppressiveness and nutrient/water use efficiency while maintaining fruit productivity. HARVEST will apply biodiversity practices consisting of growing plant species mixtures in the inter-row space between apple trees. I will test the hypothesis that growing inter-row plant species, mulching, and mechanical weeding have a profoundly positive effects on the sustainability of apple orchard topsoils, as measured by soil disease suppressiveness, soil fertility, and water regulation. With HARVEST, I aim to: i) identify the biodiversity practices that enhance below and above- ground apple orchard properties towards a more resilient and nutrient/water use efficiency orchard, ii) develop a soil health strategy to be applied on fruit production systems, iii) enhance partners and societal awareness about DANONEs sustainability programme and its positive action at decreasing chemical use, enhancing food quality, protecting ecosystems and improving human health. Main deliverables will include a list of soil health key performance indicators to advise DANONE on soil management strategies for fruit production systems, soil health traits database for apple orchards and peer-review research papers. Overall HARVEST will guide future agro-food policies to enhance soil ecosystem properties, and promote agriculture less dependent on chemicals. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/796790
HiBriCarbon Mixed Biotic and abiotic functionalysed electrodes for Plant Microbial Fuel Cells applications Plant microbial fuel cells (PMFC) are promising electrochemical devices that can produce electricity generated by active microorganisms present in plant soil. The reactions at both anode and cathode of PMFCs can be catalysed by microbial biofilms capable of oxidising organic matter (anode) and catalysing oxygen reduction (ORR) (cathode) producing electrical power from renewable resources. However, PMFC power output to date remains low and often unpredictable due to the variability in activity achieved by the electrodes microbial biofilms. Their selection in both anode and cathode is a fundamental requirement to enhance catalytic activity and produce higher power densities. This proposal aims at developing a conceptually new approach towards PMFC catalysis though the introduction of novel nanocomposite carbon electrodes that will combine intrinsic and microbially-mediated catalytic activity. These functional materials will integrate moieties that promote bacterial recruitment to select suitable microbial consortia onto carbon based electrodes for both anodic and cathodic reactions. In the case of the cathode, the carbon material will be selected by using electrochemical methods ex situ (voltammetry) in simulated aqueous environment in the presence of fertilizers and soil to also display ORR catalytic activity. Anode and cathode topography will be investigated to identify nanostructures that promote biofilm colonisation and to control density and stability of active sites. The best electrode materials will be modified with carbohydrates and peptides that promote cell adhesion to only recruit electroactive bacterial consortia. This project combines my expertise in carbon synthesis and microbial fuel cell devices with expertise in biofilm control and carbon material characterization of the host laboratory. New training in characterization of electroactive biofilms will be provided by a secondment through a cross ? European collaboration at University of Rennes1 https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/799175
HiLSS Historic Landscape and soil Sustainability The HiLSS Project aims to investigate the relationships between sustainability and landscape heritage with particular reference to soil loss and degradation over the long term. The project will take a multidisciplinary approach that combines archaeology, Historical Landscape Characterisation (HLC), geosciences, and computer-based geospatial analysis (GIS - Geographical Information Systems) and modelling (RUSLE - Revisited Universal Soil Loss Equation). The research objectives of the HiLSS project are to quantify the impact of human activities during the Late Holocene in order to create spatial models which can inform the development of sustainable conservation strategies for rural landscape heritage.This project will focus on two mountainous regions that present historical and cultural similarities but located in different climatic zones of Europe (1- Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, Italy; 2- Northern-mid Galicia, Spain). In previous HLC studies, land-use has been evaluated from the perspective of cultural heritage, whereas RUSLE have used it as a proxy for the land-cover of an area and its effect on soil erosion. The HiLSS project will propose an innovative methodology that combines both the historic/cultural values and the environmental values of land-use to inform development of a model for the sustainable conservation. By considering the different agricultural land-use HLC types in GIS-RUSLE modelling, it will be possible to quantify the effect on soil loss for each HLC type and consequently to devise more environmentally sustainable management for each type. Environmental sustainability and historic landscape conservation are typically treated as two separate fields, but the HiLSS project will develop a transformative model for interdisciplinary research, proposing a new way to embrace both cultural and natural values as components of the same landscape management plans. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/890561
HoliSoils Holistic management practices, modelling and monitoring for European forest soils Knowledge gaps on forest soil processes and lack of a harmonised soil monitoring limit the EU?s ability to maintain soil related ecosystem services and to reach climate policy targets. A better understanding of the soil processes and a harmonised approach to manage and integrate data to computational models that are used for decision making is urgently required in order to meet climate and sustainability goals, including the UN's Agenda 2030 SDGs, the Paris Agreement of Climate Convention, the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, the EU's LULUCF Regulation, the EU Forest Strategy (2018), and the European Green Deal. HoliSoils will develop a harmonised soil monitoring framework and identify and test soil management practices aiming to mitigate CC and sustain provision of various ecosystem services essential for human livelihoods and wellbeing. HoliSoils incorporates novel methodologies and expert knowledge on analytical techniques, data sharing, soil properties and biodiversity, and processes with model development, in order to develop tools for soil monitoring, refine GHG assessment of the LULUCF sector, enhance efficiency of GHG mitigation actions, and improve numerical forecasting of soil-based mitigation, adaptation, and ecosystem services. HoliSoils applies a collaborative multi-actor approach, in order to maximise its applicability and impact beyond its duration. The multidisciplinary consortium consists of universities and research institutes from across Europe, with leading expertise on soil analysis and databases, development of advanced analytical techniques, complex system modelling, digital soil mapping, soil ecology, disturbance ecology, forest and GHG inventories, social sciences, and communications. It also involves active engagement with diverse stakeholders, including forest owners and managers, industry actors, forest extension services, a certification body, forest and soil researchers, climate policy support and GHG inventory experts, and policymakers. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101000289
Hollandplug Pioneering Sustainable Substrate for Accelerated Quality Cultivation High fertility of land and proper water disposal in the soil are recognised as essential requirements to grow healthy plants. The agro & horticulture markets demand a cultivation base with an optimal air/water balance which can be controlled to ensure a regular growth of the roots across the soil or block. At the moment, there are numerous substrates such as coco coir, peat coir, stone wool and foam, used in the industry, in an effort to cover these needs. However, all these solutions present important issues, as substrates remain completely wet, are not safely recycled/reused and the water and air content is not equally spread into the entire growing medium. In addition, new practices like hydroponics which emerged for the purpose of controlling the water/air uptake by plants, are mostly expensive systems, not suited for all agriculture uses and require installations with high return on investment. HollandPlug International BV, is a SME founded with the sole purpose of developing, exploiting and commercialising HollandPlug. HollandPlug consists of a 100% compostable plug made of a mix of patented pioneering water storage bio-flakes sprayed with a proprietary Super Absorbent Polymer and jute to optimise the moisture/air balance for plants/flowers/seeds to grow inside. With this new substrate the customers can choose the water level of the plug depending on plants? needs, which results in 15% higher yield production, better nutritional quality and energy reduction. Our technology reduces the fertilizers needed (35%), the water consumption (60%) compared to conventional soil based farming solutions, the dropout rate to 2% and increase life expectancy of the crop by 15%. The successful commercialization of our project will help us reach annual revenues of ?34.28 million and profit of ?8.57 million in 2025. With a Phase2 investment of ?2.87 million, this would imply a ROI of 7.56We will also create a total 43 new job positions after five years of commercialization. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/808760
IDESoWa Increased drainage effects on soil properties and water quality Soil stores the largest terrestrial pool of organic carbon (C), and can act as a source and/or filter for water pollutants like nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and suspended solids (SS). Fine soil particles (clays, Fe, Al and Mn (hydr)oxides, carbonates) play a crucial role in the stability of carbon and nutrients in soil. Previous studies have found that even a few decades of increased drainage, due to subsurface drainage installation, can substantially change the proportion and composition of fine soil particles closest to the drain. This raises questions regarding increased precipitation, and thus increased soil water flux, effects on the mineral composition and C and nutrient stability in soil. By studying soils on a water flux gradient perpendicular to subsurface drainage pipes, the IDESoWa project will calculate soil element fluxes within soil, and their losses with drainage water. It will determine relationships between between drainage water chemistry and soil properties. By jointly analysing published literature, weather records, precipitation chemistry, drain flow quantity, and soil and drainage water properties, the IDESoWa project will develop a conceptual framework for soil development in two common European agricultural soils (Cambisol and Luvisol), and under two agricultural practices (tilled soil vs. pasture). https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/867423
IDIOM2 Unravelling the role of water stress in Mediterranean isoprene emissions to better project future regional climate-air quality interactions In future, benefits from air quality strategies may be offset by changing climate. Rising temperatures and changing precipitation may alter emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) released by plants in response to drivers such as temperature and soil moisture. BVOCs influence levels of greenhouse gases, aerosols, and surface ozone and thus affect climate and air quality. Climate change in turn may affect BVOC emissions, and this is a major uncertainty in air quality projections and reduces our ability to design effective air quality strategies. In particular, it is crucial to better understand the behaviour of BVOC emissions in critical climates, especially in conditions of water stress. IDIOM2 will tackle key open questions in the BVOC-water stress relationship, focusing on the Mediterranean region, a high BVOC-source area with a warm-dry climate that already suffers from severe ozone pollution events during summer. Using a multidisciplinary approach, trained by internationally-recognized climatologists and ecologists, Dr. Strada will combine climate data and novel space observations of BVOC emissions, soil moisture, and photosynthesis to clarify the effects of water stress on BVOC emissions. This analysis will feed into regional climate model projections of BVOC emissions over Europe under ?business-as-usual? and ?low carbon? pathways, and to improvements of existing model representations of BVOC-water stress relationships. Building on her advanced modelling experience, Dr. Strada will integrate new developments in a coupled regional climate-vegetation-chemistry model to assess the evolution of BVOC emissions, related ozone levels, and impacts on human and plant health. In line with Horizon2020-Societal Challenge 5 priorities, IDIOM2 will contribute to ?progress the current state-of-the art knowledge on links between climate change and impacts on human health in Europe?. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/791413
iEcoH Integrating Ecosystem Heterogeneity to Enhance ESM Performance Earth system models (ESM) are widely used to predict future climate and inform policy (e.g. IPCC). Recent research suggests that ESM do a poor job predicting future climate because they exclude microbial biogeochemical cycling and soil heterogeneity (e.g. texture), which affect the climate system. As an ecosystem ecologist with a strong background in microbial drivers of biogeochemistry, my primary goal is to use data from a robust global study measuring the effect of climate change on ecosystem processes to enhance the next generation of ESM making them more accurate and relevant to global policy. To achieve this goal I have developed key collaborations. Dr. H. Lee is an expert ecological modeler with an interest in enhancing ESM. NorESM is a leading ESM developed in Norway and used in many international modelling programs e.g. IPCC. Dr. A. Classen manages a 10 site global network measuring the ecosystem level impacts of warming. Dr. W. Wieder has initiated the development of the Microbial Mineral Carbon Stabilization (MiMiCS) model, which considers microbial drivers and soil heterogeneity; however this module requires verification and integration into ESM. My objectives are to (1) Train at the with Dr. Lee and develop ESM simulations for our 10 sites, (2) Generate a field based dataset with the help of Dr. Classen and (3) Compare simulations and field data to verify and enhance MiMiCS and (4) Integrate the newly enhanced MiMiCS into NorESM. During this action I will enhance my career by becoming a key user of cutting-edge ESM, furthering international collaborations, and enhancing European based ESM. Moreover, I will transfer my knowledge of biogeochemistry and ecosystem ecology to model developers and scientists internationally with the goal of creating synergies. The end goal of this action is to ultimately improve our ability to model future climates bringing our predicted climate scenarios closer to reality in order to better inform key policy. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/706093
InBPSOC Increases biomass production and soil organic carbon stocks with innovative cropping systems under climate change Soil organic carbon (SOC) constitutes the largest C stocks in the terrestrial ecosystems, playing critical roles in maintaining agricultural sustainability and in potentially mitigating climate change. However, there is a potential conflict between SOC storage and agricultural activities, since many traditional intensive cultivation methods have led to significant reductions in SOC storage. In this project, we will investigate the effects and driving mechanisms of innovative cropping systems on biomass production and SOC stocks simultaneously based on ongoing long-term unique field experiments on innovative cropping systems available at the host department. Multiple research methods will be utilized in this project, including data mining of long-term data records, inverse modelling and soil incubation, meta-analysis, and structure equation modelling. Our key objective is developing innovative cropping systems that allow to protect and increase SOC stocks while increasing biomass production under climate change. Results from the current study will provide crucial information for policy developments and will contribute to the development of sustainable cropping systems for farmers of the future. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/839806
iNet Unraveling interaction networks of ammonia- and nitrite-oxidizing microorganisms Microbial interactions drive global biogeochemical cycles and shape functionality and productivity of ecosystems. Autotrophic nitrification is a prime example for a mutualistic interplay of two functional groups. In fertilized soils, nitrification contributes to emission of the ozone-depleting greenhouse gas nitrous oxide and nitrogen (N) run-off into surface waters, resulting in eutrophication and algal blooms. In contrast, in biological wastewater treatment it initiates the removal of excess N to reduce the N load into the environment. In their cross-feeding interaction, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) provide the electron donor for their partner by converting ammonia to nitrite, which is further oxidized to nitrate by nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB). In addition, nitrifiers also interact with heterotrophic bacteria that feed on metabolites released by nitrifiers or attack them in a predator-prey interaction. In this project, I aim to determine factors defining interaction networks of nitrifiers by analyzing the effect of this interplay on the metabolism of the individual allies and by identifying novel interaction partners of nitrifying microbes. I will analyze the metabolic aspects of this interplay in artificially mixed nitrifying assemblages to simplify the complex interaction networks occurring in nature. Using state-of-the-art isolation techniques, I will first isolate novel AOB and NOB cultures from the same environment to obtain true interaction partners. Physiological key features and gene expression patterns of separately grown and mixed cultures of these isolates will be compared to determine the nature and effects of interactions among nitrifiers. In addition, novel interaction partners of uncultured nitrifiers will be identified by analyzing co-occurrence patterns within spatially structured environments. Overall, this project will greatly expand our understanding of nitrification and the dynamics shaping its stability and process performance. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/838711
INMIfungi Interactions of insect and soil microbial communities with insect pathogenic fungi Entomopathogenic fungi belong to the most important antagonists of arthropods in soil. Due to their antagonistic function, entomopathogenic fungi have a great potential for us in biological control of insect and mite pests. However, knowledge on how abundance and diversity of these fungi is affected by environmental factors is limited. While a number of studies have assessed effects of abiotic factors, effects of biotic factors such as microbial and arthropod communities have remained largely unassessed. The goal of this project is to investigate the interactions of microbial and arthropod communities with the entomopathogenic fungal genera Metarhizium and Beauveria and how abundance and diversity of the two genera might be affected by the two biotic factors. Analyses will be performed in soils obtained from 30 sites representing three habitat types with different management intensities (crop, grassland, forest) in Switzerland. Multilocus SSR-marker genotyping and high-throughput amplicon sequencing will be used to assess genetic diversity of Metarhizium spp. and Beauveria spp. and microbial and arthropod diversity in the soil samples. Multivariate statistics will be applied to investigate correlations among different abiotic and biotic factors and Metarhizium and Beauveria abundance and diversity.The project will provide novel insight on how entomopathogenic fungal populations interact with soil biota and fill important knowledge gaps. It will provide basic data to further exploit their use for biological pest control, a significant factor for implementation of sustainable agriculture. Experiments planned will involve state-of-the-art NGS technology and require further adaptation of the technology for application in an area in which its use has been limited. In addition, the project has a strong training component for the applicant including acquisition of up-to-date methods and the opportunity to develop research leadership and professional maturity. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/794526
INSPIRATION INtegrated Spatial PlannIng, land use and soil management Research ActTION The aim of INSPIRATION is to adopt a funder and end-user demand-driven approach to establish and promote the adoption of the knowledge creation, transfer and implementation agenda for land use, land-use changes and soil management in the light of current and future societal challenges. Main objectives are: ? Formulate, consult on and revise an end-user oriented strategic research agenda (SRA), ? Scope out models of implementing the SRA, ? Prepare a network of public and private funding institutions willing to commonly fund the execution of the SRA. INSPIRATION?s mission is to improve the supply and effectiveness of science/knowledge take-up by those who really need it. The proposed methodology is based on a multi-stakeholder, multi-national and interdisciplinary approach that covers the variety of stakeholders (public bodies, business, science, citizens and society) and the variety of relevant. The vehicle to engage with all relevant stakeholders across the Member States is a National Focal Point (NFP) in 16 countries. The NFP?s will organize workshops with national stakeholders of funders, end users and researchers across the various soil and land management disciplines. The results will be taken up, structured along four integrative themes and merging into thematic knowledge needs to satisfy the as yet unmet societal challenges and to ensure that knowledge contributes primarily to enable meeting these challenges. Based on these results a cross country and cross discipline dialogue will subsequently be organized among the relevant user communities, funding bodies and scientific communities in Europe in order to reach a trans-national, prioritized SRA as well as a model for execution of this SRA. Thus to achieve an SRA of which national funders believe that for any Euro they spend, they will get a multitude of Euro?s worth of knowledge in return. Knowledge welcomed to face their national, societal challenges. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/642372
INSPIRATION Managing soil and groundwater impacts from agriculture for sustainable intensification "Agricultural production in Europe has significantly damaged soil and water resources, ecosystem biodiversity, socio-economic well-being and contributed to climate change. Expected further intensification of production to ensure food safety for population growth must be sustainable to minimise future impacts and negative externalities. This ETN addresses these challenges by training 15 early stage researchers in cutting edge research skills and innovative approaches to manage soil and groundwater impacts from agriculture for sustainable intensification. It supports EU policy goals on food security, resource conservation, renewable energy and climate change, and the aims of the H2020 Societal Challenge 5 Work Programme for sustainable management of the environment and its resources. The scientific objectives focus on developing (1) management techniques which mitigate environmental impacts of agricultural practices on soil, water and climate systems, and support sustainable intensification using new production methods; (2) ""smart"" environmental monitoring, biotechnology and modelling tools to predict the outcome of measures and practices in (1); (3) decision-making tools with sustainability indicators to implement sustainable agricultural production methods. This will be achieved by linking lab-scale studies of processes with field-scale evaluation of novel management concepts, analytical tools and modelling, using state-of-the-art methods. The network includes research, advisory and commercial organisations from all sectors of the agri-environmental management community, and SMEs to multinational firms. Its novel training agenda of workshops and summer schools on technical and business skills, international conferences, industry secondments and knowledge transfer activities has the specific aim of transferable skills training. This is highly relevant for scientific communication, societal impact and entrepreneurship, preparing the fellows for careers in many sectors." https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/675120
INSPIRE INNOVATIVE GROUND INTERFACE CONCEPTS FOR STRUCTURE PROTECTION IINSPIRE aims to foster a new generation of highly qualified researchers and engineers, which will create a critical mass kernel, able to implement a holistic and novel soil-foundation-structure concept for the efficient protection of structures from all ground induced hazards, including earthquakes and all other sources of low-frequency noise and vibration excitations. This concept offers a drastic breakthrough over the existing approaches in crucial aspects:A)Wave inhibition capabilities over broadband low-frequency excitation in all three spatial directions B)General applicability to broad classes of structures and infrastructures C)Simple, reliable and resilient design, leading to easy and low-cost implementation and maintenanceINSPIRE mainly relies on recent innovative scientific and technological concepts, mainly developed within the broad concept of meta-materials. The notion of ?meta-materials? refers to natural or artificial materials or structures which exhibit extraordinary properties for inhibiting or conditioning wave propagation in all spatial directions over broad frequency bands. Quite recently, the feasibility of the application of meta-material concepts has been also demonstrated for seismic and infrasound waves. These general developments of metamaterials will be further enriched and advanced through novel absorption and isolation concepts, such as negative effective mass and stiffness https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/813424
IRMIDYN Iron mineral dynamics in redox-affected soils and sediments: Pushing the frontier toward in-situ studies IRMIDYN will study the dynamics of redox-driven iron mineral transformation processes in soils and sediments and impacts on nutrient and trace element behavior using a novel approach based on enriched stable isotopes (e.g., 57Fe, 33S, 67Zn, 113Cd, 198Hg) in combination with innovative experiments and cutting-edge analytical techniques, most importantly 57Fe M<U+0094>ssbauer and Raman micro-spectroscopy and imaging. The thermodynamic stability and occurrence of iron minerals in sufficiently stable Earth surface environments is fairly well understood and supported by field observations. However, the kinetics of iron mineral recrystallization and transformation processes under rapidly changing redox conditions is far less understood, and has to date mostly been studied in in mixed reactors with pure minerals or sediment slurries, but rarely in-situ in complex soils and sediments. Thus, we do not know if and how fast certain iron mineral recrystallization and transformation processes observed in the laboratory actually occur in soils and sediments, and which environmental factors control the transformation rates and products. Redox-driven iron mineral recrystallization and transformation processes are key to understanding the biogeochemical cycles of C, N, P, S, and many trace elements (e.g., As, Zn, Cd, Hg, U). In face of current global challenges caused by massive anthropogenic changes in biogeochemical cycles of nutrients and toxic elements, it is paramount that we begin to understand and quantify the dynamics of these processes in-situ and learn how we can apply our mechanistic (but often reductionist) knowledge to the natural environment. This project will take a large step toward a better understanding of iron mineral dynamics in redox-affected Earth surface environments, with wide implications in biogeochemistry and other fields including environmental engineering, corrosion sciences, archaeology and cultural heritage sciences, and planetary sciences. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/788009
iSQAPER Interactive soil Quality Assessment in Europe and China for Agricultural Productivity and Environmental Resilience Knowledge regarding the complex interplay between agricultural land use and management and soil quality and function is fragmented and incomplete, in particular with regard to underlying principles and regulating mechanisms. The main aim of iSQAPER is to develop an interactive soil quality assessment tool (SQAPP) for agricultural land users that integrates newly derived process understanding and accounts for the impact of agricultural land use and management on soil properties and functions, and related ecosystem services. For this purpose, >30 long-term experimental field trials in the EU and China will be analysed to derive regulating principles for integration in SQAPP. SQAPP will be developed using a multi-actor approach aiming at facilitating social innovation and providing options to land users for cost-effective agricultural management activities to enhance soil quality and crop productivity. SQAPP will be tested extensively in 14 dedicated Case Study Sites in the EU and China covering a wide spectrum of farming systems and pedo-climatic zones, and rolled-out across the continents thereafter. Within the Case Study sites a range of alternative agricultural practices will be selected, implemented and evaluated with regard to effects on improving soil quality and crop productivity. Proven practices will be evaluated for their potential applicability at EU and China levels, and to assess the related soil environmental footprint under current and future agricultural trends and various agricultural policy scenarios. How the soil quality tool can be utilized for different policy purposes, e.g. in cross compliance and agro-environmental measures, will also be investigated and demonstrated. A comprehensive dissemination and communication strategy, including a web-based information portal, will ensure that project results are available to a variety of stakeholders at the right time and in appropriate formats to enhance soil quality and productivity in the EU and China. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/635750
Ko-Tsah-To Temperatures, ash and soil hydrology: predicting fire impact from plant traits Climate change increases the frequency and intensity of vegetation fires around the world. Fire can considerably increase the landscape?s vulnerability to flooding and erosion, which is in part caused by fire-induced soil damage and hydrological changes. While it is known that plants can alter the fire environment, there is a major knowledge gap regarding the fundamental mechanisms by which vegetation mediates fire impact on soil physics and hydrology. I will address this gap by considering for the first time the cascading effects of plants on fire and soil hydrology, focusing on two important factors in post-fire hydrology: soil heating and ash. My hypothesis is that plant structural and chemical traits vary within the landscape and control fire impact on soil physical properties by affecting heat and ash production. I will test this hypothesis with a combination of spatial sampling, lab experiments and modeling, using contrasting plant species and soils from watersheds in Portugal and the USA. Multiple regression and principal component analysis will be used to relate fire impacts to the various plant traits. This project can help predict and mitigate fire risk and impact across landscapes, facilitate development of risk maps, and generate knowledge with implications for nature conservation, land use planning, fire management and potential policy making. Aside from helping safeguard soil and (drinking) water resources, the project can also change a European braindrain into a braingain, supporting reintegration of a successful interdisciplinary scientist and her large network after three years in the USA. Additional benefits for Europe include transfer of knowledge gained in the USA and knowledge exchange from southern to northern member states. Through training and research, this project will enhance my success of getting a permanent position in academia and create new opportunities to incorporate hydrology and scale in above-belowground interaction research. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/706428
LANDMARK LAND Management: Assessment, Research, Knowledge base LANDMARK is a pan-European multi-actor consortium of leading academic and applied research institutes, chambers of agriculture and policy makers that will develop a coherent framework for soil management aimed at sustainable food production across Europe.The LANDMARK proposal builds on the concept that soils are a finite resource that provides a range of ecosystem services known as ?soil functions?. Functions relating to agriculture include: primary productivity, water regulation & purification, carbon-sequestration & regulation, habitat for biodiversity and nutrient provision & cycling. Trade-offs between these functions may occur: for example, management aimed at maximising primary production may inadvertently affect the ?water purification? or ?habitat? functions. This has led to conflicting management recommendations and policy initiatives. There is now an urgent need to develop a coherent scientific and practical framework for the sustainable management of soils.LANDMARK will uniquely respond to the breadth of this challenge by delivering (through multi-actor development):1. LOCAL SCALE: A toolkit for farmers with cost-effective, practical measures for sustainable (and context specific) soil management.2. REGIONAL SCALE - A blueprint for a soil monitoring scheme, using harmonised indicators: this will facilitate the assessment of soil functions for different soil types and land-uses for all major EU climatic zones.3. EU SCALE ? An assessment of EU policy instruments for incentivising sustainable land management.There have been many individual research initiatives that either address the management & assessment of individual soil functions, or address multiple soil functions, but only at local scales. LANDMARK will build on these existing R&D initiatives: the consortium partners bring together a wide range of significant national and EU datasets, with the ambition of developing an interdisciplinary scientific framework for sustainable soil management. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/635201
LEAP-EXTREME Local Edaphic Adaptation in Plants through Leveraging an Extremophile Model The discontinuous mosaic of soil compositions on the Earth?s changeable surface intermittently requires the adaptation of plants as crucial mediators for ecosystems with the inorganic lithosphere harbouring all nutrient, but also toxic minerals. Only few gene variants have been implicated in local soil adaptation. There is a general lack of information about their relation with soil composition in the field, the manner in which such adaptations function and evolve, and why they arise in some taxa but never in others. To answer these questions, we will take advantage of the repeated evolution and the unusually large phenotypic ranges for multiple edaphic traits in Arabidopsis halleri. This species has undergone uniquely divergent natural selection for increased hyperaccumulation in leaves of the toxic metals zinc and cadmium as well as metal hypertolerance on ordinary soils, and for enhanced hypertolerance involving attenuated metal hyperaccumulation on heavy metal-contaminated soils.Capitalizing on the most comprehensive collection ever established of a wild extremophile, and with a pioneering approach recording critical field data for each genotype, we will conduct large-scale genome resequencing and identify multi-trait multi-gene associations, complemented by genetic linkage mapping based on crosses. Local edaphic adaptation causal variants will be placed into the context of metal homeostasis network architecture and plasticity using transcriptomics, and we will comparatively evaluate mutation rates in A. halleri under ecologically relevant edaphic conditions. Implementing state-of-the-art genome-enabled and novel phenotyping methodologies in this wild and biologically complex species will require continuous pioneering developments. Our work will deliver novel fundamental insights into local adaptation in plants and identify large-effect gene variants with potential for applications in environmental restoration, biotechnology and crop breeding. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/788380
LIBBIO Lupinus mutabilis for Increased Biomass from marginal lands and value for BIOrefineries The Andes Lupin (Lupinus mutabilis, tarwi) grows excellently in marginal lands due to it?s excellent foraging characteristics having the ability to fix nitrogen, mobilise soil phosphate and have low nutritional requirements for cultivation. For the increased biomass needed in Europe in coming years and decades we cannot rely on the most fertile lands, which is currently allocated to food production, we need to increase the yield from marginal lands. There the lupin varieties are preponderant, the one providing highest yield (up to 80 ton/ha) is Lupinus mutabilis. Varieties can be chosen for giving this high yield of green silage or high yield of seeds contain more than 20% oil, more than 40% protein and the remainder carbohydrates are mainly oligosaccharides characterized as ?prebiotics?. Andes lupin can be grown as a summer crop in N-central Europe conditions and as winter crop in Mediterranean conditions. Breeding and cropping research is performed in the LIBBIO project for maximizing the yield and value of lupin agriculture in different European marginal lands conditions, with respect to both the farmers and biorefineries. Pre-industrial processing is developed and optimized for the lupin, properties of the different fractions analysed, their advantage for different industrial use evaluated, and a few products developed as an example. With respect to environmental impact the lupin is expected to be superior. It does not need much fertilizer, it enriches the soil with nitrogen and phosphate and is therefore expected to be excellent for crop rotation and soil regeneration. These properties will be evaluated further in the project along with techno-economic and agricultural viability and effect on farm and biorefinery income. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/720726
LICE LICE CULTIVATOR: Fast mechanical cultivator reducing fuel and herbicide use At the time of soil management for cultivation, herbicides have become one of the most significant advancements. Despite its useful side, herbicides are well known at the present to be enormously pollutant for soils and watercourses as well as crops. Nowadays, innovation on the field of undesired weeds removal is based on the search of less harmful methods as mechanical rotary herbicides or rotary cultivators that, at the same time, present some disadvantages: due to the discs shape they provoke compaction of the soil underneath causing floods and dewatering of lowers layers, as well as present a lot of resistance when moving due to their disc shape and materials, moved thanks to the engine power transmission shaft in a very slow and inefficiently way, provoking a big waste of fuel and associated GHG emissions. CAVALLERETTI, and Italian company from Ferrara, has invented a revolutionary system based on a patented and long-lasting cultivator discs, rollers cut and general design performing an efficient cultivation of the soil for planting bedding. LICE cultivator allows a fast work increasing the speed four times (from 5 kmts. to 20) saving the 30% of fuel, therefore decreasing the level of GHG emissions and saving money, preventing floods and avoiding the use of chemical herbicides and fertilisers as it turns the removed and chopped weeds in organic compost. LICE is expected to bring to the company in the 5 ys. after full commercialization a total accumulated turnover of ?28M, with a profit of ?8,7M, a R.O.I. of 4,8 and a positive impact regarding employment with 26 job creation. It has to be said that global tractor machinery market sales figure is forecast to reach 2,8 thousand tractor units by 2023 growing at a CAGR of around 5% accompanied with a big demand and exigence of a growing sector that needs more sustainable and efficient tools. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/863397
MataMoss Development of a growing and delivery process for mass producing sphagnum moss for peatland restoration and cultivation as an economical and sustainable growing media Sphagnum peat moss is a valued, recognized, natural, organic reserve that is largely harvested for use as a soil conditioneror amendment in horticulture. It is often referred to as the universal soil conditioner for its benefits to the soil. The decayedand dried sphagnum peat moss is usually referred to as simply peat. As a soil amendment, it is free of weed seeds, pestsand pathogens and can absorb up to 20 times its weight in water. The peat bogs from which peat moss is derived are one ofthe most distinctive kinds of wetlands. Peat bogs are an important environmental resource and create areas of hugebiodiversity, keeping more carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere than forests, and helping to prevent flooding. Problem:Naturally formed peat has been harvested for centuries, and European supplies are seriously depleted in England, Hollandand Germany, and are in the process of being commercially harvested in areas of Eastern Europe. This harvesting causesserious environmental problems, as the peat cannot be regenerated within our lifetimes. Habitats are destroyed, and thecarbon balance is badly affected, as peatlands are major stores of carbon and are vital environmental ?regulators?. Manypeatlands globally, which have been farmed for peat, are now sources of greenhouse gases, owing to degradation andoxidation of the unsaturated peat layer. The UK government are currently working to completely phase out the use of peatbased products in UK Horticulture by 2030, but there is presently no viable alternative growing media which offers the samequality as peat.This project is to determine the business opportunity for the commercialisation of a method to grow moss on a large scale,on mats, which will speed up significantly the growing process, enabling the production of a sustainable growing media forhorticulture (replacing peat) and creating a valuable cash crop opportunity for farmers. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/781779
MATRIX Anthropogenic units detected by rare earth elements (REE) soil analysis in archaeological strata. The aim of the innovative MATRIX project is to establish a new interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary methodological approach that combines archaeology, chemistry and geology for the identification of anthropogenic deposits in archaeological excavations through rare earth elements (REE) soil analysis, pushing current limitations of traditional chemical and sedimentology techniques. REE are a set of seventeen elements in the periodic table, specifically fifteen lanthanides as well as scandium and yttrium. Crucially, these elements are relatively abundant in the earth?s crust and thanks to their characteristics can be employed as unambiguous markers of soil provenance on archaeological sites worldwide.Many techniques may be able to reveal ancient human activities, however integrated approaches can be reinforced by the employment of REE patterns as proved by my previous and ongoing research; an approach that does not merely observe coarse differences between anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic sediments, but is also able to see finer nuances like the degree of human contributions to the formation of ancient soils (palaeosols), adding new ways to tackle a classic archaeological problem that has increasing modern relevance: how do we discern the impact of ancient human activities on the soils that are a pivotal component of environmental and economic sustainability.Agricultural human activities or livestock is reflected with higher REE concentrations compared with the natural REE soil level. Probably this is related to the enrichment in soil of the organic matter and this transformation remain fingerprinted in the REE concentrations at stratigraphic levels of any chronological period. In archaeological site or modern site were the presence of human activities has change the natural landscape REE method is an optimum skill to clarify the stratigraphic impact in the soil and as well the soil occupation and abandonment dynamics. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/704709
MAZinc THE ROLE OF MUGINEIC ACID IN UPTAKE OF TRACE METALS IN PLANTS Zinc (Zn) deficiency in agricultural soils is leading worldwide to the production of stunted rice and to human malnutrition.Some rice varieties take up Zn even if it is present in soil in low bioavailable amount, but the underlying process is unknown.One mechanism proposed includes the secretion of organic ligands (i.e. deoxymugineic acid-DMA), its complexation with Zn in soil and the uptake of the complex into the plant. Indirect evidence comes from isotopes studies but the direct proof (i.e. measure DMA secretion in soil and DMA complexation with Zn in competition with other cations) is missing. To this end, we will determine the fluxes of DMA secreted by roots. The challenges are to develop an experimental system that reproduces Zn deficiency in laboratory and to develop analytical methods that enable the identification and determination of the mass fluxes of DMA. We propose to use pot and hydroponic experiments with different Zn supply. The Zn deficiency in the soil/solution, will allow us to predict the stimulation of DMA production. The latest generation of LC-MS/MS with hugely improved sensitivity will be used to quantify the concentrations of DMA and Zn-DMA complexes. Moreover, we will establish an accurate stability series for Zn and other cations complexing with DMA and we will determine the reaction mechanisms and structure of Zn with DMA. The stability series will address the question of whether competition by other cations prevents the formation of the Zn-DMA complex in soil. Understanding the reaction mechanisms of Zn with DMA and establishing its structure will give invaluable insights into the stability of the complexes. We will achieve this conducting carefully designed laboratory and theoretical chemistry experiments. A prompt application of this research will enable plant breeders to select genes to enhance crop production in low Zn conditions. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101032337
Med-N-Change Assessing the Interactive Effects on N Addition and Climate Change on soil Processes through the Biological soil Crust in Mediterranean Ecosystems Ecosystems located in the Mediterranean Basin are projected to experience important changes in the rainfall dynamics and to increase its nitrogen (N) inputs as a result of the ongoing global change. Despite it is known that multiple environmental changes can interact in their impacts on ecosystem services producing non-additive effects that are unpredictable from single-factor studies, no research has been performed to disentangle the effects of the interactive global change drivers on soil processes in Mediterranean ecosystems to date. What are the synergistic effects of climate change and N inputs on soil processes in Mediterranean ecosystems? What is the role of the soil biological crust and its components in modulating resistance and resilience of soil processes to the synergistic effects of increased N and climate change? How ecosystem services are influenced? Answering those questions will have highly relevant implications on environmental policy and prediction of global change scenarios, with the ultimate societal objective of improving ecosystem management in Mediterranean ecosystems. Med-N-Change also has a clear potential on the economy since recovering damaged ecosystems services is much costlier than increasing their resilience to pressure. The strength of Med-N-Change lies in an innovative approach that couples microcosm manipulative experiments and the exploitation of a network of long-term N-addition experiments in three ecosystems across the Mediterranean basin. This project merges together well established research methods and elements of originality in a multidisciplinary approach combining ecology, biogeochemical processes, physiology and omics technology. Med-N-Change directly addresses two of the cross-cutting priorities established by the H2020 Work Programme ? sustainable development and climate action ? and thus reinforces the European competitiveness in N deposition and climate change research. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/793965
MegaBiCycle The role of megafauna in biogeochemical cycles and greenhouse gas fluxes: implications for climate and ecosystems throughout history Megafauna play an important role in carbon cycling and fluxes of greenhouse gases. Through consumption and excretion of biomass, megafauna accelerate nutrient cycling, increasing plant productivity and influencing soil greenhouse gas fluxes. Megafauna also emit methane when digesting plants through fermentation. Consequently, megafauna can have wide-ranging impacts on ecosystem functioning and climate. However, methodological limitations in dynamic global vegetation models and research gaps in megafauna ecology hamper our ability to assess these impacts. These gaps include: (i) a limited representation of megafauna in vegetation models; (ii) a lack of large-scale, long-term studies detailing the influence of megafauna on nutrient cycling and greenhouse gas fluxes; (iii) insufficient knowledge on how the current loss and introduction of megafauna is affecting ecosystems and their services. This project will address these research gaps by first developing a new classification of the effects of megafauna across biomes for present and late Quaternary species. This classification will then be used to simulate megafauna-ecosystem interactions in a dynamic global vegetation model (ORCHIDEE). This new tool will allow to test hypothesis on the effect of past and present changes in megafauna populations on a) plant primary productivity and carbon cycling and b) methane and nitrous oxide fluxes. The proposed project has the potential to greatly advance our understanding of the connection between climate, biosphere, and megafauna. The results will have implication for climate policy and conservation. Strong contributions to climate modelling, ecology, and paleoecology are to be expected. The candidate?s experience in megafauna-ecosystem interactions and ecological modelling, coupled with the host's expertise in climate and vegetation model will provide new insights into the role of megafauna in past, present, and near future global changes in climate and ecosystems. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/845265
MICOCO How do biotic and environmental variation affect soil microbial community composition and functioning across spatial scales? Soil microbial communities hold sway over numerous processes upon which we depend, driving the cycling of elements which sustain life, but also compromising food security and human health. Understanding the mechanisms driving existing soil microbial community diversity and function across disparate climates and ecological communities is key in order to determine future ecosystem responses to global change. Although studies aiming to characterise soil microbes are increasing in their scope, they will only capture the multifaceted interaction between diverse microbial communities if they measure the effects of above ground plant communities and the abiotic environment, when measured at appropriate scales across landscapes. The proposed MICOCO project will address these shortfalls to achieve the following objectives: [1] Determine the relative contribution of above ground plant community and soil abiotic conditions to SMC diversity and composition; [2] Determine how climate influences microbial community turnover at varying spatial scales; [3] Reveal the relative effects of microclimate, microbe-microbe associations, and microbe-plant associations on microbial function. These objectives will be achieved using novel datasets built on the latest techniques in the sampling of environmental DNA (eDNA). These were collected at local scales (1-100m) in an innovative climate controlled mesocosm, and at landscape scales (100m->100km) as part of pioneering national surveys of soils. Cutting edge modelling techniques will be used to generate microclimate measures, and the latest Joint Species Distribution Models will determine association patterns within soil microbial communities, coupled with functional trait databases to identify plant pathogens and appropriately infer interactions. MICOCO will thus help to reveal microbial community and species level responses to changes in climate, and improve our understand of the effects of global change on their functioning. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101024135
MICROBIOCLIM Probing the Active Fraction of Biocrust Microbiomes in the Face of Climate Change Biocrusts are topsoil microbial communities that live in close association with soil particles and constitute the living skin of drylands. They intercede in numerous key ecosystem processes that are essential to desert ecosystems and play a relevant role in the global carbon cycle. Despite their inherent tolerance to aridity, a growing body of literature suggests that forecasted alterations in precipitation patterns, a global imprint of climate change, has the potential to dramatically affect these communities. However, little is known about how this will alter biocrust microbiome functioning and how these changes will be echoed to the soil properties and carbon budget in global drylands. This lack of knowledge arises from the difficulty to reliably link culture independent traditional genomic data to soil function. Thus, there is an urgent need to implement techniques that allow the identification of active organisms driving soil processes. The main objective of MICROBIOCLIM is to gain a deeper insight into the effect of altered precipitation patterns driven by climate change on biocrust microbiome functioning in drylands. To tackle this objective, MICROBIOCLIM will implement Biorthogonal Non-Canonical Amino Acid Tagging (BONCAT) coupled to omics methods to probe active cells in situ in biocrust while tracking the evolution of the soil carbon budget under climate change scenarios. The research outlined here includes multiple spatial and temporal scales, which will allow us to gain critical knowledge to design strategies to preserve biocrusts and the ecosystem services they render. This project will also help fill a major gap in our understanding of the underlying mechanisms controlling soil respiration and their implications for carbon cycling in global drylands, both priorities of the H2020 and the EU Green Deal. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101028323
MICROREAL Microbial Remediation of Agricultural Land NGB has developed and brought to TRL6 its MICROREAL microbial formulation soil conditioner. It degrades persistent pesticide residues, restores soil biota diversity, increases the availability of essential nutrients, stimulates the natural defences of plants against pathogens, and reverses the damage done to land by decades of intensive agriculture and horticulture. MICROREAL is targeted at the intensive glasshouse horticulture industry and is for growers wishing to cut pesticide and fertiliser inputs, cut operation costs, and shift rapidly to a sustainable, integrated and more profitable horticulture. We have carried out limited trials in commercial glasshouses used to produce high value salad vegetables at several farms in Turkey, with the following results: - eliminates organochlorine residues to below detectable levels within 48h - triggers induced systemic resistance in plants against pathogens - sequesters iron ions and inhibits the proliferation of pathogenic soil fungi - lowers the total amount of pesticides applied to glasshouse crops - increases the availability of N, P and K in soils. Growers can cut artificial fertiliser applications by up to 50% - Yield increases of 30-50% NGB seek Phase I funding for a feasibility study that will examine the market and commercial viability of MICROREAL, prior to maturation in a future Phase II. The feasibility study will produce: - A market study on the European glasshouse horticulture industry, its geographic centres, main products, costs and pesticide use - An analysis of competitor microbial products for soil remediation and fertility restoration - A quantification of the economic benefit of MICROREAL to end users - The scale-up needed at NGB and the geographic expansion needed of our value chain to cover European and Asian markets - A work plan and budget for a MICROREAL Phase II https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/836435
MicroWar Response of soil microbial communities to climate warming: from local to global scale Climate warming represents one of the most complex issues of the present time and climate models predict further increase of temperature in the next decades. Soils worldwide represent the largest terrestrial carbon (C) pool, exceeding the amount of C stored in the atmosphere and plant biomass. Microbes are known to play key roles in both soil C stabilization and its release into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide or methane. Rising temperatures could accelerate the activity of microbial decomposers resulting in greater losses of C from soils into the atmosphere. However, the extent of microbial response to predicted climate change at global scale is unknown and the details of the structural and functional shifts in soil microbial communities under warming represent a major knowledge gap. Here, I propose to characterize the functional response of ?local? soil bacterial and fungal communities to warming in Arctic tundra as northern latitudes represent one of the most vulnerable areas to climate change. This will be achieved by the analysis of in situ ecosystem manipulation experiment simulating increased summer temperatures using metagenomic and metatranscriptomic approaches. In order to assess the global scale responses of soil microbial taxa to climate warming worldwide, I will conduct a meta-analysis of microbial responses to warming treatments utilizing the combination of sequencing and environmental data available in published literature. The validity of the modeled responses of microbial taxa will be checked using the analysis of communities from the ?local? experiment. The project will give an answer on the ?global? future of microbial communities as well as on the functional responses of soil microbes to climate warming on the local scale. Proposed project will allow to applicant gain the knowledge of novel methods in microbial ecology and represent important transition phase towards applicant?s professional maturity and independent future research career. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101028243
MINAGRIS MIcro- and NAno-Plastics in AGRIricultural soils: sources, environmental fate and impacts on ecosystem services and overall sustainability Plastic use in agriculture has tremendously increased in the past decades resulting in soil pollution with plastic residues forming besides macroplastics micro (MP) and nanoplastics (NP). MINAGRIS aims to contribute to healthy soils in Europe by providing a deeper understanding and tools to assess the impact of MP and NP in agricultural soil health. To create an overview on the actual situation across Europe, MINAGRIS will assess the use of different plastic polymers in agricultural systems in 11 case study across Europe and identify the resulting types and concentrations of MPs and NPs. Concentrations of other stressors in soils such as pesticides and veterinary drugs will be additionally assessed. MINAGRIS will provide validated analytical tools that allow the quantification and identification of MPs and NPs in soils.Based on the results of the case study sites, controlled experiments will be conducted to analyse the impact of MPs and NPs on physico-chemical soil properties, soil biodiversity, plant productivity, and Ecosystem Services, as well as their potential transfer to other parts of the environment and plants. Furthermore, synergistic effects with other stressors are assessed.Quantification of the impacts of MNP on soil biodiversity and agricultural productivity, their transport and degradation in the environment, their impacts on socio-economic components, and synergies between all of them will make it possible to identify, in a multifactorial vision, the benefits and risks associated with the use of plastics in agriculture.Based on the results, MINAGRIS will quantify the economic, environmental, and social consequences of unsustainable soil management at the field and farm level in different biogeographical regions and, through a Multi-Actor Approach (MAA), develop a practical toolbox for and with farmers for the rapid assessment of soil exposure, at the same time raising relevant stakeholders? and end-users? awareness of the issue. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101000407
MISTRALE Monitoring of SoIl moiSture and wateR-flooded Areas for agricuLture and Environment The MISTRALE project proposes to address soils moisture management in agriculture as well as wetlands or flooded areas monitoring by using Global Navigation Satellite Systems reflected signals (GNSS-R) as a powerful technology for humidity or flooded mapping. The detection by GNSS-R is known to be much more reliable than visible/NIR imagery, and will be usable even under a cloud cover, during the night and even under vegetation (bushes, grass, trees) when passive remote sensing is not applicable. The main objective is to demonstrate a service chain in different use cases : pilot projects will be carried out in soil humidity mapping for agriculture (optimizing the water resource management), wetlands and flooded areas (risk management, flood-prone areas, damages evaluation).In order to meet the objectives, a GNSS-R receiver embedded into a small RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System) will be developed and implemented into an operational chain to provide the service. GNSS-R technology aims at measuring the GNSS signals reflected on the ground, and, compared to the direct signals, permits a measurement of the soil humidity (from 0 to 100%) as well as flooded extend. The use of GALILEO signals will significantly improve the precision of mapping. The operational system will integrate three main axes of development: adapting the GNSS-R technology for the requirements, making a compact GNSS-R receiver and optimizing an existing RPAS.Using EGNOS and GALILEO in the project will also improve navigation capabilities of small RPAS (<4Kg) and contribute to the development of regulations for their integration in airspace.We assembled a consortium that addresses all aspects of the project : four SME specialized in GNSS receivers, GNSS-R technology, operational applications and dissemination, two labs for RPAS and GNSS-R technology. An advisory board composed of agronomy and environment specialists as well as end users will complete the skills of the consortium. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/641606
MobiLab Development of a mobile device for the quick on-site measurement of soil nutrients Today the application of fertilisers to agricultural crops is mainly based on calculations, estimations and recommendations and not on analyses of the actual demand of soil and plants. The resulting over-fertilisation has substantial disadvantages: pollutions of the groundwater, the eutrophication of surface water bodies, emissions of greenhouse gas from the soil, the depletion of finite natural resources, reduced yields and unnecessary expenses for fertilisers. It is estimated that up to 35 % of the applied fertiliser could be saved if a method for the quick and simple determination of the fertiliser demand existed.Pessl GmbH, an Austrian SME specialised in the development of innovative products in the field of precision farming, has developed a lab-on-a-chip sensor for the quick on-site determination of the concentrations of the most important plant nutrients (ammonia, nitrate, phosphate and potassium) in the soil. This sensor will enable farmers to determine the fertiliser requirements of their fields within just a few minutes and without the need for any special knowledge. Based on the results of the EU project OPTIFERT Pessl has developed a first prototype of the sensor which has demonstrated the proper functioning and the great potentials of the technology. However, improvements and adaptations are required to achieve the market breakthrough. In this proposed project a feasibility study will reveal the technical feasibility of the envisaged improvements and the optimal way of implementation, while a business plan will show the optimal way of commercialisation.Pessl?s new nutrient sensor will help European farmers to save up to 35 % of their applied fertiliser, leading to total annual savings of up to 6 billion ? or 500 ? per average farmer. At the same time Pessl GmbH will be able to significantly grow in terms of turnover, profit and employees and to further expand its leading position on the European market for precision farming products. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/719462
MONPLAS The training of early stage researchers for the development of technologies to monitor concentrations of micro and nanoplastics in water for their presence, uptake and threat to animal and human life. Micro and nanoplastics have recently been found in our soil, tap water, bottled water, beer and even in the air we breathe, with a growing concern about the potential health risks they pose to us. Whether that is through ingesting the harmful bacteria they pick up when coming from wastewater plants, or just through injury and death of cells through contact, possibly through absorbtion of nanoplastics by cells, we really don?t know. Which is why there is an urgent need for more research on their toxicity and also why a new EC drinking water directive is to be published in 2019 stating that water companies will need to measure concentrations of microplastics from within two years for positive release and inspection. However, even though a standard measurement method will be published in 2019 for water, its necessary use of exisiting and expensive scientific laboratory equipment, such as microscopy and FTIR or Raman spectroscopy, will make it prohibitively expensive for in line use for many companies across Europe especially considering its need for highly trained personnel. There is therefore a need to develop suitable technologies for a robust, easy to use and low cost industrial instrument, whose measurements will correspond directly to the aforementiond standard, as well as train engineers for method development and operation. Given these multiple technical and analytical challenges, and that global production of plastic, that can take hundreds of years to biodegrade, is expected to triple by 2050; we propose a timely four year Initial Training Network to train multiple Early State Researchers throughout various scientific areas. Consisting of some of Europes greatest experts in their fields it will provide tomorrows talent with the skills and knowledge to tackle possibly one of mankinds greatest threats to its existence whilst they jointly develop the technologies for the industrial instrument in collaboration with end-users and equipment manufacturers. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/860775
MYCLIMATE Methodologies Yielding CLimate IMpact Assessments Through Economics Humans rely for their food on agricultural products. Agricultural production relies on soil, climate, agricultural inputs, and farmers. The importance of climate and soil inputs has been recently reconsidered in agricultural production. However, the quantification of the impact of climate change on agricultural production has been conducted with regression methods that impose undesired assumptions on the obtained results. If it is true that climate is changing, an estimation of climate change impacts on agriculture free of undesired assumptions is the key to understanding a strategy towards a sustainable future. Going beyond the methodological approaches proposed in previous studies, in this action I bridge the gap between production economics and the agronomic and climate economics literature.The first contribution of this action will merge farm accountancy datasets with climatic and soil characteristics at the most disaggregate geographical level possible (at least NUTS3 or smaller location). The second contribution of this action will methodologically reconsider the impact of climate change on plant growth. The third contribution of this action proposes a generalized decomposition method that, either with econometric or nonparametric methods, can attribute changes in productivity and profitability to different groups of inputs and outputs, among which are soil and climate inputs. The fourth contribution evaluates the production practices of the farmers and shows how much climatic and soil inputs are implicitly valued. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/705360
MycUpscaling Upscaling in vitro arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculum production via combinatorial lipid metabolic engineering of host plants Major scientific challenges nowadays are to preserve the environment, reduce global warming and grow more food to meet the global demand. Mass-producing the right soil microbiota essential to plant health and yield has the potential to be a key part of the next big revolution in the development of sustainable agriculture and food security. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are among the most ancient, widespread and functionally important symbioses on Earth that help feed the world. Yet, mass-production of clean (i.e. in vitro produced), safe and robust inoculum at affordable costs remains a critical challenge. MycUpscaling addresses the challenging question of what are the genes responsible for increasing triacylglycerides (TAGs) accumulation in the symbiotic interface and increasing spore numbers to create a novel generation of high-quality and cost-effective AMF inoculants for application in agroecosystems. The project will include combinatorial lipid metabolic engineering, selection of mycorrhized TAG-accumulating hosts, in vitro and in vivo lipid flux analysis, and in vitro spore domestication. We hypothesize that engineering lipid metabolism in mycorrhized plants will (i) increase TAG-based carbon sources in AMF, with spores accumulating more lipids for a higher root-colonization potential (bio-fortification=best quality), ii) stimulate the asexual reproduction machinery to produce more spores in plates and bioreactors (biomass production=high quantity), decreasing cost-fees of in vitro spore production systems (cost-efficiency=industry profitable). MycUpscaling will employ an inter-disciplinary approach combining expertise of the researcher in cell engineering and his supervisors in plant lipid flux monitoring (WSU, USA) and large-scale AMF production (UCLouvain, Belgium). This project will enable the researcher to interact with key leading experts, re-inforce skills and competences, and forge a mature and outstanding international research carrer. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101018013
MYRES Innovative biotechnology using mycorrhizal fungi to restore and remediate damaged soils MYRES provides the soil remediation industry with a biotechnology that has been largely tested in laboratory. Our company INOQ is ready to apply its expertise on mycorrhizal fungi to provide an innovative bioremediation technology to treat contaminated and degraded soils in Europe (and worldwide in subsequent phases). Mycorrhiza is the symbiotic association between fungi and roots of vascular plants. It increases the plant?s ability to resist diseases and is able to detoxify pollutants. We will identify and select the most accurate mycorrhizal fungi species to restore soil properties, as well as treat organic and inorganic contaminants. MYRES offers a complement and/or alternative to current remediation Ex situ and In situ techniques. Its characteristics includes: 100% natural, non-GMO, compatible with other techniques (accelerates phytoremediation), applicable for both residential and agricultural purposes, cost-effective method. To date there are no commercial applications of mycorrhizal fungi on soil remediation in Europe. Therefore, we identify our competitive advantage given our technical and commercial experience with similar applications. Our know-how and infrastructure include a culture collection and stock of more than 50 strains, hosting plant species, laboratories, nursing areas and green houses. Our technology is ranged between TRL 6 and TRL 7. Our aim is to be leader provider of Mycorrhiza based bioremediation technology. Our target leads are segmented in 3 groups: Soil remediation firms; Contractor firms managing remediation or land reclamation projects; and Firms with remediation activities as part of their operations (i.e. construction and Mining). European Union?s estimations include 490,000 contaminated sites with an average remediation cost of ?180.000/site. Our estimated annual turnover will increase from ?770.000 within the first three years to 2,3 Million within the next 8 years after phase 2 with continuous growth rate of at least 25%. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/827344
nanoPhotoMat Development of nano-Photocatalytic Materials for Indoor Air Purification and Odour Elimination Pollutants released directly to the air are particularly harmful compared to soil and water pollutants. These pollutants severely affect people?s life quality and life expectancy. Indoor air purification at highly populated urban areas is technically challenging, because indoor air contaminants arise from both outside and indoor sources. The most hazardous indoor pollutants are volatile organic components, toxic inorganics, dust, bacteria, pollen and mold spores. Conventional ventilation brings outdoor air pollution inside the buildings and thus increases energy consumed for cleaning per room. Adapting new technological advances will help meeting requirements of a compact, reliable, and eco-friendly design. The main objective of this proposal is therefore to develop the next generation air purifiers where photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) technologies will allow elimination of a variety of hazardous indoor air pollutants, and bad odour caused by such pollutants, when illuminated by low-power light sources on-the-fly. The proposed project composes of four different phases: the state-of-the-art design of photocatalysts, selection of proper illuminating source, configuration of PCO system, and preparation of the first prototype. In this study, we will address the limited work performed within the field hitherto, such as the mechanism of catalyst deactivation, efficiencies of odour removal, generation of by-products, electron-hole recombination phenomenon, and the ways of providing anti-bacterial/good hygiene properties. We will carry out an in-depth investigation on optimization of PCO air purification system within an interdisciplinary work at Ar<U+0087>elik Central R&D. After designing a viable configuration, we will focus on the production of a PCO air purifier prototype. In accordance with Ar<U+0087>elik Group?s policy and vision, our final goal is to ready the highly energy-efficient, low-noise, and reliable PCO air purifier prototype for the product launch in the global market. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/746094
NEAT Neutron based Elemental Analysis Technology Accumulations of hazardous substances in soil, water or air, mean a serious threat for society. To prevent damage from population, there is a trend of applying stricter and stricter statutory thresholds, especially for heavy metals. AiNT has developed an innovative non-destructive and non-contact assay for multi-element detection using neutrons as probes. The technology enables the determination of heavy metal contents and other contaminats in large environmental samples in a minimal time. Potential customers for measurement services are companies in the agriculture industry, environmental authorities or industrial companies who need information on the elemental composition of their samples.The market of environmental analysis has a volume of approximately two billion ? in Germany (2014) and has been steadily growing at an average rate of 10 % per year between 2003 and 2010. The measurement system is currently built in a technical centre of AiNT. Analysis results are created automatically by the developed evaluation software. Results are digitally available and can be uploaded to a cloud-based database for direct access and post-processing. Objectives of the feasibility study (phase 1) are the following. Firstly, an extensive market study will be conducted. From this study, the submarket for market entry is chosen. Furthermore, we choose a business partner for marketing and sales. We study measurement concepts and necessary adaptions of the design of the measuring system to general conditions and specific needs of the chosen submarket. All this leads to the elaboration of the business model. The preferred option is to offer measurements as a service. The feasibility study will clarify the chances of prospect of the development for environmental analysis and will identify the economically most attractive submarket for business activities. Alternatives to the preferred model, the direct marketing of the measurement system as a product, will also be investigated. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/827302
NETPAC Microbial networks for PAC cycling in polluted soils Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are major soil pollutants causing special concern due to their high recalcitrance and (geno)toxicity. Despite the extensive knowledge gathered on microbial PAH degradation, current biorestoration technologies are still not sufficiently effective to decontaminate contaminated soils. One of the main characteristics that constrain PAH biodegradability in the environment is their low bioavailability for natural microbial communities, and the concomitant limited degradation rates. In addition, at PAH-polluted sites, other toxicologically relevant polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAC), such as oxygenated PAHs (oxy-PAHs) and nitrogen heterocyclic PAHs (N-PAHs), are generally present, their fate and, in the case of oxy-PAHs, formation being normally neglected. As a result, the success of bioremediation and its ecotoxicological assessment are often limited. NETPAC aims to identify the microbial communities and functions relevant for PAC biodegradation, and their adaptations to low bioavailability conditions, to further exploit them in novel and more sustainable approaches for biologically mediated restoration of PAH-impacted soils. Molecular microbial ecology and analytical chemistry methods in combination with stable isotope tracers will allow a systems biology insight into the complex microbial metabolic networks dealing with PAH-biodegradation and bioavailability in situ, by integrating genomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics data. Diagnostic tools will be developed and applied to monitor a lab-scale Green remediation approach based on enhanced natural attenuation, and to identify the natural microbial adaptations to promote the degradation of the expected low bioavailability residue. Understanding these processes will provide us with tools to assess biodegradation occurrence and, as a final outcome, predict the success of bioremediation thus reducing its uncertainties, one of the main drawbacks of this technology. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/661361
Nitro Systems Reaching the roots of systemic nitrogen (N) signaling in plants The survival of multicellular organisms requires inter-organ communication via long-distance signals. This is especially relevant in plants where post-embryonic development can be altered in response to sensing a heterogeneous nutrient environment in the soil. For example, a long-distance, inter-organ ?root-shoot-root? relay system enables plant roots to specifically forage for nitrate-rich patches in a heterogeneous nutrient soil environment . In this proposal, I will use a unique ?split-root? system to uncover the mechanisms of this systemic ?root-shoot-root? relay system. Specifically, I will identify the targets of systemic N-signaling in plants as well as the potential RNA signals that traffic in phloem cells, the ?information highway? to enable this inter-organ communication in plants. I will identify RNAs (mRNAs and smRNAs) associated with inter-organ signaling using a combination of time-based modeling and validate candidate genes using transgenics and shoot-root grafting. These studies will be the among the first to uncover systemic N-signals in a multicellular eukaryote. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/659592
NitroFixSal N fixing bacteria from extreme environments as a remedy for nitrogen deficiency in saline soils Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) provide necessary nutrients to the plants and are promising substitute for the chemical fertilizers to promote plant growth and yield. Among various growth promotion properties of PGPR, the ability to fix N2 is important for plant growth. Several media-based techniques are available to screen the N2 fixing bacteria that are tedious, time-consuming and requires significant amount of resources. Therefore, a rapid, cost-effective membrane-based sensor can be a good alternative of these media-based screening methods. Further, a reservoir of diverse microbial communities is present in a unique extreme environment - saline and alkaline lime in Janikowo, Poland. Isolating PGPR from such extreme environments can be useful for mitigating salinity stress on different crops e.g. wheat (Triticum aestivum), which is one of the most important crops in the world facing significant yield loss in the production due to soil salinity. Also, the study of expression of genes that are differentially expressed in wheat upon interaction with PGPR can result in a better understanding of plant-microbe interaction. Hence, the work is proposed in a sequential manner where the membrane-sensor will be prepared to screen N2 fixing bacteria from the samples collected from extreme environments and allowed to interact with wheat plant under saline condition to check its growth promotion effects. Then the most effective strains/consortia for growth promotion will be selected. Finally, Suppression Subtractive Hybridization (SSH) will be performed to study differentially expressed genes in wheat plants upon interaction with selected strains/consortia. The project is expected to develop innovative membrane-based sensor for the detection of N2 fixing bacteria and isolation of novel and potential halotolerant PGPR from anthropogenic extreme environments. SSH based gene profiling study will also be a new approach to understand plant-PGPR interaction. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101038072
NITROKARST Effects of permafrost thaw on the global nitrogen cycle: the role of thermokarst systems Global change leads modifications in climate on Arctic regions, where temperatures have risen faster than in any other region on Earth. Those regions store vast amounts of soil organic matter (SOM) in permafrost soils, covering ~25% of terrestrial surface. When they thaw, it leads to rapid release of nutrients and greenhouse gases (GHG). So far, many studies have addressed the importance of permafrost thaw in the carbon cycle. However, little attention has been paid to the nitrogen (N) cycle, despite nitrous oxide (N2O) is a powerful GHG, an ozone-depleting agent and may create an unaccounted permafrost-climate feedback.Permafrost with low ice content suffers a gradual top-down thawing process during seasonal freeze-thaw period. However, thaw of ice-rich permafrost results in thermokarst processes, which occur abruptly and lead to ground surface collapse. Its widespread occurrence affects large areas (~40% of the northern permafrost region) contributing to develop ecosystems like ponds and lakes. In such ecosystems, the presence of anaerobic environments enhances microbial activity. As Arctic warms, permafrost thaw and thermokarst processes will increase, releasing soluble N into the environment and enhancing microbial decomposition of SOM.Hence, mineralization, nitrification and denitrification rates are expected to increase, and thus, N2O emissions to the atmosphere. Unfortunately, the impact of permafrost thaw on N cycling remains understudied, and almost unknown in thermokarst systems. NITROKARST will explore the underlying mechanisms of the N cycle in thermokarst systems, looking at how microbial pathways promote N transformation and how thawing controls the operation of these processes. N cycling will be studied along a thermokarst transect by combining isotope tracing, metagenomics and microcosm incubations. This multidisciplinary approach will increase our knowledge about the importance of thermokarst-affected permafrost soils in the global N cycle. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101024321
NOCTURNO Non-Conventional Wave Propagation for Future Sensing and Actuating Technologies New sensing devices and technologies are the key in addressing numerous challenges that agriculture is facing today. Namely, to provide more food for the ever-growing population, a number of biophysical parameters of plants, soil and food products need to be monitored and measured constantly, thus providing valuable data needed to optimize the entire agricultural process. In addition, the corresponding actuating technologies responsible for applying various measures (e.g. irrigation, fertilization) need to become more precise and allow variable rate inputs with a resolution down to an individual plant.To provide novel sensing and actuating solutions able to address the burning issues in agriculture today, NOCTURNO will bring together and synergistically advance several highly promising research directions which have been investigated separately in the last decade: wave-matter interactions, plasmonics, complex media and artificial materials, acoustic, electromagnetics, optics, bionanosensing.The Project will focus on development of sensors and actuators based on non-conventional propagation of acoustic waves in artificial media, electromagnetic/optical sensors based on metasurfaces, and advanced manufacturing technologies including 3D printing, laser-micromachining technology, and e-beam lithography with the aim to provide practical solutions for the fabrication of novel acoustic and metasurface-based sensors and actuators.NOCTURNO proposes an exchange programme which brings together three European academic institutions, two European SME companies, and two third-country universities. The consortium has the specific expertise in the fields listed above and it will create synergies that will first advance the current level of fundamental scientific knowledge and then support its transformation into innovative products with the high potential to revolutionize the agri-food sector. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/777714
OPTAIN OPtimal strategies to retAIN and re-use water and nutrients in small agricultural catchments across different soil-climatic regions in Europe Natural/Small Water Retention Measures (NSWRMs) can help mitigate the conflicts between agricultural water uses (e.g. plant production, animals) and other human and environmental demands for water, including drinking water or maintaining environmental flow. This is crucial, since these conflicts will be probably exacerbated by an increasing number of extreme events such as droughts and heavy rainfall. A more careful management of head watersheds will significantly contribute to a more resilient agriculture and society. Moreover, NSWRMs are contributing simultaneously to the achievement of different Sustainable Development Goals and environmental targets formulated in several water- and agriculture-related European Union policies. Despite a comprehensive set of techniques available to increase water retention on both catchment and farm levels, knowledge is still lacking on the effectiveness of different scale- and region-specific measures across various soil-climatic regions and agricultural systems, especially under changing climate conditions. OPTAIN aims to (i) identify efficient techniques for the retention and reuse of water and nutrients in small agricultural catchments across Continental, Pannonian and Boreal biogeographical regions of Europe, taking into account potential synergies with existing drainage-irrigation systems, and - in close cooperation with local actors - (ii) select NSWRMs at farm and catchment level and optimize their spatial allocation and combination, based on environmental and economic sustainability indicators. By building on existing knowledge and addressing these objectives, OPTAIN will improve the Technological Readiness Level of NSWRMs for the benefit of both humans and ecosystems. All gained knowledge will be translated into a learning environment allowing analysis of trade-offs and synergies between multiple values/goals in the management and design of NSWRMs. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/862756
ORTIKA Toward sustainable fashion: nettle and blueberry garments to promote sustainable development of mountain areas and to boost young talents In the EU, the clothing industry alone accounts for 10% of the EU life-cycle environmental impacts and to several socio-environmental issues such as heavy use of chemicals, pesticides, substances harmful to the environment and human health, water/soil contamination, intensive farming practices, obsolescence of final products, waste production, CO2 emission and exploitation of cheap labor. ORTIKA takes its origins from the experience of the project ?Divenire ? School of Dreamers? of 13 young people involved in the project, living in the Modenese Apennine. The concept and its implementation lead to the creation of a start-up producing natural garments, starting from nettle and mixed nettle and blueberry. Natural fiber composites market is foreseen to grow at a CAGR of 11.33% from 2017 to 2021 and to reach 10.89 billion USD by 2024. The result is a new form of collaboration between all the actors involved, delivering, on one hand, the idea of strong collaboration based on each member talent and, on the other hand, the message of returning to a natural eco-lifestyle. Therefore, our innovation combines EU priorities (REACH regulation, Biocide Regulation, EU Textile and Clothing Vision for 2025, Circular Economy Action Plan, EU Ecolabel Textiles, Single Markets for Green Products, European Clothing Action Plan) with consumers? needs by offering environmentally friendly clothing in nettle and mixed nettle and blueberry. Product design has a key role to conceive appealing and customized clothing inspired by sense of harmony, wellness, self-expression, sustainability and uniqueness. Further, ORTIKA targets the EU2020 employment strategy, EU2020 Growth strategy and New Skills Agenda through the revitalization youth employment in rural areas and the creation of a human-centered business environment. Research and expression of talents are intended as elements that increases the habitability of remote territories while becoming a source of wealth for the individual and society. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/836019
PAPILLONS Plastic in Agricultural Production: Impacts, Lifecycles and LONg-term Sustainability PAPILLONS will elucidate ecological and socioeconomic sustainability of agricultural plastics (APs) in relation to releases and impacts of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) in European soils. We will advance knowledge on sources, behaviour and impacts through cross-disciplinary research, bringing together scientists from chemistry, materials engineering, agronomy, soil ecology, toxicology and social sciences. We will transform the scientific knowledge generated into guidance on specific solutions by applying a Multi-actor approach, involving actors in the agricultural and policy sector and world-leading industries. This will enable co-creation of knowledge and provide the scientific background to enable policy, agricultural and industrial innovation towards sustainable farm production systems.We will deliver the first digital European atlas of AP use, management and waste production to estimate sources of MNP to agricultural soils. We will run integrative studies at laboratory, mesocosm and field scales in different parts of Europe to address: occurrence of AP-derived MNPs; MNP behaviour and transport in soil; uptake by biota and crops; long-term impacts on soil properties, fertility and ecological services; effects on biological and functional diversity across multiple scales; effects on plant production and quality; and socioeconomic impacts of AP-based practices. We will focus on multigenerational effect studies for relevant traditional and biodegradable polymers, at realistic and future high-exposure scenarios.PAPILLONS partners pioneered soil MNP research, host the majority of European analytical capacity for assessing soil contamination and will provide validated, high-throughput analysis for MNPs in soil. Using innovative applications of state-of-the-art analytical chemistry, we will advance analysis down to the nanoscale range and develop novel radiolabelled nanoplastics for accurately tracking behaviour and transport in soil and uptake by biota and crops. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101000210
PaTreME Partioning Tree Methane Emissions The role of plants in the global methane (CH4) cycle remains poorly understood. Plants can emit CH4 from aerobic methane production (AMP), microbial methanogenesis within plants (MMP), and the export soil methane (SM) via plant tissues. These plants-associated CH4 emissions may be quantitatively significant (15-65% of all natural CH4 emissions) but remain poorly constrained. So far, field studies have only quantified the sum of all these plant-atmosphere CH4 fluxes, limiting the degree to which each process can be mathematically described and incorporated into CH4 budgets and models. I am an experienced stable isotope biogeochemist. The MSCA fellowship will allow me to work a world leading group focused on the measurement and modeling of plant-atmosphere trace gas fluxes. Together, we will (a) develop a method to separately quantify AMP, MMP, and SM emissions from plants based on the CH4 isotope values (<eb>13C, <eb>2H, and ?14C) and methanol co-emissions (MeOH:CH4), and (b) apply this method to methane emissions from boreal forest trees at the SMEAR II research site in Southern Finland.Reaching these goals will require (1) adapting stem and shoot enclosure chambers to collect CH4 for offline analysis; (2) identifying characteristic CH4 isotope and MeOH:CH4 values of AMP, MMP, and SM; (3) measuring isotope and MeOH:CH4 values of plant CH4 emissions at SMEAR II, and (4) developing a Bayesian petitioning model for plant CH4 emissions. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/843511
PERMTHAW Permafrost thaw – decadal responses to climate change Permafrost soils contain approximately 1672 Petagram carbon (C), twice the amount of the current atmosphere, and constitute 50% of the world?s belowground C pool. Along with the current change in climate these high latitudinal soils experience increased temperatures, more than any other region, with permafrost degradation as a result. Such thaw of permafrost releases ancient organic matter that has been stored in the frozen soils for centuries. Following microbial degradation, this organic matter can be released to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), further influencing the climate systems. Thus, a changed climate leads to server alterations of the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) balance in Arctic and high altitude ecosystems. However, research up to today has mostly focused on the impact of permafrost thaw and the time horizon immediately following this degradation. The proposed project aims for understanding the future that lies ahead, following thaw and establishment of new non-permafrost ecosystems, and how the predicted climate variability will influence these soils on a decadal timescale. By using a natural occurring permafrost degradation transects, this project investigates how the C and N cycling changes following thaw. Moreover, by using laboratory incubation the project will provide unique insights of how these cycles will respond to the changing climate long after the formation of the ?new? ecosystems, giving a decadal perspective on permafrost thaw. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/657627
PetroRov A multipurpose solution for high resolution soil and sub-soil mapping "Soil and sub-soil mineralogical composition and structures are essential features not only for agronomic purposes, already vital to assure our future, but to other important aspects. Current collected data and geochemical methods presents several limitations and restrictions as they are 1) time consuming and expensive; 2) Sampling cannot be carried out in high density spot sites and in different seasons; 3) Samples transferred to remote laboratories may lose their original properties; 4) Analytical data of the same specimens from different labs may show strong inter-lab variation; and 5) Need high manpower and time investment. Therefore, the market needs focusing on improving soil testing methods by introducing new testing all-in-one concept machines/tool to save time, money and energy.PetroLogic Synergy srl (PLS) innovative start-up, established on May 2015, is a spin-off of the Universit<U+0085> degli Studi di Siena (Italy), created PetroRov. PetroRov is an innovative tool for soil analysis deploying internet of things technology, assembled in a modular way, ""customizable"" in several varieties depending on the desired needs, with sensor configurations optimized for integrated multi-parametric collection of numerous soil properties (soil and subsoil). PetroRov has applications in countless economic and scientific sectors. So far, PLS plans to present PetroRov in four different versions: AGRIPetroRov for agriculture and precision agriculture, AMBPetroRov for environmental monitoring, MINPetroRov for geotechnics, civil engineering, and mining exploration and ARCHEOPetroRov for preventive exploration archaeology.Considering that soil testing equipment market will register a growth of 4% CAGR by 2023, PLS expects to begin PetroRov commercialization by year 2022, to obtain a return of investment of R.O.I. (5 year) = 7.53 and 10 new jobs for the company." https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/888061
Phy2Climate A global approach for recovery of arable land through improved phytoremediation coupled with advanced liquid biofuel production and climate friendly copper smelting process Phy2Climate will validate 5 phytoremediation pilots in Spain (South Europe), Serbia (Balkan region), Lithuania (Baltic region), Argentina (South America) and India (South Asia) at TRL-5. The selected contaminated sites represent the most common soil contaminants worldwide. The phytoremediation pilots will produce energy crops with none indirect Land Use Change (iLUC) issues. The energy crops will feed a pilot biorefinery in Germany that combines cutting edge biomass processing technologies to produce 4 types of clean drop-in biofuels for the road and shipping transport sectors at TRL-5: EN 14214 biodiesel, ISO 8217 marine fuels, EN 590 diesel and EN 228 gasoline. Additionally, bio-coke will be also produced as substitution of petroleum coke in the metallurgical industry. A significant cost reduction in factor >5 for phytoremediation compared with common remediation techniques is target together with conversion costs of drop-in biofuel production <0,45 ?/l. The global biofuel production potential of the Phy2Climate approach is estimated up to 137 million m3 per year. Furthermore, estimated specific Greenhouse Gas (GHG) mitigation of the produced drop-in biofuels is 149% compared with the fossil equivalents, resulting in a total saving potential of 500 Mega-tones CO2eq per year. The work programme is divided in 7 work packages that are specifically designed to achieve the objectives of the project as well as to contribute to the Mission Innovation Challenge 4 and to 16 UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Phy2Climate consortium unites 17 partners from 10 different countries with strong interdisciplinary expertise in the fields of project management, soil remediation & phytoremediation, advanced biofuel technologies, environmental and social sustainability, legal analysis, business development and communication &dissemination. Additionally 11 stakeholders from 8 countries and at EU level have already expressed their interest in the project by a letter of support. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101006912
PhytoPharm Phytotoxicological Risk of pharmaceuticals in soils Pharmacueticals in the agricultural environment pose a risk to the continued productivity of the crop producing industry. To gain a better understanding of the processes involved in plant exposure and bioavailability of pharmaceutical compounds, a systematic approach is proposed to characterize the mobility of a study compound from soil to pore water in twenty native soils selected to represent a broad range of soil chemical-physical properties. Characterization of resulting pore water conditions will be used to study the interactions between pore water and plants. Analytical methods will be utilized to determine mobility of the compound in soil, pore water, and plant tissue. Monitoring of 18 plant development endpoints will reveal phyto-toxicological risk associated with pharmaceutical exposure. These interactions will be used to construct and validate a landscape scale spatial model. Data gathered throughout this study as well as the resulting model will provide the first attempt at landscape scale analysis for terrestrial environmental risk assessment from emerging contaminants. Identifying potential risks will help insure the stability and productivity of the agricultural economy into the future. Further, the adaptability of the model to different geographic regions, outside England and Wales, allows for the emergence of research collaboration across the world. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/706151
PhytoTrace Wanted: Micronutrients! Phytosiderophore-mediated acquisition strategies in grass crops Understanding how plants respond to micronutrient deficiency and which biogeochemical processes are induced at the root-soil interface, i.e. the rhizosphere, is crucial to improve crop yield and micronutrient grain content for high quality food and feed. Iron nutrition by grass species relies on the release and re-uptake of phytosiderophores, which are root exudates that form stable complexes with Fe but also other trace metals such as Zn and Cu. However, neither the importance of phytosiderophores under Zn and Cu deficient conditions nor the interplay of plant responses and rhizosphere processes are well understood as the majority of studies in the past was carried out under ?soil-free? hydroponic conditions. In this project, I aim to elucidate the mechanisms controlling phytosiderophore-mediated micronutrient acquisition of barley (Hordeum vulgare) under Zn, Cu, and as reference, Fe deficient conditions, with particular emphasis on soil environments. Barley is the fifth most produced crop worldwide and of great importance in regions that are characterized by harsh living conditions. In a holistic approach, my team and I will apply innovative soil-based and traditional hydroponic root exudation sampling approaches in combination with advanced plant molecular techniques to study the phytosiderophore release and uptake system under different experimental conditions. The chemical synthesis of otherwise commercially unavailable phytosiderophores in their natural and 13C-labelled form will allow us to trace their decomposition and metal solubilizing efficiency in the plant-microbe-soil system to uncover the interplay of plant genetic responses and rhizosphere processes affecting the time-window of PS-mediated MN acquisition. Moving beyond ?soil-free? experimental designs of the past, this project will generate key knowledge to improve selection of crops with highly efficient micronutrient acquisition traits to alleviate micronutrient malnutrition of people world-wide. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/801954
PlantSoilGradients Plant-soil feedback and local adaptation along soil fertility gradients In a process known as plant-soil feedback, plants can modify soil microbial communities in ways that differentially affect the performance of subsequent generations of plants. Recent studies suggest that plant-soil feedbacks may play an important role in plant community assembly and functioning, affecting plant species co-existence, primary productivity, succession and plant invasions. However, we still lack a basic understanding of how plant-soil feedbacks vary between different habitats and soil types. Moreover, plant-soil feedbacks may not only affect community and ecosystem-level processes but may also contribute to evolutionary dynamics within species and affect genetic diversity. The overarching aim of this project is to assess variation in the strength and direction of plant-soil feedbacks along soil fertility gradients in temperate grassland ecosystems at local through to large spatial scales. The proposal includes high-quality training and knowledge exchange between three countries. By combining concepts and experimental approaches from different disciplines, such as plant ecology, soil science, population biology and evolutionary and microbial ecology, we will build a mechanistic framework to predict plant-soil feedbacks in different environmental contexts and to assess their contribution to the maintenance of genetic diversity within grassland plant species. Collectively, improved knowledge of plant-soil feedbacks along soil gradients will enhance our capacity to identify those ecosystems most vulnerable to human impacts, such as invasions and land use change, and will enhance conservation and restoration of natural habitats. This proposal contributes to addressing one of the most pertinent societal challenges ? maintenance of biodiversity in the face of global change ? and includes a range of activities to engage with different audiences and stakeholders on the topic of soil biodiversity. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/840035
PlastiSol Quantification of the participation of soils in the microplastic pollution cycle and evidence based model analysis of atmosphere to ocean soil microplastic interaction There is little doubt that micro and nanoplastics (MnP) are in our soils across the globe. Numerous studies including my own have found that atmospheric deposition alone is enough to pollute even our most pristine remote areas. What is unknown is what happens to it once it is there. Is it transported by runoff or pushed deeper into the soil? What is the effect of the chemicals leached from MnP on soil microbiome, air and receiving river ecosystems? Many of these (e.g. flame retardants) are ?forever chemicals?, never break down but continue to cycle in the food chain. What is the threshold before irreversible damage occurs, and have we pass it? These knowledge gaps have far reaching implications for food and water security and survival of the fragile ecosystems that make our planet habitable. PlastiSol seeks to address these urgent questions in an attempt to push the boundaries of our knowledge on this emerging threat. Through studying a cross section of land use soils MnP and associated leachates and the processes that contain or transport these pollutants, this project will advance MnP pollution science beyond considering soil as a sink, evidencing atmospheric and receiving waterway impacts of soil pollution. Furthermore, examining the internal mechanisms of soil MnP movement and leachate release will define the potential groundwater influence, land management activities and storage capacities of different land use soils? MnP. With this evidenced process knowledge, the impact of soil MnP on the global MnP cycle will be established, enabling soil to be included as a source, transport pathway and sink of plastic pollution, advancing the accuracy of global MnP quantification and the impact of soil MnP on ecosystems and all environmental compartments. Only in understanding the extent and impact of soil plastic pollution can it be effectively managed through change in land use practices and policy advancements. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101023635
PLECTRA Revealing mechanisms of plant-soil feedback in search of trait indicators It is increasingly recognized that plant-soil feedbacks influence the composition and functioning of natural communities and ecosystems. However, our capacity to predict the outcome of such above-belowground interactions is still hampered by poor generalization capacity. As plant traits have been used to explain patterns in both plant and soil communities, they could provide a useful approach for explaining and predicting plant-soil feedback. Here, I will use the recent advances made in plant trait research, which have greatly increased our capacity to predict the responses of natural plant communities to environmental changes, to improve our mechanistic understanding of the factors underlying plant-soil feedback strength and sign (negative, neutral and positive) under changing environmental conditions. Based on the growth versus defence trade-off hypothesis, fast-growing plant species with acquisitive traits build up negative feedback, whereas slow-growing species with conservative traits develop positive feedback with their own soil biota. The growth-defence framework is widely based on leaf spectrum economy, and it is unknown how well predictive aboveground traits are for growth strategies of plant roots belowground. With my proposed project PLECTRA, I aim to investigate how well the sign and strength of plant-soil feedback can be predicted from aboveground and belowground plant traits. This knowledge will improve our understanding of the role that plant-soil feedback plays in structuring plant communities and will, among others, be helpful to enhance restoration success of degraded ecosystems and improve management of invasive species. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/841581
PROMISCES Preventing Recalcitrant Organic Mobile Industrial chemicalS for Circular Economy in the soil-sediment-water system PROMISCES will identify how industrial pollution prevents the deployment of the circular economy (CE) in the EU and which strategies help overcome key bottlenecks to deliver the ambitions of the European Green Deal and Circular Economy Action Plan.PROMISCES considers specific CE routes including (i) semi-closed water cycles for drinking water supply at urban and catchment scale; (ii) wastewater reuse for irrigation in agriculture; (iii) nutrient recovery from sewage sludge; (iv) material recovery from dredged sediment and (v) land remediation for safe reuse in urban areas. To reach its goals, PROMISCES will:- Develop new analytical methods and toxicological tools to provide data on persistent, mobile (PM) substances (i.e. PFAS and other industrial chemicals) in complex environmental matrices.- Explore sources and environmental pathways of PM substances released from (i) soil; (ii) sediment; (iii) landfills; (iv) wastewater treatment plants and via (v) urban runoff into relevant environmental compartments (soil, sediment, surface water, groundwater).- Assess fate and transport pathways within the different CE routes and evaluate the impacts of corrective measures.- Improve the assessment and management of human health risks from drinking water and agricultural products.- Develop and demonstrate cost-efficient and sustainable technologies for the removal of PM substances from different media.- Translate PROMISCES results into guidance for efficient and feasible management of PM substances and recommendations for the implementation of relevant EU policy strategies and directives.- Integrate the results into a decision support framework which considers resource recovery and water reuse and supports chemical management decisions with regards to i) stakeholders and societal demands; ii) PM chemical properties iii) technical solutions to prevent, mitigate and remediate industrial pollution and iv) the whole life cycle of current and future chemicals. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101036449
PROTINUS PROviding new insighT into INteractions between soil fUnctions and Structure The PROTINUS proposal assembles a multi-disciplinary team to combine advanced, applied and theoretical research to create a new standard in imaging, analysing, modelling and predicting the interactions between soil structure and soil functions. Soil structure impacts a whole range of services soil renders to ecosystems, including for example contaminant filtering, carbon storage, root growth, and microbiological diversity. By using modern imaging, image analysis and modelling techniques, we will develop an integrated approach to perform experiments in soil physics, bio-chemistry, to reconstruct soil structure in 3D and to model soil processes. The evaluated models will be used for predicting the different services soil renders to ecosystems in a dynamic way and for testing classical theory, where soil structure is not directly taken into account. To do so we will bring together the theoretical and practical expertise of the involved researchers, infrastructure of the partnering institutes, soil samples and databases. The first stage will investigate today?s best practise in experimental soil science and imaging, data analysis and modelling. Our findings will enable our second stage approach where synergies between the different disciplines will be explored. The third stage will provide the cornerstone of a new unified methodology meant to modify practise and outcomes of current experimental/imaging, analysis and modelling approaches. Our final stage will look at the changes brought to each of the specific research area?s practises and how it impacts the understanding of soil structure and its functions. It is expected that our proposal will foster bilateral collaborations within Europe and with our overseas partners through local and international funding, shared database and infrastructure management, and lead to the creation of a sustainable international network of researchers, infrastructure and institutes. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/645717
PSF-2-PREDICT Predicting when plant-soil feedbacks promote or prevent alien plant invasion. Predicting which alien plant species will become invasive is key to mitigating their impact. Plant-soil feedbacks (PSF) between plant species and soil microbes are crucial for controlling plant abundance. It has been suggested that positive PSF could promote alien plant invasion but that negative PSF could help their control. However, a framework to predict which alien species will experience positive feedback, and under what conditions, is lacking. My project will combine fundamental ecological theory, state-of-the-art knowledge of PSF, carefully designed experiments, and cutting-edge techniques in data analysis and high-throughput sequencing to gain a predictive understanding of the role of PSF in plant invasion. I will test the novel hypothesis that close relatedness between alien and native plant species will promote invasion when nutrients are limiting by allowing alien plants to integrate into native soil mutualistic networks, but prevent invasion under high nutrient conditions by increasing the susceptibility of alien plants to native soil pathogens. For alien and native plant species that vary in relatedness I will: 1) quantify the strength of PSF under differing nutrient conditions; 2) characterise mutualistic associations in the roots; and 3) characterise the soil microbial communities they cultivate. Moreover, I will develop an open access database of collated PSF data to facilitate further global collaborations. Results will reveal how native plant communities and their local environment influence alien plant invasions. They will lay the foundation for important applied research on the impact of plant invasions on native PSF, and how PSF knowledge might be used in ecosystem restoration worldwide. By targeting EU Regulation 1143/2014 on Invasive Alien Species and Goal 15 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, this research will contribute to applied outcomes for the EU and substantially raise my research profile within Europe and internationally. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/839704
RACe The impact of climate change on the uptake of arsenic into rice Rice is the staple food worldwide. Unfortunately, global rice yield is already falling behind population growth. One of the reasons for this is the presence of toxic arsenic (As) in many South(-East) Asian paddy soils, which is known to decrease rice growth and productivity. The current change in Earth?s climate is known to cause land loss due to desertification and inundation and lower (rice) crop yields, thus, threatening the global food security. According to the highest emission scenario for greenhouse gases presented in the 5th assessment report of the IPCC, global annual temperatures could rise by more than 5<f8>C by the year 2100. How increased temperatures and CO2 concentrations affect As uptake into rice and ultimately the quality and production of rice is unknown and the main research question of this proposal. Rice will be grown in fully controlled growth chambers with elevated temperature and partial pressure of CO2, simulating the cli-mate of the year 2100. Besides determining changes in rice growth and grain yield, the amount of organic and inorganic As in the grain will be determined to assess rice quality. Furthermore, the biogeochemical pro-cesses occurring in the soil and atmosphere during climate change will be investigated and thus, will allow to understand the observed changes in rice yield and quality due to climate change. The amount and speciation of As will be quantified in the soil, plant, and atmosphere. Changes in microbial community abundance and richness will be assessed with modern pyrosequencing techniques. Functional microbial guilds of interest (iron and arsenic metabolizing bacteria) will be assessed by qPCR, pyrosequencing, and clone libraries. Overall, the knowledge obtained within the MSC-GF action on the impact of climate change on As uptake by rice will allow a better risk assessment for productivity of rice in the future and may give ideas for how to prevent a loss in rice yield and quality in a strongly climate impacted future. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/661674
RainForest-GHG Rain Forest GreenHouse Gases RainForest-GHG aims to quantify ecosystem sinks and emissions of three major greenhouse gases (GHGs), i.e. carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), in a tropical rainforest, and examine the contributions of the soil and the woody tissues to the ecosystem-scale GHG fluxes. RainForest-GHG further aims to determine the main environmental drivers responsible for the temporal and spatial variations of these GHG fluxes. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/796438
REC Root zone soil moisture Estimates at the daily and agricultural parcel scales for Crop irrigation management and water use impact – a multi-sensor remote sensing approach Sustainable water use is a growing concern in Europe. Nowadays, agriculture is an important pressure on water resources especially in Mediterranean countries where irrigation can represent up to 80% of the consumptive uses of water. Increasing water use efficiency in agriculture has been thus identified as one of the key themes relating to water scarcity and drought (EEA Report No 1/2012). It now becomes necessary to improve on-farm irrigation management by adjusting irrigation to crop water requirements along the growing season.Modern irrigation agencies rely on in situ root zone soil moisture measurements to detect the onset of crop water stress and to trigger irrigation. However, in situ point measurements are generally not available over extended areas and may not be representative at the field scale. If remote sensing provides cost-effective techniques for monitoring broad areas, there is currently no algorithm dedicated to root zone soil moisture monitoring at the parcel scale.REC proposes a solution to the need of root-zone soil moisture at the crop scale for irrigation management. It is based on an innovative operational algorithm that will allow for the first time to: 1) to map root zone soil moisture on a daily basis at the field scale and 2) to quantitatively evaluate the different components of the water budget at the field scale from readily available remote sensing data.The methodology relies on the coupling between a surface model representing the water fluxes at the land surface atmosphere interface (infiltration, evaporation, transpiration) and in the soil (drainage), and remote sensing data composed of land surface temperature, and near-surface soil moisture retrieved from microwave radiometers and radars.These estimates will be integrated in an irrigation management system that will be used to trigger irrigation. In addition, these estimates will allow making an impact assessment of the consumptive use of water and water footprint. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/645642
REDTEAR The Role of free Extracellular DNA in determining The Environmental Antibiotic Resistome Free extracellular DNA (FED) is DNA dissolved in waters and in soils, where it arrives after being excreted by livingorganisms or following the disruption of living cells. FED can be the most prominent fraction of DNA in waters subjected tostrong disturbances, where the mortality rate of microorganisms is high, e.g. wastewater treatment plants effluents. FED arecomposed by a variety of DNA fragments including resistance genes and mobile elements. There are early evidences thanFED can represent a very important, although neglected, source of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment,where the bacterial community can access FED and incorporate extracellular DNA by horizontal gene transfer.If this process will be confirmed and quantified by dedicated researches, our understanding of the cycle of antibioticresistances into the environment and back to human pathogens could change dramatically, calling for a whole rethinking ofthe wastewater treatments nowadays applied. The Project REDTEAR will tackle the issue and will clarify the role of FED inthe spread and the persistence of ARGs in open waters in central Europe, offering a unique opportunity for a correctmanagement of this problem, already identified as one of the major challenges for human health in the next century. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101025891
RegoLight Sintering Regolith with Solar Light Future human activity on the lunar surface will use 3D printing to build infrastructure from lunar soil using the Sun as the only source of energy. Today this technology is considered disruptive; tomorrow it will be the standard. The RegoLight project will investigate the sintering process of lunar regolith simulants by means of concentrated sun light in order to prepare for future lunar missions for building infrastructure (leveled terrain, dust shelters, launch pads etc.) and structural components for lunar habitats.Solar sintering of regolith is currently at TRL3 , being able to build a regolith ?brick? in a laboratory set-up with a moving table in a solar furnace. RegoLight aims at enhancing this specific additive layer manufacturing technique ?which seems very promising for lunar applications since it does not involve any consumables? by further characterizing the parameters for sintering different types of regolith and by developing a movable printing head capable both of pointing the concentrated solar beam at the required spot and of deploying incrementally additional layers of regolith in order to continue with the additive building process.Based on the mechanical properties of solar sintered regolith architectural scenarios and applications will be developed, taking into account the benefits of additive layer manufacturing and novel construction concepts for lunar gravity. This detailed Finite Element Modeling will provide a first insight into lunar architectural scenarios using this technology: With a concurrent engineering approach sample structures will be printed having been derived from ?big picture? scenarios and bottom up approaches at the same time.The project objective is the development of a regolith solar sintering device breadboard which will be validated in a relevant environment (TRL5). The parts printed in a thermal vacuum chamber will undergo mechanical properties tests to build a database and FEM analysis for validation of the concepts. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/686202
ReSEED Rescuing seeds’ heritage: engaging in a new framework of agriculture and innovation since the 18th century Humanity is facing a huge challenge: how to feed a growing population in a sustainable way? Scientists from different fields are looking for answers and ReSEED aims to assist such endeavours. Solutions depend on one key issue: seeds. We can have appropriate soil, climate or technologies, however without proper seeds it is impossible to guarantee food production. As historiography has given little attention to the role of seed varieties, there are many gaps in scientific knowledge. I argue that long-term historical analysis is critical to provide the best answers to current questions. ReSEED examines the changing connections between seeds, environment and human action, the triangle that has always underpinned agriculture, since the 18th century. The main objectives are as follows. 1) To map geographical changes in local crop distribution, paying attention to the new seeds made available by Columbian Exchange. 2) To outline which were the social networks supporting the circulation and cultivation of edible seed varieties, and at later date, checking how they articulated with state services. 3) To identify human factors that contribute to reducing, increasing, maintaining or restoring regional agro-biodiversity. 4) To assess the impacts of national and international decisions on local management of the triangle, mainly on farmers? innovation. 5) To re-examine the long-term dynamics behind various European agricultural modernization itineraries. Based on innovative interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary methodologies, I build robust empirical research on the case of Iberian Peninsula in connection to empires, which allows thorough comparisons with other regions in Europe and beyond. ReSEED promotes strategies for win-win environmental/society outcomes, linking edible seeds to places and to innovations needed for food production. This is crucial to better understand how historical experiences can contribute to create solutions that ensure sustainable futures. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/760090
ReSoil Innovative technology for Removal of toxic metals form highly contaminated soil & sediments In Europe, more than 340 000 sites are likely to be highly contaminated and in need of remediation measure. About 20% of farmland soil in China require urgent remediation action. Urban soils are contaminated by Pb-based paint and emissions from the combustion of leaded gasoline in all major cities in US. Lead was identified by WHO as 1 of 10 chemicals of major public health concern. Urban soil is a lingering source of lead poisoning in children. Most countries have made the clean-up and restoration of the contaminated land a priority thus creating the opportunity for soil preserving remediation options. The remediation of contaminated soil is essential for the protection of environmental resources and human health. There are no effective and sustainable (soil preserving) remediation technologies for soils contaminated primarily with Pb. Excavation with landfilling is unfortunately still one of the most used solutions (used in 82-84% of cases. ReSoil is the single available remediation option which efficiently removes Pb and other toxic metals from contaminated soils and preserves soil as a natural resource. ReSoil is EDTA-based soil-washing technology with innovative technology for recycling of EDTA and process waters in closed-loop and thus ensuring generation of no liquid wastes. ReSoil is a breakthrough, globally important green environmental innovation in the verge of commercialization. ReSoil demonstration plant (6 t/day) and demonstration garden are available. Low operation and remediation cost, no environmental emission and preserving soil as a natural resource for safe food production make ReSoil technology disruptive innovation in the growing soil remediation market (8% annual growth rate). Increasing public concern and awareness requires new effective and cost-efficient gentle remediation options. ENVIT is an engineering company with an aim to offer the world the efficient solution for removal of lead and other pollutants from soil. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/854743
ReStructure 2.0 A novel physics-based methodology for the seismic analysis of retaining structures leveraging machine learning techniques The standard seismic design of retaining structures is based on a century-old theory, that does not account for the actual physical behavior of soil-structure systems. This theory unrealistically assumes that the seismic earth pressure increment is proportional to surface acceleration. Methods based on this theory often lead to conservative design of retaining structures that causes an unsustainable consumption of resources without any benefits on the performance and safety of the construction. Such design approach is against the principles of the European Green Deal that identified the need of cleaner constructions in the Building and Renovation policy area. The main goal of ReStructure 2.0 is to develop a novel physics-based framework based on soil-structure interaction principles, recognizing the relative displacement between wall and retained soil as the driving factor in the seismic response of wall-soil system. The proposed method accounts for soil inhomogeneity and non-linearity, wall flexibility, mass of the wall, and different boundary condition at base and top of the wall. This more adequate design approach can lead to a significant reduction of the resources used during the construction, making the process more sustainable, affordable, and green. This novel approach is based on the combination of computational simulations, experimental and field data, relational databases, and machine learning techniques. Two distinct solutions will be developed: (i) complete frequency-dependent elastodynamic approach, and (ii) simplified single-frequency method. ReStructure 2.0 is tailored around my expertise and profile to give me the opportunity to reach the maturity needed to move forward with my career. This fellowship will allow me to: (i) capitalize on my unique skillset matured in years of international collaborations, (ii) bring back to the EU innovative approaches and methodologies that I developed in the US, and (iii) grow as a researcher, teacher, and mentor. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101029903
RhizoSheet Patterned microfluidic sheets for studies of root exudation profiles Modern plant varieties have been bred to grow and increase production under non limiting soil conditions and have consequently lost their ability to capture resources efficiently. Designing an efficient fertiliser requires optimising bioavailability and mobility of nutrients. Unfortunately, bio-availability and mobility are often antagonistic. Traditional fertilisers, which package soluble mineral elements into granules, are easily acquired by plant roots but have been linked to excessive loss to the environment and pollution. Slow release fertilisation has been proposed to slow down the diffusion of nutrients to the soil, including the use of nanotechnology, but slowing down the diffusion of nutrients excessively affects root uptake. Biological fertilisation is inspired from known mechanisms observed in soil, but maintaining efficient colonisation of the root by beneficial microbes is challenging. New approaches must be developed to better control the associations taking place between plants and beneficial microbes, since fundamental knowledge to achieve this target is nowadays lacking. Roots exude a huge diversity of biomolecules, and their role in maintaining adequate beneficial microbes are mostly unknown and rarely studied. The aim of the RhizoSheet project is to apply cutting-edge microfluidic techniques based on hybrid paper-polymer technology for device fabrication. Optical sensors and novel functional materials will be applied as biochemical sensors to gain knowledge on the location of compounds secreted by roots and on the response of roots over time, when interacting with soil microbes.The acquired knowledge will be highly beneficial for the scientific and agricultural community and finds the interest of the EU in soil and food safety, the RhizoSheet project meets the interest of the Horizon Europe - the next research and innovation framework programme in particular the natural resources in Pillar 1. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101028242
RINFEC The Roots of Infection Plant roots and soil microbes have been associated since the emergence of plants on land. Nevertheless the mechanisms that have coevolved to control these commensal and mutualistic associations are currently unknown. RINFEC will identify both plant and bacterial genes involved in root colonization by commensal and mutualistic bacteria with an approach that would be transformative in the field. The ambitious challenge is to identify and functionally characterize the central genes controlling root cells competence for infection. RINFEC?s central hypothesis is that key components of ancient pathways for bacterial colonization of the root surface (rhizosphere) and root interior (endosphere) were adapted during evolution of mechanism(s) controlling colonization of legume roots by symbiotic rhizobia. RINFEC will uncover the genetics and biochemistry of these shared mechanisms by characterizing a novel, unexplored intercellular infection mode observed for certain rhizobia that act as endophytes in non-legume plants and are able to infect the model legume Lotus japonicus. The unique biological feature exploited in RINFEC is the capacity of Lotus to support either intercellular entry (conserved mode) or legume specific infection thread entry, dependent on the rhizobia encountered. This allows comparative investigations of these two infection modes in simple binary interactions with the same host. Given the exceptional ability of different rhizobia for intercellular endophytic colonization of non-legume roots this provides an unprecedented platform to identify mechanisms by which plants selectively enable a subset of bacteria to infect roots. RINFEC will build on my considerable expertise with Lotus and pioneers novel plant and bacterial genetic methods, cell-layer transcriptomics, phospho-proteomics and advanced biochemistry to break new ground in understanding infection and soil microbe influences on plant performance under environmental stress conditions. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/834221
RiZeSisT Discovering susceptibility genes to Rhizoctonia solani in rice as breeding targets for sheath blight disease resistance Rice is a main staple food providing more than 50 percent of the world?s calories intake. However, grain yield and quality are drastically reduced by the sheath blight disease (ShBD), the second most important disease. ShBD is caused by the soilborne, necrotrophic fungal pathogen, Rhizoctonia solani. No rice germplasm providing complete resistance is available, preventing improvement of cultivated rice varieties. Generally, dominant resistance genes are used to generate resistance to pathogens. However, these narrow-spectrum genes can be easily overcome by pathogens. Therefore, the best approach to acquire broad-spectrum resistance is to employ altered susceptibility genes (S genes). S genes encode susceptibility factors, facilitate pathogen infection and support compatibility. The molecular mechanisms underlying susceptibility to R. solani are largely unknown. Recently, it has been recognized that necrotrophic pathogens have a short biotrophic phase during infection. In ?RiZeSisT? -Rice rhiZoctonia reSisTance- I will identify rice S genes that are essential to establish the early (biotrophic) infection of R. solani. I will exploit mutated (incompatible) S gene(s) to generate resistance to ShBD. After this project we will generate non-GMO mutants for improving elite varieties for broad-spectrum resistance to ShBD. KeyGene acts at the forefront of new technologies and traits to support the development of new and improved crops. Executing ?RiZeSisT? at KeyGene, will enable me to use cutting-edge technologies, bioinformatics & data science expertise and plant-based trait platforms to discover the S genes. This is an innovative strategy that has not been used for this pathosystem. Furthermore, there is a high chance to translate my obtained knowledge to generate resistance to R. solani in additional relevant crops as maize, wheat, barley or soybean. The results of ?RiZeSisT? will contribute to meet food security needs for our growing population. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/791867
ROLLBAR Roots in armour - a barrier induced to protect against intrusion of soil phytotoxins? ROLLBAR focuses on the role of two contrasting strategies against sulfide toxicity of saltmarsh plant species: i) root radial oxygen loss (ROL) and ii) formation of a root barrier to ROL. Plants inhabiting tidal environments with frequent floods possess internal gas-filled spaces in their tissues (aerenchyma), facilitating oxygen (O2) diffusion from shoot to roots. This trait enables tolerance to the inherently low O2 availability in flooded soils. Such soils show high levels of reduced compounds harmful for plants, amongst which sulfide is a potent phytotoxin. The role of ROL and a root ROL barrier in flood tolerance is widely recognised whereas the function of these traits in protecting roots from phytotoxin intrusion in plant tissues is still controversial. The ROLLBAR project aims to shed light on this topic. O2 escapes from roots via ROL and oxidises the rhizosphere; sulfides are chemically oxidised to sulfate and reduced iron [Fe(II)] is oxidised to Fe(III), which can precipitate on root surfaces as iron minerals called iron plaques. Both ROL and iron plaques can protect plants from sulfide intrusion. When the root ROL barrier (suberin depositions in the outer cell layer) is developed, oxidation of sulfides occurs inside roots, as a result of the better O2 status further enhanced by photosynthesis in light. The ROL barrier could impede sulfide intrusion acting as a shield, although there is no experimental evidence to support this function. The project aims to address three major scientific questions: i) which chemical compounds trigger the formation of a root barrier to ROL? ii) can the ROL barrier prevent sulfide intrusion into roots? and iii) can ROL and iron plaques reduce sulfide intrusion into roots? The novelty of the project relies on obtaining direct measurements of O2 and sulfides at the root-rhizosphere interface of key species using advanced contemporary technology such as microsensors, root-sleeving electrodes and planar optodes. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/839542
RootOutP Investigating interactions between plant roots and phosphorus in soil Phosphorus (P) is a scarce resource that is critical for crop production, but it is not being used sustainably. Excessive past fertiliser applications mean large amounts of P have accumulated in soil, losses of which are of major environmental concern. Nonetheless, the majority of soil-P exists in pools of very low bioavailability to plants, due to the high reactivity of P in soil. Increasing the ability of plants to take up P from applied sources (fertilisers) and from accumulated soil reserves would allow for reductions of fertiliser use and decreased potential P losses to the environment. Through evolution, plant roots have adopted several strategies to improve P capture, including: 1) architectural traits that affect the spatial exploration of the soil profile; 2) adaptive (plastic) responses to zones of high P supply (e.g. around fertiliser granules); and 3) physiochemical alteration of the environment in their rhizosphere. A challenge for the research community is to evaluate these properties and their potential benefits to cropping systems. As soil is inherently opaque, these traits are hard to study. Our current knowledge is fragmented because studies have generally used destructive sampling techniques, artificial media, and experimental setups making observations in 1D or 2D. Further advances of our understanding require in-situ visualization and quantification in real soil. This project will deliver such in-situ information, relevant to breeders and agronomists developing crop systems that make better use of applied and accumulated soil P. I will carry out this research under the guidance of Assoc. Prof. Sander Bruun of the Dept. of Plant and Environmental sciences at Copenhagen University and I will make use of the National X-Ray Imaging Facility (DANFIX) and the Center for Quantification of Imaging Data (QIM). I will undertake a secondment with Dr Jakob Santner at the Institute of Agronomy of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101027472
ROOTPHENOBIOME INTERACTIONS OF ROOT PHENOTYPES AND ROOT MICROBIOME IN MAIZE UNDER NITROGEN LIMITING CONDITIONS Plant-associated microorganisms influence plant growth by means of the transformation of nutrients in the root-soil interphase. Nitrogen fertilization is a primary economic and environmental component of intensive maize production. Root phenotypes show a remarkable yet scarcely explored diversity at the architectural and anatomical levels of organization. Such natural variation in root phenotypes has been hypothesized to be related to adaptation under edaphic nutrient stress. The rhizosphere and rhizoplane microenvironments are microbial hotspots that may be influenced by the root phenotype. Contrasting phenotypes may have differences in root exudate localization and oxygen availability, two factors that have important effects on the composition and function of rhizosphere bacteria. In the context of the plant microbiome, previous studies have found effects of planting site, soil properties, compartmentalization (bulk soil, rhizosphere, rhizoplane, endosphere), agricultural management, and fertilization regimes on root-associated microbial communities of agriculturally relevant plants. However, the root phenotype has yet not been evaluated as possible source of variation for the plant-associated microbiome and to link this information with nutrient uptake efficiency. This proposal aims at filling this gap by combining state-of-art root phenotyping, deep molecular genetic assessment of the microbiome, and 15N stable isotope tracing to assess the influence of maize root phenotypes on the root-associated microbiome and its combined effect on fertilizer nitrogen uptake efficiency under low nitrogen availability. Such information will be useful to inform future plant breeding programs targeting root phenes and microbiomes and reduce the reliance on agrochemicals in the context of sustainable agriculture. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/839235
RW3D-US Lagrangian Modeling of Denitrification and Nitrous Oxide Production in soils During the fellowship, the experienced researcher Christopher V. Henri and his supervisors Anker Lajer H?jberg and Jens Christian Refsgaard of the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) will lead an effort improving the prediction of nitrate levels and of the production of nitrous oxide in soils by developing advanced and accurate modeling techniques. The widespread use of agrochemicals has led to the contamination of many surface and groundwater bodies around the world. Nitrate is a highly problematic contaminant due to its adverse effect on human health and on ecosystems. Understanding the fate of nitrate in the subsurface is, however complex. Indeed, the pollutant undergoes in many cases a sequential biochemically induced degradation, which will reduce levels but also produce nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas. Today, numerical models are essential in the management of such groundwater contamination. Yet, virtually all available numerical solutions for reactive transport in soils use Eulerian methods that present serious numerical issues, which significantly reduce their applicability. The proposed project will represent a breakthrough in our representation of reactive transport in unsaturated soils by developing a stable and reliable Lagrangian method able to simulate reactive systems as the Nitrate biodegradation. The method will also allow to identify key processes triggering reactions in soils, which is primordial to improve our management of groundwater contaminations and to better understand the implication that the subsurface production of nitrous oxide can potentially have on climate. The project will also allow the high-potential applicant to secure a position in Europe and the world-class host institution to maintain excellence through a series transfer of knowledge, training and communication strategy. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/896470
SAAFE soil quality Assessment in Agriculture For life cycle assessment-based Eco-design The SAAFE project, Soil quality Assessment in Agriculture For life cycle assessment-based Eco-design, aims to tackle thelack of accounting for land use impacts on soil quality in environmental footprints. It will provide a turnkey method within LifeCycle Assessment (LCA) based on a set of models integrating the interdisciplinary research advances. To benefit from thisup-to-date research and to learn from renowned researchers, I aim to go to James Cook University, where there are richknowledge and unique modelling groups on tropical soil processes. I will then bring back operational knowledge to Europe,where the gap in methods is still hampering the development of environmental footprint regulations, which concern agrowing number of imported tropical products. Such scientific and operational developments are critical to improve thediagnostic power of LCA and ensure that LCA-based eco-designed practices enable soil functions? resilience, hencesustainability. I will coordinate the project together with two extraordinary supervisors, A/Prof. Nelson and Dr. Perret, whohave remarkable experiences in tropical soil sciences and LCA of agricultural systems, respectively, and are undeniablereferences in terms of project coordination and student supervision. I will also develop a complete personal careerdevelopment plan along the project in order to overcome my scientific and skill gaps and surpass me. Rich from thesecollaborations and the experience gained through this ambitious project, I aim to move to the next stage in my career andbecome an internationally recognised research director. I will then build an ambitious new research programme inecosystem services modelling and environmental assessments, combining research projects and an excellence trainingnetwork to train young researchers and enhance capacity building exchanges. I also hope to become an influential expertproviding advices to policy makers and contributing to make an impact for the society. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/843845
SALICROP Overcoming the salinity barrier Salinity is among the major global burdens limiting food production, natural or human induced, ~20% of the global irrigated soils are already affected by salinity. Seed producers, aware of the billion-dollar business opportunity, have tried to overcome the salinity barrier without success.Salicrop Ltd, a Israeli Agtech startup, develops seed treatments for saline soil and water, which enables growing crops on marginal land and/or irrigation with brackish water. Salicrop finalized its Proof of Concept (POC) with numerous successful trials of tomatoes, peppers, spinach, rice, wheat and corn with average of 30% increase in crop yield under salinity conditions. After successfully piloting the prototype version of seeds treatment bio-technology, the team can confirm the capability of its breakthrough product to open new markets starting in Europe with the potential for rapid growth, licensing our technology to key seed players to obtain a salt-tolerant version of their own commercial seed-varieties.By pursuing the present feasibility study, Salicrop?s management team aims to improve its understanding of international market conditions and the associated risks as the company develops a deeper business plan for rolling out and scaling up seed treatments licensing as a marketable innovative solution. SME Instrument Phase-1 and Phase-2 will be extremely beneficial in helping the company to accelerate development and market penetration of the developed solution in target segments, boosting the company?s growth to 28 employees and $53,500,000 revenues by 2025. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/887856
SARMENTI Smart multisensor embedded and secure system for soil nutrient and gaseous emission monitoring "SARMENTI develops a multisensor, low power IoT secure node to provide decision support to farmers by monitoring in real-time and in situ soil nutrients and gaseous emission. From this data measured on a daily basis over crop lifecycles, the farmer will timely perform appropriate actions regarding fertilisation, with direct impact on crop growth, soil & water quality and farmer income.The SARMENTI system will embed electrochemical sensors to measure e.g. NOx, POx, NH4, K, urea, pH, moisture, temperature. They will stay ideally during the crop lifecycle in the soil with packaging issues to protect them from their environment. A hygroscopic membrane will attract water from the soil, avoiding integration of a power hungry active pump usually used to exact water from a soil sample. SARMENTI will also monitor N2O (may appear in the nitrate cycle) and CH4 (generated by decomposition of manure under anaerobic conditions) just above the ground. These gases are greenhouse ones with higher warming potential than CO2.SARMENTI is part of the IoT (e.g. LoRa, BLE connexion). Data integrity is guaranteed by developing a secure node via combination of attack detection and automatic countermeasures application.Partners bring SoA prototypes of electrochemical and gas sensors and communication submodules, know-how in security for IoT nodes, and expertise in Agriculture. SARMENTI will further improve the prototypes (power, usage duration, hygroscopic membrane, packaging, sensitivity, selectivity) and integrate them with advanced processing in a connected secured device. Cloud Decisions support will allow evaluate the overall solution, SARMENTI demonstrator being tested in real fields.SARMENTI directly addresses ICT-7 challenge: ?develop and validate new generation of cost-effective ESS ...?, RIA aim: ?demonstrate ESS bringing intelligence ... integration of sensor systems, processors, computing and networking elements..."" and ?verification"", ""exploitation... clearly identified""." https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/825325
Scaling up Novihum A Sustainable soil Solution: Scaling up Novihum, an innovation to convert bad soil into better, make brown coal clean and barren land green, and profitably advance food security in Europe and beyond Soil is a vital ? though often neglected ? tool for increasing the resilience and security of food production, as recognized by the UN?s declaration of 2015 as the International Year of Soils; improving it can reduce erosion and enhance drought tolerance, crop yields, water and nutrient efficiency, and long-term land fertility.Novihum is a uniquely scalable innovative soil conditioning technology that replaces natural humus in degraded and arid soils, significantly increasing crop yields while reducing water use and pollution. It is produced by enriching abundant lignite (brown coal) in a highly efficient industrial process, and is affordable, easy to use, long-lasting (>10 years), and good for the environment. Its unique set of properties make it novel to the market and highly competitive with all other soil conditioners, which are typically difficult to use, transport, or scale up. Novihum Technologies GmbH was founded in 2012 to commercialize the patented technology, and has attracted venture capital investment from the EU and US.The objective of the Project is to scale up the Novihum production technology from prototype to a Pilot Facility in Germany, where an industrial production line suitable for scaling up to profitable commercial scale can be tested and refined. It will also demonstrate Novihum?s high-value impacts to potential customers and expand the product line. It will result in the know-how and proof of performance necessary to scale up to commercial production, and a sophisticated global customer and partner network that will facilitate successful market entry.The commercial potential for Novihum is very large ? as are its impacts on the security and resilience of food production and on the environment ? with more than 3.5 million sq km of land in need of its benefits and expected global annual sales of up to EUR 360 million in the agriculture, horticulture, recultivation, urban farming, and landscape sectors in the EU, US, and Middle East. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/683550
SCENARIOS Strategies for health protection, pollution Control and Elimination of Next generAtion RefractIve Organic chemicals from the soil, vadose zone and water SCENARIOS will devise and demonstrate a comprehensive set of technological solutions to address the detection, (bio)monitoring, long-term toxicity, risk assessment, pollution control and remediation of Per- and polyFluoroAlkyl Substances (PFASs) as a test bed for zero pollution ambition from refractory and mobile organic chemicals. SCENARIOS's approach and technologies will be self-sustainable, (near) net-zero energy and will smoothly integrate in the circular economies of EU countries and worldwide. A harmonised composition of the project consortium encompassing renewed academic and research centers and competitive technological SMEs will ensure SCENARIOS? replication and impact and continental level and beyond. The project will fill the knowledge gap and deliver disruptive remediation TRL advancements for probably the most awkward and widespread toxic class of contaminants -PFAS- with unprecedented energetic balance and the near absence of external chemical additions promoting EU leadership in the sector and a significant advance in the research field. The industrial core of SCENARIOS will enable four demonstrations (case studies) within EU industries and a public health institution stepping forward a set of industrial and societal sectors where pollutant remediation and health surveillance have excellent potential for the Green Deal implementation. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101037509
SED-RUNS soil Erosion under extreme rainfall events: Detecting and modelling using a Radar-Runoff-Nowcasting-System Soil erosion by water is one of the most widespread forms of soil degradation in Europe which annual cost for agricultural productivity loss is estimated to be around ?295 million. Under global change soil erosion due to rainfall is dramatically increasing, for the most part because of an increasing of the frequency of extreme, localised events.This project aims to understand and quantify this effect using ground-radar rainfall monitoring and hydrological modelling at regional scale (Tuscany region, Centre Italy). In hydrological phenomena, such as intense surface runoff, flooding, and soil erosion, the spatiotemporal extent plays a crucial role in the development of the processes. This component defines the impact and the evolution of the phenomenon, especially in extreme rainfall events. Therefore, an approach directed to refine as much as possible the knowledge of these dynamics is recommended both for monitoring and modelling level.Using an approach based on statistical analysis of ground-radar rainfall data and modelling, this project aims to: 1) quantify on historical data the spatiotemporal distribution of extreme rainfalls / runoff and soil erosion over the last 10 years, 2) build a platform to model runoff and soil erosion in the extreme events in real-time, 3) acquire data for calibration/validation of the model and implement new methods for monitoring, 4) simulate in real-time runoff and soil erosion issue of extreme rainfalls integrating the current regional-warning-system for extreme climatic events. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101033236
SENSE BioSensing and rhizospherE – eNdosphere geochemical microprofiling of polychlorinated byphenils degradation by soil microbiota upon stimulation of root Exudates Phyto-rhyzo-remediation is a promising technology for pollutant clean-up provided by the plant holobiont, composed by the host plant and its microbiota. Plant root exudation is modulated by the pollution stress and has a key role in the activation of the microbial degrading metabolism. Despite the well documented role of the plant holobiont in ecosystem services, the complex interactions between host and microbiome are poorly understood, in particular in contaminated environments. SENSE is an innovative, interdisciplinary approach to sort out the time-spatial synergistic interplay within the plant holobiont components and the geochemistry of rhizosphere micro-niches supporting microbial degradation. The project will take place in a top-rated Italian research university and spans metabolomic techniques, biosensors, together with an original application of microsensor/sensor devices to profile the chemistry of the root microenvironments. The study will be applied to one of the largest sites in Europe contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), located in Italy. The research will be approached from two complementary angles: i) set up and application of bacterial biosensors to examine topology and dynamics of activation of the PCB degradation pathways upon stimulation by identified plant root exudates; ii) sensing the plant-modulated chemical micro-habitats through microsensor/sensor devices during plant-microbe interaction under PCBs stress. This will provide a proof of concept for the role of root exudates as boost of soil microbiome degradative potential. SENSE outcomes will provide a comprehensive understanding of the plant holobiont applied to environmental biotechnology, representing an opportunity for Europe to keep its leadership in research and green biotechnology. Additionally, this project will significantly enhance my skills and capabilities as experienced researcher in microbial and plant-sciences, to become a leader in this field https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/841317
Sense2SurviveSalt Surviving salinity: How do plants sense Na+? A major gap in our knowledge of how plants respond to soil salinity is their initial perception of sodium (Na+) ions. Salt is detrimental to plants and soil salinization is an increasing threat to global food security; 6% of the world?s total land area and 20% of irrigated land is affected by salinity. I recently discovered Na+-specific root growth responses of plants and will now exploit these to identify the elusive sodium sensing mechanism of plants. I will use an innovative approach combining genome-wide genetic screens in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana with dedicated biochemical assays. I will identify candidate Na+-sensor genes through a natural genetic variation screen for the Na+-specific inhibition bending of the root in response to gravity (WP1). In parallel, I will follow a chemical genomics approach to find novel compounds that impair Na+ sensing, and their target proteins in plants (WP2). Subsequent complementary in silico and biochemical approaches will characterize Na+-affinity of the candidates (WP3). Selected putative Na+ sensors will be characterized in planta, by studying their localization, activity, their interactors, and by salt response phenotyping of mutants (WP4). Finally, mutant varieties of sensors will be introduced in the economically relevant crop plant tomato, to provide proof-of-concept for improving salt tolerance by modulating sensor function and implementation in crop improvement programs (WP5). The impact of elucidation of plant Na+ sensing will be monumental; it will reveal how plant responses to salinity stress are driven, and ultimately what is required to cope with salinity. In addition, it will open up new applied directions for agriculture, where improved sodium sensing modules will be used to allow crop growth on marginal, saline soils. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/724321
SENSOILS Sensing soil processes for improved crop nitrogen bioavailability Food production is predicated on the application of nitrogen fertilisers, which can contribute significantly to the production of greenhouse gasses and eutrophication of agroecosystems. The use of nitrogen fertilisers must, therefore, be optimised.The recent development of transparent soils in my group gives great scope to unravel the processes involved in the reactive transport of nutrients in soil and their interaction with the soil biota. My team will combine principles of optics, chemical engineering, the physics, chemistry, and biology of soils, and plant biology to image and characterise nitrogen movement in soil at the micro-scale. We will develop a new generation of transparent soil analogues that measure the biological and chemical status of soils. This will enable, for the first time, to characterise transport at the surface of soil particles and to elucidate the role of root?particle?particle contacts, exudation and microbial transformation on the bioavailability of nitrate and ammonium. The legacy of the research will be knowledge, concepts, model soil systems and imaging approaches to understand and predict nutrient bioavailability in soil with an emphasis on nitrification as a model for nitrogen movement in soil. Transparent soils and imaging technologies will be patented and could pave the way for 3D chemical sensors, and have application in crop breeding and precision phenotyping. Understanding of nutrient movements in soil will lead to substantial progress in the development of more efficient fertilisers. New model soil systems could be used to better understand the spread of soil-borne diseases, the bio-remediation of contaminated soils and the mechanisms underlying soil biodiversity and activity. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/647857
SenSOP-II Novel sensor based soil-plant-climate control system for European smart farming New tools have to be developed to mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases and adapt to impacts of climate change withrespect to the interfaces of water, land use and biodiversity due to water saving techniques, technology development ofinnovative mapping and plant growth monitoring systems. SenSOP-II aims are to provide this tool for advanced smartfarming operations and water and energy saving techniques.SenSOP-II optimises irrigation, fertilizer- and pesticide application and soil treatment focused on grapes, hop plants, fruitsand vegetables and extensive wheat production areas affected by global temperature increase. SenSOP-II also monitorsvitality, growth and qualities of cultural plants/ crops and measures applied.The SenSOP-II approach is based beside others on the experiences and expert knowledge of a national funded R&D projectfor a trial agricultural company (2012-2014; patent application DE102013012793). Since 2014 SenSOP-II solution has beendemonstrated successfully in the field.The engineering design of SenSOP-II is an innovative solution based on a Three-Layer approach with soil-plant-climatebased sensors, simulation software tools embedded in a web-based server structure. The user design of SenSOP-II is a lowcost,easy-to-use and industry independent software tool that is accessible to end-users through internet client devices.Key market is the wine producing sector in Europe. Wine regions outside Germany will be covered by our prospectivecontracted strategic system partners. Further system openness to new applications, techniques and data sources ensurescontinuous improvement of SenSOP-II approach within the system partner network to boost SenSOP-II innovation solutionand to create jobs and turnover for each participated SME on an European scale. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/717797
ShaleSafe Development of a monitoring system for inspection of soil and aquifer contamination by shalegas and fracking chemicals In the United States, shale gas rose from less than 1% of domestic gas production in 2000 to over 20% by 2010. It is projected that it will account for 46% of United States gas supply by 2035. It has revolutionized the US economy by creating 600,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributed $49 billion annually to government revenues. With only a handful of well rigs (72 in Europe compared to over 2000 in the US as of 2012); Europe is 8-10 years behind the USA.The most imminent challenge for oil and gas industry in Europe (and the rest of the world) is therefore being able to demonstrate/guarantee safe exploration and extraction techniques in order to address the associated environmental concerns. The ideal way to do this will be by continuously monitoring environmental conditions and effects (including in the long term) of the underground soil and water in-situ during exploration to be able to effectively mitigate for the soil and aquifer contamination by methane gas and fracking chemicals in the possible event that they occur. With reports in the U.S. of cases where mistakes were made, this is a possibility. This problem has led to a fragmented political landscape regarding shale gas, with Poland being a main backer; the U.K., Lithuania and Romania moving cautiously ahead and others being hesitant. Currently, soil and water inspection is done by testing samples in the lab which is expensive and time consuming. In the FP7 SOIMON project, a soil monitoring system embedded in a sonic drilling pipe has been developed and tested in the field. The system allows soil monitoring while drilling a hole in the soil. This system, used in ShaleSafe, allows monitoring of the soil and groundwater above the shale gas reservoir and around the shale gas well by performing monitoring in hydrogeological wells. This method is quick, cost effective and allows for long term monitoring. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/691527
SHIFTFEEDBACK Ecosystem response to drought: unravelling the unexplored role of plant-soil feedback Drought is severely threatening our ecosystems and their functioning: it causes strong shifts in plant community composition that are difficult to revert. Positive feedbacks often underlie these dramatic shifts, but in many ecosystems drought causes fast-growing species to increase. These species are not only vulnerable to drought, but they also suffer negative plant-soil feedback, i.e. they change the soil microbial community in a way that keeps their own abundance in check. Thus, drought-induced shifts in plant communities do not result from positive feedbacks, unless drought changes plant-soil feedback. We know that plant-soil feedback drives plant community succession, but its role in community response to drought has never been explored. Here, I will unravel whether and how changes in plant-soil feedback underlie strong shifts in plant community composition following drought. This knowledge is crucial for mitigating the effects of drought on terrestrial ecosystems.My objectives are:1. Examining how drought affects plant community and soil microbial community composition and the implications for plant-soil feedback2. Quantifying the effects of plant-plant and plant-microbial interactions on plant growth and subsequent shifts in plant community composition in response to drought3. Disentangling the mechanisms underlying drought-induced changes in plant-soil feedbackI will address these objectives in a novel set of approaches. I will identify general patterns in plant-soil feedback across European drought experiments, and assess the role of plant-plant and plant-microbial interactions across a Dutch secondary successional gradient. In a set of targeted mesocosm experiments, I will elucidate the mechanisms underlying changes in plant-soil feedback and the consequences for plant community composition. These approaches will result in a step-change in understanding the dynamics of plant-soil interactions under drought and the consequences for ecosystem change. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/851678
SHui soil Hydrology research platform underpinning innovation to manage water scarcity in European and Chinese cropping systems SHui is conceived as a network integrating long-term experiments of its 19 academic and SME partners across different environmental conditions and cropping systems in the EU and China. It provides a platform for research on soil-water resources management under water scarce conditions, to better understand the linkages between agricultural soil hydrology and sustainability and for a systematic assessment of adaptation and mitigation methods. It will develop and implement new strategies to increase water use efficiency and yield, based on sustainable intensification through integrated use of soil and water across different spatial scales. At farm level, this includes digital agriculture solutions integrating in situ and remote sensors and simulation models to exploit an improved understanding of the relationship between crop yield variability and soil hydraulic properties, optimizing circular approaches to re-use water and using waste water sources. These technical approaches are reliant on optimum data utilization and transdisciplinary research with multiple stakeholders. At regional scales, the aggregation of biophysical and socioeconomic variables in dynamic models will evaluate the impact of different policy strategies, to support decision makers to evaluate different scenarios of land-use dynamics, economic context and current and future climate in EU and China, including assessments of water and carbon footprint. SHui will exploit scientific, technological and social innovations by disseminating and communicating these to multiple stakeholders, and implementing novel technological packages from farm to large regional scales. It aims to make a significant contribution to the EU and China Research Agenda for Agriculture in providing food security and optimum use of scarce soil and water resources. Training a cohort of early career scientists in soil conservation and water-saving practices, SHui?s legacy will extend beyond the project duration. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/773903
SIEUSOIL Sino-EU soil Observatory for intelligent Land Use Management SIEUSOIL will design, implement and test a shared China-EU Web Observatory platform that will provide Open Linked Data to monitor status and threats of soil and assist in decision making for sustainable support of agro-ecosystem functions, in view of the projected climate change. The Observatory platform will through customizable modules support the wise management of soil at field level and will provide showcase of good practices on soil management both for EU and China. The final target will be to support sustainable management of soil, increase land productivity sustainably, reduce crop yield variability across time and space, and support the policy formulation process. Innovative practices and tools will be tested in SIEUSOIL and their impact will be assessed for improved soil fertility and land suitability. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/818346
SIGROW SIGROW AQUA: feasibility study of a disruptive Nutrient Management System for hydroponic farming CONTEXT: Water shortages and water pollution constitute major environmental threats in the EU. European agriculture occupies 40% of the land and can reach up to an 80% of total water abstraction and it?s the main responsible of nutrient soil pollution.Under this context, a significant change is occurring; Hydroponics is the fastest growing sector of agriculture. Its water consumption is reduced by up to 90% compared to traditional agriculture?s water usage, it may be stacked (if outfitted with led lighting) to limit space use (vertical farming) and being a soilless production it doesn?t need herbicides or chemical pesticides.PROBLEM: Hydroponic major problems are that it requires high nutrient effluents, which is the most important cause of water wastage and soil pollution.NEED: intelligent and efficient nutrient management is anticipated to be a key issue to achieve a 100% success of hydroponic industry.Innovative solution: SIGROW addresses the important area of optimization nutrients and water management in hydroponics agriculture. SIGROW AQUA integrates software and sensors to automatically control the nutrient and water balance in the solution, decreasing nutrients leaching and improving sustainable crop production. Introducing SIGROW AQUA systems will provide a universal and friendly user technology that will have a huge impact on fertilizers and energy savings as well as avoiding water pollution for all hydroponics crops.Technical feasibility study Algorithm optimization to provide accurate predictions in any field conditions independently of water salinization and type of crop. To carry out financial expectation such as best pricing and cost optimization, expected selling quantification from 2019 to 2022, risk assessment as well as the forecast investment, profit and impact. IPR strategy: to protect our product at international level, we will perform a FTO analysis.REQUIRED FUNDING: ? 0,7 M to bring the present Technology Readiness from level 7 to 9. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/761589
SIMBA Sustainable innovation of microbiome applications in food system "As the world population is continuously increasing, the supply of food with equal accessibility has become a major issue and future challenge. Microbes are unexploited tool to increase food productivity and quality. The objective of SIMBA project is to harness complex soil and marine microbial communities (microbiomes) for the sustainable production of food. SIMBA will focus on two interconnected food chains, i.e. crop production, aquaculture. SIMBA will first launch an in silico phase in order to analyze the further pre-existing microbiome databases and earlier studies, to identify the best microbiome layout capable of supporting food chain quality and productivity. Microbiome-tailored interventions will be specifically developed including soil, plant, fish, aquaculture and food/feed processing towards optimal layout as defined in the modelling step, as follows: i) Identified optimal microbiome consortia will be designed and tested in lab, pot and field trials to improve plant productivity and health; ii) Marine microbiomes will be applied to facilitate sustainable aqua and agriculture; iii) Optimal microbe/microbe consortia will be used to convert raw-materials and residuals to high quality food, feed or finally to energy. In a final intervention step, these interactions will be monitored and tested in field, aqua-culturing, fish feeding and human studies, measuring the impact on microbiome consortia, interactions in association with factors evaluating their efficacy in terms of improving food security, productivity, quality, safety, sustainability, nutritional and health aspects. ""Near to market? microbiome applications for sustainable food systems will be provided thanks to the interdisciplinary and cross-sectional nature of the proposal and the active role of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)." https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/818431
SIREM Systemic Induced Root Exudation of Metabolites: A Multimodal Approach to Uncover Root Signaling Mechanisms and the Chemical Language used by Plants to Shape the Rhizosphere Microbiome The prosperity of plants and human beings is dependent on the outer layer of soil that makes up our planet?s shell. Curiously, a significant portion of plants' most precious elements, carbon and nitrogen, is secreted by roots into soil in the form of chemically-rich exudates. This is not merely 'dumping' of waste but rather the chemical language of plants, used in their underground communication with billions of detrimental and beneficial microorganisms. Yet, an important question remains to date: How do plants control and manipulate root metabolism and exudation in time and space to fine-tune this complex underground web of interactions to their benefit? The proposed project takes on this challenging question and aims to decipher the newly discovered process we term 'SIREM', for 'Systemic Induced Root Exudation of Metabolites'. SIREM is a fundamental feature of rhizosphere interactions, in which biotic stimuli occur locally and exudation in systemic parts of the root ?conditions? the rhizosphere environment to maintain plant fitness. SIREM objectives include: (i) dissecting the SIREM signaling pathways, focusing primarily on the mobile signal(s) and receiving proteins at the systemic root; (ii) discovery of the exudation machinery and its genetic control; and (iii) establishing the role of SIREM signaling and exudation-metabolites in shaping the rhizosphere microbiome. The unconventional integration of approaches in SIREM underscores the unique combination of our team's expertise in plant metabolism, computational biology, microbiome exploration and the application of cutting-edge analytical and molecular technologies for high-resolution spatial-temporal profiling. Outcomes of the project will have wide-ranging impacts on understanding systemic signaling and metabolic and transport systems in plants and are anticipated to drive the new biotechnological concept of 'Exudation Agriculture'. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/884316
SMILE soil MIcrobial responses to land use and climatic changes in the Light of Evolution Quoting T. Dobzhansky, ?nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution?. This idea could shed new light on how soil microbes access, transform, store, and release their most important resources ? carbon and nutrients. We know that these microbial processes have global-scale impacts, including climate regulation and provision of nutrients to plants, but how microbes respond to changes in resources remains challenging to understand and quantify with models. In fact, current models cannot reliably reproduce carbon and nutrient storage and fluxes when soils are disturbed by land use changes or environmental fluctuations (especially of soil moisture). To address these urgent challenges and improve predictability of carbon and nutrient cycling, I propose a novel theory based on the premise that microbial use of soil resources is optimized by natural selection. This approach will provide a holistic explanation of microbial processes and yield models that are more reliable than traditional ones because they account for microbial adaptation. After testing this optimality hypothesis, I will answer the broader and globally relevant question ? are land use and climatic changes increasing retention or loss of soil carbon and nutrients?The project will achieve four objectives:1)Determine the optimal strategies of resource use by soil microbes2)Fill knowledge gaps on microbial processes by constructing new databases3)Test the optimality theory using the new databases 4)Integrate the optimality theory into a land surface model to scale up results and assess impacts of land use and climatic (specifically hydrologic) changes on carbon and nutrient storage and fluxesThese theoretical advances will spur a new generation of soil models that translate the outcomes of natural selection into reliable predictions of land use and climate change effects on global ecosystems. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101001608
SMS soil Mission Support: Towards a European research and innovation roadmap on soils and land management Soil health is vital for the delivery of food, energy, and biomaterials, as well as climate action, ecosystem services and biodiversity. Pressure on land and soil is growing due to competing demands for land and biobased products. A sustainable soil management that satisfies the increasing demand and avoids soil degradation requires coordinated R&I. This project will employ a multi-actor approach to create an effective framework for action in the wider area of soil health and land management by coordinating efforts and pooling resources, by developing a coherent portfolio of R&I activities and by identifying criteria for Living Labs and lighthouses to demonstrate solutions. The CSA will bring together the main players in soil health and management in a transdisciplinary approach. Planned activities include the analysis of the needs for R&I on soil and land management as expressed through stakeholder/citizen consultation and ongoing research projects, the identification of gaps, priority areas and types of action for intervention including Living Labs and lighthouses. The action fields sprawl from agriculture and forestry to spatial planning, land remediation, climate action, and disaster control. Outcomes and results will be -A stakeholder-based, co-created roadmap for R&I to support the Horizon Europe Mission in the area of Soil Health and Food.-Improved coordination with existing activities in Europe and globally, thereby raising visibility and effectiveness of R&I funding.-Identification of and learning from existing and potential Living Labs and lighthouses for testing and demonstrating solutions in order to simultaneously satisfy competing demands of soil use.With its activities, the CSA will support the EC and the Mission Board of the Horizon Europe Mission in the area of Soil Health and Food in delivering the objectives. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101000258
Soil Resetting Innovative biobased soil Resetting system for European Horticulture Soil Resetting technology is an alternative resource efficient and eco-innovative solution to widely used soil sterilization methods such as chemical fumigation and steaming, that has demonstrated to increase crop productivity by up to 40%. Soil Resetting, used for pre-plant management and control of soil borne pathogens, is an innovative biological shock therapy technology that consists on creating and accelerating anaerobic metabolism in the soil in two steps, (1) incorporating Herbie ? product (organic matter based protein-rich product arising from agro-industrial by-products) and (2) sealing the soil limiting the entrance of oxygen. Soil Resetting technology has been successfully demonstrated for North European soils, climates, crops and market , however it is still required a further optimization of Soil Resetting technology and its application method, as well as making the necessary adaptations for its market implementation in Europe, including the drier Mediterranean soils. This will enable the positioning Thatchtec as the main supplier for this technology and innovation soil restoration of horticultural market in Europe reaching and accelerating Thatchtecs full growth potential. Our main target markets are (1) conventional horticultural companies, currently facing new regulations and restrictions in the use of soil chemical fumigants, and (2) organic horticultural companies, being priority three crucial countries namely Spain, Italy and Greece (since market launch in early 2020) and mid Southern France, Croatia, Cyprus and, Egypt and Morocco in a second phase (from 2022 onwards). Within the Phase I of the project a technical feasibility analysis will be carried out in order to for the upgrade and adaptation of Soil Resetting Technology to the complexity of soil-borne scenarios and horticulture practices including the intensification of the application methods. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/775530
SOIL-4-CONTROL Linking plant-soil feedbacks to aboveground-belowground interactions for noxious weed control Recent research has proven that plant-soil feedbacks (PSF) can shape plant community composition, and that soil inoculation can be used to steer this. This provides the yet unexplored potential to target PSF for the control of noxious weeds, which are among the major threats to native plant diversity and forage yield. Recent studies showed that PSF-induced changes in plant chemistry can consecutively affect aboveground herbivory, a driver of plant performance that is used in weed biocontrol. I have a solid background in biocontrol and plant population dynamics. In my project SOIL-4-CONTROL I aim to provide a proof-of-principle that integrates effects of PSF and aboveground herbivory to control common ragwort, a worldwide toxic weed of grasslands rapidly expanding in Europe. The project will also yield fundamental knowledge on the (chemical) interplay between PSF and herbivores.Hosted by Leiden University, I will join an ongoing experiment of my supervisor Prof. Bezemer, who manipulated PSF at large scale in the field by soil inoculation. By combining analysis of unpublished data, experimentation in this field, a mesocosm experiment, and chemical analysis of the plants used, I will 1) examine soil-mediated effects on ragwort establishment in the field; 2) quantify the role of soil-mediated and herbivore community effects on ragwort performance in the field; 3) disentangle effects of PSF, specialist and generalist herbivores, and plant competition on ragwort performance. I will involve nature managers for future use of our expected results in grassland restoration. With my secondment host CABI, an environmental management organisation, I will explore wider applications of PSF in invasive plant management, as urged by the EU Regulation 1143/2014. I will engage the public following my strong record in science communication. The excellent scientific environment and the training programme allow me to develop the professional maturity for a future PI position in Europe. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/786624
SOILBIODIV Beyond the limits of scale: a novel pipeline for the measurement of soil arthropod biodiversity Despite the importance of soil arthropod biodiversity for ecosystem functioning, our knowledge is extremely poor, and at the community level almost non-existent. The problem has been one of scale and logistics due to the tremendous but cryptic diversity of soil arthropods. Assigning individuals to species is unfeasibly slow using traditional approaches, and morphology itself is increasingly recognized as insufficiently variable to describe species boundaries. However, recent advances provide a tool to bridge this knowledge gap. SOILBIODIV applies novel HTS to develop new pipelines within a multidisciplinary project for the molecular characterization of soil arthropod communities. In so doing it will provide much needed molecular tools and permanent resources to quantify and monitor soil biodiversity over geographic scales relevant for both theoretical and applied soil science. In parallel SOILBIODIV will establish a milestone in our understanding of soil biodiversity structure at the landscape scale. This will be achieved by implementing the pipeline within an oceanic island setting that provides strong natural gradients of aridity and temperature to estimate: (i) soil arthropod mesofauna richness; (ii) community structure; and (iii) turnover within and among ecosystems and islands. Data generated will be used to: (i) identify introduced species and associated biodiversity risks and (ii) to evaluate the magnitude and distribution of risks for soil biodiversity under climate change by modeling biodiversity patterns in future climate scenarios and estimating the potential biodiversity loss. Thus SOILBIODIV will address European-level research priorities by assessing the vulnerabilities of soil biodiversity to global change within a European biodiversity hotspot. The complementary research profiles of the ER and HR, and their mutual interest in applying molecular tools to quantify community level biodiversity at the landscape scale, underpin the strength of SOILBIODIV. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/705639
SOILCARE soil Care for profitable and sustainable crop production in Europe European crop production is to remain competitive while reducing environmental impacts, requiring development and uptake of effective soil improvingcropping systems. The overall aim of SOILCARE is to identify and evaluate promising soil-improving cropping systems and agronomictechniques increasing profitability and sustainability across scales in Europe. A trans-disciplinary approach will be used to evaluate benefits anddrawbacks of a new generation of soil improving cropping systems, incorporating all relevant bio-physical, socio-economic and political aspects.Existing information from literature and long term experiments will be analysed to develop a comprehensive methodology for assessingperformance of cropping systems at multiple levels. A multi-actor approach will be used to select promising soil-improving cropping systems forscientific evaluation in 16 study sites across Europe covering different pedo-climatic and socio-economic conditions. Implemented croppingsystems will be monitored with stakeholder involvement, and will be assessed jointly with scientists. Specific attention will be paid to adoption ofsoil-improving cropping systems and agronomic techniques within and beyond the study sites. Results from study sites will be up-scaled to theEuropean level to draw general lessons about applicability potentials of soil-improving cropping systems and related profitability and sustainabilityimpacts, including assessing barriers for adoption at that scale. An interactive tool will be developed for end-users to identify and prioritize suitablesoil-improving cropping systems anywhere in Europe. Current policies and incentives will be assessed and targeted policy recommendations willbe provided. SOILCARE will take an active dissemination approach to achieve impact from local to European level, addressing multiple audiences,to enhance crop production in Europe to remain competitive and sustainable through dedicated soil care. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/677407
SOILdarity Stepping up and bringing out the scientific excellence and innovation capacity in soil research of the University of Lisbon SOILdarity is a three-year project aiming to enhance scientific excellence in soil science. The project fosters the cooperation between two internationally leading research-intensive institutions and FCi<U+0088>ncias.ID - Associa<U+0087>?o para a Investiga<U+0087>?o e Desenvolvimento de Ci<U+0088>ncias (FC.ID). FC.ID is a private non-profit association endowed with legal personality whose aim is to support and develop research and innovation activities of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (CI?NCIAS). CI?NCIAS is a key research centre in soil science in Portugal. Within the framework of the Twinning exercise the beneficiary is FC.ID while CI?NCIAS will be a linked third party to FC.ID.Soil ecosystems in Portugal face considerable challenges in the medium and long run ranging from climate change and erosion to over exploitation dynamics. By developing SOILdarity, FC.ID and CI?NCIAS aims at boosting its research and innovation capacity and improving its know-how in precision agriculture and sustainable soil management through the knowledge-transfer dynamics established with the internationally leading research-intensive partners, i.e. MIGAL and the University of Ghent. The project lays down a sound scientific strategy on how to integrate soil ecology with cutting-edge soil and crop sensors, modelling and system control technology for sustainable soil management. The project methodology intervenes on four complementary levels: a) transfer of knowledge to FC.ID/CI?NCIAS on key research challenges; b) reinforcing FC.ID and CI?NCIAS? positioning in the EU research arena, seeking new alliances with top R&I organisations; c) skill and capacity building for a new generation of young researchers, who will constitute the main capital of the Portuguese University in the years to come; and d) develop a stable framework dedicated to international cooperation and knowledge transfer. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/952051
SoildiverAgro soil biodiversity enhancement in European agroecosystems to promote their stability and resilience by external inputs reduction and crop performance increase With the long-term view of fostering synergies between crop production, biodiversity and the delivery of ecosystem services of local, regional and global relevance, the main objective of SoildiverAgro is the adoption of new management practices and cropping systems that enhance soil genetic and functional biodiversity to reduce the use of external inputs while increasing crop production and quality, the delivery of ecosystem services and the EU agricultural stability and resilience. To achieve this objective 90 farm systems will be analysed in 9 pedoclimatic regions in Europe and 15 field case studies will be designed and established in six of the pedoclimatic regions. The focus will be on the use of innovative management practices based on soil mycorrhiza and plant growth promoting bacteria (including the development and testing of new commercial products), appropriate management of soil organisms (e.g. fungivores), the application of suitable crop rotations, multiple cropping and intercropping, the development of pest alert systems, the use of nutrient catch crops, the use of trap crops for pest control, the use of by-products as soil ameliorants and the application of adequate tillage systems. SoildiverAgro outputs consider: 1) enhancement of soil biodiversity; 2) reduction of pest/diseases incidence; 3) increases in plant growth and development; 4) increases in crop yields, quality and value; 5) the reduction of inputs; 6) increases in soil fertility; 7) reductions of soil contamination; 8) reduction in GHG emissions; and 9) increases in soil C sequestration. To ensure rapid adoption of measures fostering soil biodiversity, improved methods and tools including for monitoring will be developed. The successful crop management practices will be also analysed from the environmental, economic and social perspectives. Operational diversity targets will be defined, with development of best agricultural practice strategies and tools for existing EU policies update. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/817819
SOILGUARD Sustainable soil management to unleash soil biodiversity potential and increase environmental, economic and social wellbeing. SOILGUARD envisages a future where the conservation of soil biodiversity and the environmental, economic and social wellbeing of EU biogeographical regions is guaranteed. Unsustainable management and climate change are increasing land degradation and threatening soil biodiversity. Urgent action is required to mainstream sustainable soil management practices and the perception of soil biodiversity as a key nature-based solution to face land degradation and climate change stressors. The efficacy of this call to action depends on addressing major knowledge gaps related to biodiversity and soil-mediated ecosystem services. Soil biodiversity assessment emerges as a key challenge to be overcome. SOILGUARD will co-create a conceptual and analytical framework with the potential to become the global standard for future assessments of soil biodiversity status and its contribution to soil multifunctionality and human wellbeing. This framework will be validated in an innovative experimental design, combining multiple study sites across biomes and regional land degradation gradients with in-situ climate change simulations. Thus, creating the evidence to fill the gaps of knowledge and quantify the environmental, economic and social consequences of unsustainable soil management. All knowledge co-created will be shared through SOILGUARDIANS, a predictive tool based on the causal links between soil biodiversity, soil multifunctionality and wellbeing to support stakeholders on the transition to sustainable management. The SOILGUARD?s network of knowledge and the connectivity enabled by SOILGUARDIANS app will create an ecosystem of innovation for users to showcase, learn and share experiences. SOILGUARD will co-create evidence-based conservation recommendations for policies and frameworks at EU and international level and will support Member States commitments under the Global Soil Partnership. SOILGUARD has the support and engagement of the GSP, GSBI, SOIL-BON, ITPS, FAO and IPBES. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101000371
SoilResist Diversity, stability and functioning of the soil microbiome A major challenge for advancing our understanding of the functional role of highly complex soil microbial communities is to systematically link changes in their structure and functioning to biogeochemical cycles under realistic scenarios of global change. This is a formidable challenge: not only does it require a step change in our understanding of the factors that shape soil microbial communities and their functioning, but also it requires new knowledge of the ecological and genetic mechanisms that underpin its stability, or ability to resist and recover from abiotic perturbations associated with global change. By embracing technological and theoretical developments in microbial ecology, SoilResist will make a major step forward in our understanding of the mechanisms that underpin the resistance and resilience of soil microbial communities and their functioning to natural and anthropogenic perturbations. Specifically, I seek to develop a novel mechanistic understanding of the factors that underpin the resistance and resilience of complex soil microbial communities and their functioning to different types of anthropogenic perturbations, and, for the first time, identity critical thresholds for abrupt transitions of microbial communities to alternative states and consequences for soil functioning. My overarching hypothesis is that the stability of microbial functions, in terms of their capacity to resist and recover from a pulse perturbation caused by climate extremes, is determined by microbial functional diversity, based on range and relative abundance of microbial traits. I also hypothesize that shifts in microbial functional diversity resulting from press perturbations erode the capacity of soil microbial communities to buffer climate-related pulse perturbations, rendering them more vulnerable to an abrupt transition to alternative taxonomic and functional state with negative consequences for soil functioning. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/883621
Soils4Africa soil Information System for Africa The aim of Soils4Africa is to provide an open-access soil information system with a set of key indicators and underpinning data, accompanied with a methodology for repeated soil monitoring across the African continent. The soil information system will become part of the knowledge and information system of FNSSA and will be hosted by an African institute. Activities are: (i) define use cases and indicators in consultation with stakeholders; (ii) make a functional design of the soil information system; (iii) develop detailed procedures and tools for the field activities based on the LUCAS methodology and collect 20000 soil samples; (iv) develop detailed procedures for laboratory work and analyse the collected soil samples at one reference laboratory located in Africa; and (v) develop the technical infrastructure for the soil information system and serve the results as open data linked with open EO data. The project addresses the work programme of SC 2 in the following ways. First, it contributes to priority 2 (Fostering functional ecosystems) because the soil information system is a tool to target interventions that improve soil quality and provides insight in the impact of these interventions. Secondly, it contributes to priority 1 (Addressing climate change and resilience on land and sea), as the soil information system will contribute to the assessment of carbon losses from soil and the identification of areas with high potential for soil carbon sequestration. Finally, the soil information system provides a platform for the development of sustainable business models by service companies aiming at the development of sustainable food systems, contributing to priority 3 (Boosting major innovations on land and sea). Soils4Africa is linking with relevant H2020 projects and Copernicus on EO data use. It actively connects organizations across Africa and Europe for synergies and promotes an open science approach. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/862900
SomSOM Self-organisation of microbial soil organic matter turnover Microbial turnover of soil organic matter (SOM) is key for the terrestrial carbon (C) cycle. Its underlying mechanisms, however, are not fully understood. The role of soil microbes for organic matter turnover has so far been studied mainly from the point of view of microbial physiology, stoichiometry or community composition. I propose to shed new light on it from the perspective of complex systems science.Microbial decomposition of organic matter requires the concerted action of functionally different microbes interacting with each other in a spatially structured environment. From complex systems theory, it is known that interactions among individuals at the microscale can lead to an ?emergent? system behavior, or ?self-organisation?, at the macroscale, which adds a new quality to the system that cannot be derived from the traits of the interacting agents. Importantly, if microbial decomposer systems are self-organised, they may behave in a different way as currently assumed, especially under changing environmental conditions.The aim of this project is thus to investigate i) if microbial decomposition of organic matter is driven by emergent behaviour, and ii) what consequences this has for soil C and nitrogen cycling. Combining state-of-the-art methods from soil biogeochemistry, microbial ecology, and complex systems science I will? Investigate mechanisms of spatial self-organization of microbial decomposer communities by linking microscale observations from experimental microcosms to mathematical, individual-based modelling, ? Elucidate microbial interaction networks across the soil?s microarchitecture by linking microbial community composition, process rates and chemical composition of spatially explicit soil micro-units at an unprecedented small and pertinent scale. ? Explore fundamental patterns of self-organisation by applying the framework of complex systems science to high-resolution spatial and temporal data of soil microstructure and process rates. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/819446
SoPla_Fate Fate and impact of past, present and future consumer plastic on soil Soil provides us with 98.8% of our food and by 2050 we need to increase the production by 70%; yet our soils are degrading. Soils were recently recognised as a sink for plastic. This is particularly of concern for agricultural soil health due to extensive and increasing plastic use in farming such as plastic mulching and unintentional plastic introduction through biosolid applications. Based on plastic persistence, widespread use and recent results in soil eco toxicology and eco system effects, plastic has been proposed as driver of global change. However, critical data to clarify the impact of plastic on soil health is currently lacking. This project employs a multidisciplinary approach to determine the extent of plastic contamination in agricultural soils as well as the fate of plastic and its impact on soil processes while providing training and knowledge gain that will be transferred to the EU and further exploited. SoPla_Fate will address the current knowledge lack by (1) quantifying the polymer distribution and concentration in different agricultural soils. Polymer properties including size, shape and surface area will be quantified for representative samples. (2) State-of-the-art analytical instruments and workflows will be employed for the fingerprinting, screening and identification of plastic additives. (3) The workflows will further be employed to determine the leaching and partitioning behaviour of additives from plastic and aged plastic into the soil environment. (4) The impact of different plastic aspects such as polymer type, additive composition and aging induced changes to polymers and plastic on vital soil processes will be quantified. The outcomes from SoPla_Fate will advance our assessment of potential soil health impairment though plastic pollution highlighting the importance of an integrated multidisciplinary research connecting plastic fate in soil with its impact. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101033462
SOPLAS Macro and Microplastic in Agricultural soil Systems Plastics have become a key component of modern agriculture, both directly, through their use in production systems, such as greenhouse cover films and silage bags, and indirectly, such as through the application of sewage sludge or compost. However, we know almost nothing about the fate of this plastic and its impact on soil functions. The SOPLAS ETN will address this critical knowledge gap, while delivering significant advances in understanding the plastic cycle within soil and supporting the development of environmental policies, agricultural practices and industrial opportunities related to mitigating the impact of plastics on the environment. More specifically, SOPLAS will: (i) adapt and optimise existing tools to detect and quantify macro- and microplastic input into agricultural soils; (ii) improve understanding of the degradation mechanisms of conventional and biodegradable plastic, as basis of optimizing used plastic materials and identifying remediation pathways; (iii) determine the impact of microplastic on soil functions and soil health; (iv) identify pathways for microplastic export from agricultural soils to freshwater ecosystems; and (v) analysis farmers? and consumers? willingness to reduce the input of plastic material into agricultural soils. To address these project aims and train a new generation of leading experts understanding the nexus of plastic-agriculture-soil, SOPLAS will bring together a truly multidisciplinary team of academic and industry experts, comprising economists, agronomists, hydrologists, soil scientists, microbiologists and chemists, using the most advanced state-of-the-art approaches in their respective fields. The training network will facilitate a dialogue between researchers, industry and practitioners with as ultimate goal to advance the sustainable use of plastics in European agriculture. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/955334
SPECADIS Speciation and bioavailability of heavy metal cadmium (Cd) in the soil-plant system: a novel approach combining stable isotope geochemistry and experimental spectroscopy. The environmental pollution by ecotoxic heavy metals is an issue of increasing significance for ecological and human health reasons. Among these elements, cadmium (Cd) is of special concern due to its high mobility in the soil/plant system and its acute toxicity towards most forms of life, which requires monitoring of food products, especially crops. Improving food security represents a major European priority and is one of the societal challenges targeted by Horizon 2020. In this context, SPECADIS overarching objective is to enhance our understanding of Cd bioavailability to crops and bring constraints on the mechanisms that govern the uptake and fate of Cd in the plants that feed the world. Previous studies have demonstrated that Cd bioavailability in the plant/soil system depends ultimately on its chemical speciation, for which in situ determination remained out-of-reach until now. To investigate Cd speciation in crops, SPECADIS will use a novel multidisciplinary framework combining the most recent advances of two cutting-edge technologies: X-Ray absorption spectroscopy and stable isotope mass spectrometry. SPECADIS will (i) use the newly developed High Energy Resolution Fluorescence Detected X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy technique to bring, for the first time, in situ Cd speciation measurements in crops and (ii), combined with Cd isotope geochemistry, unravel the relationships between Cd isotope fractionation and Cd speciation changes in crops to develop a tracer of Cd speciation in dilute samples. SPECADIS will be hosted by the environmental geosciences AMU department CEREGE. The fellow will bring her expertise in heavy metal isotope geochemistry to a team of internationally renowned spectroscopists and soil scientists, who will train her and encourage her to develop her leadership skills. SPECADIS results will be disseminated to the range of specialist and non-specialist audiences, enhancing the visibility of its innovative approach on an international scale. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/794825
StoiCa Resilience of soil Stoichiometry in subartic soils under Temperature-Induced soil Carbon Losses: Where does the N go? Global warming can trigger enormous releases of carbon (C) from soils, with positive feedbacks to climate change. Northern high latitude soils can constitute a major contributor to this positive feedback loop. Climate change predictions are however still largely uncertain, partly due the lack of accurate representation of vegetation and soil microbial feedbacks and C and nitrogen (N) interactions. Warming enhances microbial mineralization of soil organic matter (SOM) (i.e. soil C outputs) to a higher degree than vegetation productivity (i.e. soil C inputs), resulting in large C losses from northern soils. Pioneer results point to proportional N losses in response to warming, which may be the key to this phenomenon. This project will combine the expertise of a multidisciplinary group of leading researchers on ecosystem stoichiometry, stable N isotopic methods and applied biotechnology with the existence of unique and established research sites in geothermal systems in Iceland to reveal the fate of N lost in response to warming, and uncover the mechanisms behind observed soil C losses. StoiCa will elucidate, for first time, three key knowledge gaps: (1) the rates, forms and mechanisms of N losses from arctic soils under warming; (2) the transient- and persistent responses and the warming-induced transitions from a closed to a leaky, open N cycle; (3) the shifts towards a more symbiotic N cycle and role of thermo-adapted mycorrhiza in stimulating plant growth. This proposal directly addresses two cross-cutting priorities of sustainable development and climate action from the H2020 Work Programme. It also represents an exceptional opportunity for the candidate to acquire the essential skills that she lacks and that will convert her into a highly competitive European researcher in climate change biogeochemistry, while obtaining intersectorial capacities that will open new career avenues. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/750252
STREPUNLOCKED Unlocking the antibiotic production potential in soil bacteria Streptomyces coelicolor We live in an era where once miracle drugs ? antibiotics, cease to be efficient. The rise of antibiotic resistance is an immediate major global issue. There are several layers causing the problem ? misuse, overuse, lack of proper guidelines etc. The only long-term efficient solutions are ? pushing more antibiotics and vaccines into the discovery pipeline. More than 70% of the naturally produced antibiotics used today come from non-pathogenic bacteria from the Streptomyces genus. These bountiful bacteria still have a lot to give, as only one-third of their secondary metabolite pathways are characterized. The rest of their potential stays locked away, i.e., inaccessible with the currently available approaches/tools. In STREPUNLOCKED project, we suggest a study of an up-and-coming pathway involved in the regulation of antibiotic production/resistance ? adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-ribosylation. In order to achieve these aims, we will use a multidisciplinary approach that combines several latest mass spectrometry techniques and analyses, genetic approaches, molecular modelling and bioinformatics? tools to characterize the novel ADP-ribosylation pathways, their signalling context, and their role in antibiotic production. Using the deep dive strategy in order to understand this pathway in Streptomyces would have multiple benefits: opening the doors to the new tool for manipulating the Streptomyces metabolism, lead the way to new lines of basic research, discovery and practical applications ? such as new antibiotic compounds. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/867468
SubSpread Subaqueous spreading: characteristics, evolution and its suitability as a paleoseismic proxy Soil spreading is an extensional creeping movement occurring along a shear surface and caused by liquefaction of a gliding plane. Spreading has been documented at many sites worldwide, and it represents an hazard for subaqueous and land infrastructures. Geological factors influencing the mechanics of spreading and its development have not been extensively explored. This proposal focuses on characterising the subaqueous spreading and investigating its triggers and development mechanisms, with the final purpose of testing the use of the spreading signature as a new proxy for paleoseismic research. The methodology will involve a comprehensive analysis of published data on on-land and subaqueous spreading, gathered in two databases respectively. This information will support the development of a 2D Finite Element model implemented on the Tuaheni slide complex (North Island of New Zealand). The final part of the project will investigate the role of spreading as a new proxy for supporting palaeoseismic analysis in the subaqueous setting. Spreading signature will be investigated in the stratigraphic and bathymetric record of Lake Tekapo (South Island of New Zealand). Results from this research will be significant to the European community, as they will be exploited to improve the understanding of spreading along the giant Storegga Slide on the Norwegian margin, and in relation to the on-going palaeoseismic research on Alpine Lakes. The beneficiary of this funding would be the University of Malta, whereas GEOMAR (Germany) and NIWA (New Zealand) will be partner organizations. This funding represents an ideal opportunity for the fellow allowing her to transfer the knowledge on land liquefaction and palaeoseismology to the subaqueous setting. Through this project the fellow will learn about subaqueous geophysical interpretation (bathymetry, 2D and 3D seismic reflection), geomorphometry and finite element analysis, and to return to Europe to undertake high impact research. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101003388
SustInAfrica Sustainable intensification of food production through resilient farming systems in West & North Africa Large areas of agricultural land in W. and N. Africa are heavily degraded, with water scarcity, low soil fertility and poor plant health, due to use of unsuitable agronomic systems and inappropriate management. In W. Africa, poor water, organic matter and nutrient retention limit food productivity, whilst in N. Africa, salinisation, wind erosion, formation of crusts and compaction threaten rainfed cropland and silvopasture. The low food productivity, poor resilience and unsustainability of current approaches have severe socioeconomic and environmental consequences. The overall goal of SustInAfrica is to empower smallholder farmers, small and medium enterprises and various government and non-governmental organisations in Ghana, Burkina Faso, Niger, Egypt and Tunisia to successfully intensify food production and deliver ecosystem services in a sustainable and resilient manner. This will be achieved through: A) comprehensive analysis of i) local/regional target ecosystems; ii) currently applied and potential landscape, soil, water and plant health management strategies and agronomic systems; iii) relevant actors across supply/value chains; iv) business models and policies; v) challenges and threats to production; B) development of technologies, including a smart platform supporting farmers in decision-making, concerning factors assessed in A); C) implementation of field trials at target sites, combining traditional knowledge, sustainable strategies and systems (agroecology, agroforestry, organic farming) and modern technologies (developed apps/platform); D) communication/dissemination/education/training to inform stakeholders/consumers and empower smallholders (especially women/youths); E) exploiting/continuing approaches/technologies for improved productivity/ecosystem services, long-term self-sufficiency beyond the project, reduced hunger/poverty and gender/wealth disparity, reduced environmental impact, long-term local food sectors growth/increased economic benefit. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/861924
SYMBIONIX Quantifying and upscaling nitrogen fixation in pristine ecosystems: Uncovering the climatic, ecological, and molecular control mechanisms Plant productivity in pristine ecosystems like boreal and tropical cloud forests is limited by soil nutrients, primarily nitrogen (N). Mosses are major contributors to ecosystem productivity in these habitats, and most of them are colonized by N2-fixing cyanobacteria, thereby providing N to the ecosystem. Despite this key role, critical knowledge gaps exist. In particular, the climatic controls of moss-associated N2 fixation remain unclear, limiting our ability to quantify and project climate change effects on this fundamental ecosystem function. Further, it is unknown whether mosses and associated cyanobacteria share a mutualistic (both partners benefit) or parasitic (one partner benefits at the expense of the other) relationship. Yet, the balance of this association is crucial for maintaining ecosystem productivity. I will combine field, laboratory and modelling approaches to fill these knowledge gaps by addressing 4 objectives. I will (1) identify the climatic controls of N2 fixation in mosses from contrasting ecosystems: boreal forests and tropical cloud forests, (2) ascertain the degree of mutualism or parasitism between moss and cyanobacteria using transcriptomics, (3) determine nutrient exchange rates between moss and cyanobacteria using nanoSIMS. The ultimate goal is (4) to model ecosystem N input via N2 fixation in boreal and tropical ecosystems. In SYMBIONIX, I will uniquely combine biogeochemistry with ecology across scales, offering a break-through in ecosystem research. Application of cutting-edge methods will enable progress previously unachievable in ecosystem ecology. I will interlink a vital ecosystem function to its molecular and ecological foundation. A synthesis will be achieved via the parameterization and validation of global circulation models, resulting in improved predictions of ecosystem nutrient cycling in a future climate. Targeted combination of cross-scale approaches will make this initiative field-leading in ecosystem ecology. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/947719
TARGIS-VRA TARGIS - Variable Rate Smart Fertilizing System in Precision Agriculture Precision agriculture is a practice that adopts high information technologies like GPS, control units and software for the purpose of optimizing yield according to local varying soil conditions while conducting agricultural inputs applications (planting, fertilizing, spraying and harvesting, land surveying, line handling systems, yield mapping and grain loss monitoring systems). Current precision agriculture technology platforms provide compact system solutions. Traditionally manufactured agriculture machines, commonly used in European countries cannot adapt precision agriculture technologies. Precision agriculture platforms in Europe are mainly based on ISO-bus structures that are compatible only with ISO-bus tractors, whichare advanced and highly expensive solutions. However, the current structure of TARGIS-VRA can be adapted to traditional agricultural machines and attains 25% to 30% fertilizer conservation (due to 5 years of field studies). As a result, precision farming is made possible for traditionally manufactured machines and pays itself of in maximum one year for a single farmer with 20 hectares of average field size. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/729048
TCFLAND2SEA Thawing Carbon From LAND to SEA: Microbial Degradation of Organic Matter and Response to Thawing Permafrost in the Northeast Siberian Land-Shelf System Arctic permafrost (PF) as vulnerable carbon stock to global warming is increasingly receiving attention due to significant importance in global climate change. Immense carbon stock is held in surface soils on land, coastal Pleistocene Ice Complex Deposit and sediment of shallow subsea in Arctic. Under global warming, the emission of greenhouse gases CO2 and CH4 from PF could further intensify global warming; however, the key link between thawing PF and greenhouse gas emission -microbial degradation remains poorly understood. Microbial degradation of organic matter and its response to thawing is conducive to understanding the biogeochemical carbon cycle and even the future prediction of greenhouse gases in Arctic. To better understand microbial mediation on PF-carbon feedback to global warming, this proposal aims to quantitatively estimate the microbial activity and metabolism in different types of PF (inland, coastal Ice Complex Deposit and marine sediment of subsea PF) from the northeast Siberian via multidisciplinary techniques including microcosm incubation, lipid-based stable isotope probing, modelled metabolic flux analysis and metabolomics. This proposal will improve the understanding of microbial ecosystem in response to thawing PF and their roles in biogeochemical carbon cycle in Arctic. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/840240
Terra-Micro-Carbo Effect of land use induced shifts in soil microbial diversity and function on carbon cycling in soil The need for improved food production for the growing population has led to increase in planet?s arable land cover. Many studies suggest that such practices lead to loss of soil organic carbon (C) ? a relatively large C pool with a fast response time. Thus there is a need to manage soils sustainably in order to mitigate atmospheric CO2 levels while maintaining agricultural productivity. Soil microorganisms act as gatekeepers for soil-atmosphere C exchange by regulating the storage and release of organic C in soil. However, there is a lack of understanding on how land use induced shifts in soil microbial diversity affects this regulation; necessitating detailed research on the underpinning microbial mechanisms. The project objective is to discern the effects of land use on microbial diversity in differing soil types and to investigate whether this shift has implications for C cycling (do certain microbial groups have a greater capacity for soil C accumulation?). To address these objectives an interdisciplinary approach merging molecular biology and isotope chemistry will be employed. Soil from long-term grassland-arable paired sites will be used to assess differences in microbial biodiversity and functional gene abundance through DNA next-generation sequencing. In addition, a field incubation experiment with 13C labelled substrates will be performed to investigate the variable tracer incorporation into different microbial functional groups. This will be measured using novel magnetic bead capture hybridization of RNA from specific groups followed by its 13C analysis using liquid chromatography-isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The novelty of this project is that it aims to provide direct evidence to prove diversity-function linkages and gain mechanistic understanding of the physiological responses of soil microbial communities to land use change. The resulting knowledge will help better predict changes in soil C and thus improve prognosis of climate change feedbacks. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/655240
TESNinSAB Fate and Toxic Effects of Silver Nanoparticles and Its Transformation Products in soil Applied with Biosolids Sewage sludge management is one of the most challenging waste issues in Environmental Engineering field due to their highly polluted nature and high volume. On the other hand, sewage sludge, which is also called as biosolids, can be a nutrient resource for the agri-foods which leads to their usage in agriculture as fertilizers. Usage of biosolids as fertilizer is the most desirable management strategy since it provides resource recovery and prevents the usage of synthetic chemicals which can be harmful for human and environment health. Therefore, after the treatment of biosolids to meet the required quality criteria, their ultimate disposal as fertilizer has to be sustained. Up to date, organic, metallic or hazardous pollutants were addressed to be removed from biosolids before land spreading and standards were defined in regulations. However, there are new concerning pollutants for biosolids application to agricultural lands. One of the most recent and biggest concerns is the presence of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), which are widely used as biocides in the consumer products and are shown to occur in wastewater treatment plants, mostly, in biosolids. They are, as a source of ionic and nano Ag, among the emerging pollutants which are known to have potential to pose threat to human and environment health and have not been included in monitoring lists, yet. Therefore, the aim of this research is to advance the state of the art in land spread of biosolids through the investigation of the toxic effects and bioacculumation of AgNPs and its transformation products in soil organisms. For excellence in research, the knowledge about the toxic effects is integrated with environmental risk assessment which will enable necessary actions such as proposing guidelines for biosolids applications. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/704803
THAWSOME THAWing permafrost: the fate of soil Organic Matter in the aquatic Environment As the Arctic permafrost region warms, its large organic carbon (OC) pool becomes vulnerable to decomposition. This generates greenhouse gases (GHG) that in turn fuel increased surface warming: the permafrost carbon feedback. Higher temperatures will jump-start the coupling between the carbon and hydrological cycle, allowing for the introduction of previously frozen OC pools in aquatic systems. This lateral, or horizontal, aquatic flux remains largely unknown in contrast to the relatively well-studied vertical flux, GHG emission on land. Horizontal OC release either occurs via gradual thaw, slowly leaching OC into aquatic systems, or abrupt thaw, where ground-ice melt causes destructive surface collapse and slumping of OC into aquatic systems. Both types of thaw facilitate decomposition of OC (generating GHG) but also re-bury OC into sediments (sequestering OC). The relative importance of decomposition versus burial is unknown. For THAWSOME, I have developed a multi-scale approach combining detailed process-based field studies with up-scaling techniques on multiple levels: (i) observational, using large Arctic rivers as natural integrators, (ii) numerical, using a coupled hydrological-biogeochemical model, and (iii) spatial, using GIS-based analysis. For the first time, decomposition of particulate OC from permafrost will be quantified with a recently developed incubation method. Burial rates of permafrost OC will be assessed through molecular isotope analyses of both sources (river OC) and sinks (sediment OC) across the land-to-shelf route. THAWSOME will generate critically needed quantitative data on the amount of decomposition versus burial of permafrost OC, as well as qualitative insights into the processes that control this. This will allow a true coupling of the carbon and hydrological cycle into the 'boundless Arctic carbon cycle', and integration of horizontal OC release into estimates of the impact of the permafrost carbon feedback on global climate. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/676982
TOMATO EXODERMIS Development and drought responses of tomato exodermis Understanding plant development and responses to the environment is key for improving crop yields and ensuring food andfuel for the future. Many crop species have evolved adaptations that make them more tolerant against abiotic stresses, suchas drought, flooding and soil salinity. One of these adaptations is the exodermis, a water- and air-proofed cell layer in theroot that protects the root from drying and drowning. Although the importance of exodermis for crop yield has been shown,the development of exodermis is not understood on molecular level, likely due to its absence from the root model speciesArabidopsis. TOMATO EXODERMIS aims to elucidate the genes involved in exodermal development and drought responses in tomato. To achieve this, novel tools are combined in an efficient way to study root development of a crop species in a short timeframe. These tools include e.g. bioinformatic analyses of new cell type-specific datasets, rapid hairy root cultures and genome editing. TOMATO EXODERMIS will lay a foundation for an exodermis research program in European Research Area and generate potential for agricultural applications. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/790057
TOOLBOX Treatment of contaminated land using a biochar/media mixture Waste disposal and treatment is a major source of contamination of soils, surface and groundwater, and accounts for 35% of the 1.1 million contaminated sites in Europe. Leaching of the organic solvent trichloroethylene (TCE) into groundwater has been identified as a primary issue with unlined landfills , affecting up to 70% of leachates tested. Mainly used as a metal degreaser and dry-cleaning reagent, TCE is difficult to treat; current treatment methods, such as anaerobic digestion or air stripping , are ineffective and/or expensive. This project will investigate the use biochar, or other appropriate media, for treatment of TCE contaminated water via two technologies - permeable reactive interceptors (PRIs) and permeable contaminant retaining filter (PCRF) bags. This novel, low-cost solution will address the requirements of European Union (EU) legislation, including the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The project will be based at the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) with supervision by Dr Mark Healy (GeoEnvironmental Engineering Research Group ? GENE) and support from Dr Florence Abram (Functional Environmental Microbiology - FEM). As the applicant has experience in TCE treatment from a microbial background, this highly novel, interdisciplinary proposal will compliment and strengthen her existing skillset by approaching this technology from an engineering perspective, with support from a research group that has a strong track record in this research area. With detailed career development assistance, multiple opportunities to further her strong publication record, access to numerous and varied fora for dissemination of results and support for IP exploitation, this proposal will have a significant impact in reintegrating the applicant back into the EU research community from her current research position in New Zealand. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/748106
TRAMPAS Transport, retention, and release of synthesized DNAs through microplastics affected-soils: mimicking bacteria behavior with regards to climate change and global warming Microplastic pollution has received considerable attention for the marine environment, but hidden out of sight are microplastics in soil. In Europe alone, there are likely more microplastics in soil than in all the world?s oceans. Microplastics can adversely affect soils, but the underlying mechanisms and wider impacts are poorly understood. A significant impact could be increased hydrophobicity of the soil pore surface, which can increase the movement of potentially pathogenic microorganisms. I found that the concentration of microplastics and soil temperature increase the soil-water contact angle, a measure of hydrophobicity. This project will explore how microplastics influence soil through the development of hydrophobicity and the impacts to bacteria and virus transport and retention. It builds on my recent research that was the first to link the development of soil hydrophobicity with increased leaching of bacteria. Two challenges of societal importance are addressed: (1) microplastic pollution and (2) pathogen fate in the environment.I will bring together a range of approaches, starting first with quantifying how climatic stresses and soil properties interact with microplastics to induce hydrophobicity. This will be followed by leaching experiments, where microbial retention and leaching will be tracked with a novel approach using synthesised DNA. Soil pore scale processes will be measured using microfluidics, where the spread and retention of microbes and water can be visualised directly under highly controlled conditions. Finally, I will study microplastic contaminated soil, exploring the formation of microbial colonised microplastics ? the ?plastisphere?.Working with a strong multidisciplinary team I will gain excellent training in state-of-the-art analysis approaches. By using highly visual approaches in my research, such as microfluidics, I will be able to demonstrate its impact to a range of audiences, from the public, through policy, to scientists. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101026287
TRITRONITRO UNDERSTANDING TRITROPHIC INTERACTIONS: PLANT-MICROBE-INSECT. ITS IMPLICATION ON INTEGRATED PLANT PROTECTION AND BIOLOGICAL NITROGEN FIXATION OF LEGUMES Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is one of the key agroecosystem services provided by legumes. Legume crops have a positive impact on the atmosphere and soil quality: i) by lowering emissions of greenhouse gases compared with other crops grown under mineral fertilisation and ii) by supporting BNF to the following crop when grown as components of crop rotations. This results in cost savings on synthetic fertilisers and fossil energy inputs in the system and on tillage, due to improved soil structure. However, factors such as insect attack, foliar disease and root microbial infection have a direct or indirect influence in reducing nitrogen fixation capacity and yield. Therefore, control of root-feeding organisms is essential for maximisation of nitrogen uptake by legumes. Conventionally, agrochemicals have been used to protect legume crops from pest and diseases, but their indiscriminate use has resulted in pest resistance and secondary pest resurgence, and they are detrimental to beneficial organisms for crop defence. The importance of driving reforms in response to the European commitment to sustainable agriculture and food production is directing my research interests towards a long-term mission that enables implementation of a new agricultural concept regarding food production that is safer for humans and the environment. The proposed project will use peas as a plant model to look for innovative strategies for reducing the dependence on chemical inputs, applying cutting edge technologies to leverage the use of beneficial soil microbes in the crop system. I suggest a pest management strategy to control nodule feeder insects by means of entompathogenic fungi (EPF). By exploring tritrophic interactions in plant-microbe-insect relations, this action seeks to evaluate whether EFP inoculated into legume crops can invade plant and nodule tissues, protect plants from pathogens and insects, influence BNF and affect the behavioural responses of aboveground insects. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/793707
tRRACES Resistance and Resilience of Ancient Agricultural soils "The sustainability of an agricultural system relies largely on the resistance of soils -their capacity to perform its five environmental functions under disturbance- and in their resilience, meaning the capacity of the soils of restoring its functions after impact. The tRRACES project aims to get insights into how past or indigenous strategies for agricultural management drove pedogenetic pathways with a focus on the sustainability of the agroecosystem. New data on pedogenetic evolution of four ancient agricultural systems in Chile, Ethiopia Spain and Tanzania, spanning a wide range of environmental conditions, are to be put together with archaeological, ethnographical and paleoenvironmental knowledge, in order to show up the effects of ancient soil management strategies on the maintenance of soil environmental functions and therefore on soil resistance and resilience. The results will be used to predict the evolution of these systems when facing impending climatic and socioeconomic changes. tRRACES will provide a sound scientific basis for the so called ""indigenous knowledge"" and will contribute highly valuable information for the studies on sustainable land-use, meaning that it is possible to state with confidence that the proposed project will undoubtedly produce useful data for modern developmental and conservationist narratives." https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/657355
TUdi Transforming Unsustainable management of soils in key agricultural systems in EU and China. Developing an integrated platform of alternatives to reverse soil degradation. TUdi is conceived as a transformative project, integrating 15 academic and SME partners, to develop, upscale and disseminate soil restoring strategies in three major agricultural systems (cereal based rotations, tree crops and grasslands), different farm typologies and environmental conditions in Europe, China and New Zealand. Aimed to lead the way in improving soil health across EU, China and New Zealand, it rests on two pillars: 1) a network of 42 cooperating stakeholder organisations for defining, implementing and upscaling soil restoring strategies in multiple farms; b) a network of 66 long-term experiments and monitored farms in the participating countries. From them, TUdi will identify soil degradation situations, proven strategies for restoring soil health, and barriers and possibilities for its adoption at farm level, including gender dimensions. This bottom-up approach will develop a set of digital tools, compatible with platforms for optimizing CAP implementation in Europe, to predict the impact of these strategies on nutrient and water balance, yield, cost-benefit and farm operations. They will guide farmers in implementing strategies to restore soil health by overcoming barriers for adoption, with rigorous cost-benefit analyses central to farmer appraisal. Solutions will be scaled up over a large number of farms through partners engaged in the cooperators network, including training of stakeholders, developing technical materials and elaborating policy briefs. It will be complemented by communicating project challenges and results to society, raising awareness of the relevance of healthy soils for sustainable development. Providing a blueprint for development and dissemination of soil restoring strategies at large scale, it will contribute to key initiatives like the EU and China Research Agenda for Agriculture and EU Mission on Soil Heath and Food. Training farmers, staff and early career scientists in sustainable soil use will result in lasting legacy. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101000224
UNITY Linking ecology, enzymes and ecosystems in the global nitrogen cycle The global nitrogen cycle is of fundamental importance for our climate as well as agriculture, and both are facing significant threats due to environmental change. Anthropogenic input of synthetic ammonia-based fertilisers has a profound impact on the nitrogen cycle. Most soil ecosystems globally are nitrogen limited, necessitating ammonia-based fertiliser to achieve sufficient crop yield to feed the world?s growing population. However, circa 70% of fertiliser is lost through the activity of ammonia oxidising microorganisms, which contribute to the emission of the extremely damaging greenhouse gas nitrous oxide ? a molecule with a global warming potential 300 times that of CO2, and also the most important ozone-depleting gas. Ammonia oxidising microorganisms are ubiquitous, highly abundant organisms. Despite their ubiquity and major environmental importance, they are some of the least well-understood microorganisms in the global nitrogen cycle. Several challenges contribute to the lack of our understanding: (1) Ammonia oxidisers are difficult to cultivate, (2) the molecular mechanisms driving their adaptation to different environments are poorly characterised, and (3) links between their cellular and physiological traits and the rates of nitrogen turnover are not understood. Consequently, it is difficult to interpret the ecological and environmental significance of many research findings. This research programme will bridge the gaps in our understanding of terrestrial nitrogen cycling using a combination of highly innovative methods. My research programme aims to reveal functions of uncultivated ammonia oxidisers and determine the important but overlooked role of cellular traits in nitrogen cycling rates in terrestrial environments. This study will provide a holistic framework of terrestrial nitrogen cycling from molecules to ecosystems and will deliver a major advance towards balancing the global nitrogen cycle. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/852993
UnsatPorMix Impact of structural heterogeneity on solute transport and mixing in unsaturated porous media Solute transport in unsaturated porous media plays a crucial role in environmental processes affecting soils, aquifers, and carbon capture and storage operations. Natural porous media are characterized by various degrees of structural heterogeneity in the pore size distribution, spatial arrangements and spatial correlations. The impact of this pore-scale heterogeneity on the spreading of a solute plume, its mixing with other solutes, and the resulting reaction rates, is not well understood for unsaturated flow. Since these processes take place at pore scale, direct pore scale experimental measurements are needed to gain comprehensive understanding of them. The aim of UnsatPorMix is thus to elucidate the impact of structural pore-scale heterogeneity on solute spreading/mixing and reaction rates during unsaturated flow, through the combination of micromodel experiments and numerical model simulations. In the first stage of UnsatPorMix, experiments in micromodels with varying degrees of heterogeneity will provide unprecedented results on the phenomenology of pore-scale mechanisms and their effect on solute spreading and mixing. In the second stage, the experimental measurements of phase distribution and solute concentrations, combined to numerically-computed pore scale velocities, will be used to design and validate a pore-scale model for solute transport in these porous media. This model will allow obtaining a large representative numerical data set, enabling statistical analysis and the derivation of quantitative relations between structural heterogeneity and solute transport/mixing. UnsatPorMix will make a significant contribution to the modelling of, and risk assessment for, the various subsurface phenomena and applications cited above. During UnsatPorMix, the applicant will acquire a set of invaluable experimental skills and modeling expertise which will enable him to become an independent researcher and expert in flow and transport in unsaturated porous media. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/843594
Upsurge City-centered approach to catalyze nature-based solutions through the EU Regenerative Urban Lighthouse for pollution alleviation and regenerative development Air pollution and ambient pollution, carbon-related issues ranging from GHG emissions to carbon shortages in soil, the opportunities provided by NBS and the intricacies of urban ecosystems present an extremely complex set of interdependent problems and opportunities that have to be addressed as such ? interactively, mutually and innovatively. Upsurge is considering all these aspects and is providing evidence-based targeted responses that will enable EU cities to transition into a more regenerative future. At its core, Upsurge is presenting the European Regenerative Urban Lighthouse, which will enable cities to unlock their regenerative potential and provide them with knowledge and guidance in regenerative transition. Supported by an innovative continuous self-check progress mechanism (Regenerative Index) and by the Clearing House as a knowledge nerve centre, Upsurge will motivate cities and other clients through its networking activities to engage and step aboard the regenerative transition under Lighthouse?s leadership. Upsurge is demonstrating technical excellence through a multimodal adaptable sensing system, through integrated and integrative digitalisation environment supported by IoT and AI, several real-life demonstrations and based on extrapolated criteria conducted simulative demonstrations showcasing the viability, feasibility and implementability of proposed technical solutions. The knowledge core of Upsurge will be introduced within the quintuple helix verification model bringing together all relevant factors affecting the implementation of NBS and thus regenerative change. Quintuple helix approach will truly enable the assessment and exploration of complementary beneficial effects provided by project solutions. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101003818
Upsurge City-centered approach to catalyze nature-based solutions through the EU Regenerative Urban Lighthouse for pollution alleviation and regenerative development Air pollution and ambient pollution, carbon-related issues ranging from GHG emissions to carbon shortages in soil, the opportunities provided by NBS and the intricacies of urban ecosystems present an extremely complex set of interdependent problems and opportunities that have to be addressed as such ? interactively, mutually and innovatively. Upsurge is considering all these aspects and is providing evidence-based targeted responses that will enable EU cities to transition into a more regenerative future. At its core, Upsurge is presenting the European Regenerative Urban Lighthouse, which will enable cities to unlock their regenerative potential and provide them with knowledge and guidance in regenerative transition. Supported by an innovative continuous self-check progress mechanism (Regenerative Index) and by the Clearing House as a knowledge nerve centre, Upsurge will motivate cities and other clients through its networking activities to engage and step aboard the regenerative transition under Lighthouse?s leadership. Upsurge is demonstrating technical excellence through a multimodal adaptable sensing system, through integrated and integrative digitalisation environment supported by IoT and AI, several real-life demonstrations and based on extrapolated criteria conducted simulative demonstrations showcasing the viability, feasibility and implementability of proposed technical solutions. The knowledge core of Upsurge will be introduced within the quintuple helix verification model bringing together all relevant factors affecting the implementation of NBS and thus regenerative change. Quintuple helix approach will truly enable the assessment and exploration of complementary beneficial effects provided by project solutions. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101003818
Upsurge City-centered approach to catalyze nature-based solutions through the EU Regenerative Urban Lighthouse for pollution alleviation and regenerative development Air pollution and ambient pollution, carbon-related issues ranging from GHG emissions to carbon shortages in soil, the opportunities provided by NBS and the intricacies of urban ecosystems present an extremely complex set of interdependent problems and opportunities that have to be addressed as such ? interactively, mutually and innovatively. Upsurge is considering all these aspects and is providing evidence-based targeted responses that will enable EU cities to transition into a more regenerative future. At its core, Upsurge is presenting the European Regenerative Urban Lighthouse, which will enable cities to unlock their regenerative potential and provide them with knowledge and guidance in regenerative transition. Supported by an innovative continuous self-check progress mechanism (Regenerative Index) and by the Clearing House as a knowledge nerve centre, Upsurge will motivate cities and other clients through its networking activities to engage and step aboard the regenerative transition under Lighthouse?s leadership. Upsurge is demonstrating technical excellence through a multimodal adaptable sensing system, through integrated and integrative digitalisation environment supported by IoT and AI, several real-life demonstrations and based on extrapolated criteria conducted simulative demonstrations showcasing the viability, feasibility and implementability of proposed technical solutions. The knowledge core of Upsurge will be introduced within the quintuple helix verification model bringing together all relevant factors affecting the implementation of NBS and thus regenerative change. Quintuple helix approach will truly enable the assessment and exploration of complementary beneficial effects provided by project solutions. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101003818
Upsurge City-centered approach to catalyze nature-based solutions through the EU Regenerative Urban Lighthouse for pollution alleviation and regenerative development Air pollution and ambient pollution, carbon-related issues ranging from GHG emissions to carbon shortages in soil, the opportunities provided by NBS and the intricacies of urban ecosystems present an extremely complex set of interdependent problems and opportunities that have to be addressed as such ? interactively, mutually and innovatively. Upsurge is considering all these aspects and is providing evidence-based targeted responses that will enable EU cities to transition into a more regenerative future. At its core, Upsurge is presenting the European Regenerative Urban Lighthouse, which will enable cities to unlock their regenerative potential and provide them with knowledge and guidance in regenerative transition. Supported by an innovative continuous self-check progress mechanism (Regenerative Index) and by the Clearing House as a knowledge nerve centre, Upsurge will motivate cities and other clients through its networking activities to engage and step aboard the regenerative transition under Lighthouse?s leadership. Upsurge is demonstrating technical excellence through a multimodal adaptable sensing system, through integrated and integrative digitalisation environment supported by IoT and AI, several real-life demonstrations and based on extrapolated criteria conducted simulative demonstrations showcasing the viability, feasibility and implementability of proposed technical solutions. The knowledge core of Upsurge will be introduced within the quintuple helix verification model bringing together all relevant factors affecting the implementation of NBS and thus regenerative change. Quintuple helix approach will truly enable the assessment and exploration of complementary beneficial effects provided by project solutions. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101003818
VanderSat High Resolution soil Moisture Mapping Extreme weather increasingly impacts the price behavior of agricultural commodities. As a result, new and more sophisticated techniques of forecasting crop yields gains importance. Those with access to, and an understanding of these techniques will have a competitive edge comparable to that of companies in the early days of the IT-boom. The most promising of these techniques is remote sensing, where typically satellites carrying cutting edge scientific instruments gather high resolution ?images? of the globe. These images enable us to make early predictions of yield across a range of crops. This high-tech forecasting relies on measuring how vegetation and soil reflect, absorb or emit electromagnetic radiation, most unseen by the naked eye. One of the most suitable satellite derived observation for the improvement of crop yield prediction is soil moisture. Currently the best available resolution for remotely sensed soil moisture at a global scale is approximately 25 x 25 km. VanderSat made a huge step in this field and is able to bring it down to 100 x 100 meter by using the Copernicus Sentinel Constellation; a staggering improvement of 62.500 times. Within this feasibility study, ATG Europe BV - a recognized as a leading provider of specialized engineering and scientific and technical services to the aerospace, space and high-tech industry - supported by Transmissivity BV - a specialist in soil moisture data mapping - aims to:1. Verify the technological and practical viability (e.g. technological risk analysis) 2. Define the markets and related market potential (e.g. market study / SWOT analysis)3. Determine the strategy for Intellectual Property management (IP management). 4. Determine the business/legal structure (creating the business).Compared to existing soil moisture mapping techniques VanderSat provides data on a global scale in a Near Real Time mode at a far better resolution, an approach that will put Europe at the forefront in remote sensing. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/711437
VegAlert Low cost, early Phytosanitary monitoring and alert service for horticultural farmers PROBLEMPlant pathogen diseases in horticultural crops are responsible for 35% of crop losses. Today, farmers lack information aboutdisease threats, as there is no way to carry out early diagnosis of the potential diseases that already exist in the soil andsurrounding environment. Without this information, the most common practice is to minimise all threats, regardless ofwhether they exist, by the blanket, widespread application of ?wide spectrum? chemical pesticides. However, these methodsfail to eliminate all the pathogens effectively, increases production costs and it?s environmentally harmful.SOLUTIONMicrogaia is a Spanish SME who has developed a DNA microarray tool that allows rapid and quantitative detection of200specific plant diseases in a simultaneous way. Microgaia has also developed the associated sampling method andsampling kits to take samples according particularities of each crop, farm plot and aspects as meteorological data, ensuringthat results are representative.The use of the entire system, called VegAlert, brings 4 great benefits:- cost reduction (by saving in pesticides)- higher yield (reducing losses caused by pathogens)- preservation of soil quality- compliance with the EU directive No 2009/128/ECMARKETThe utilised agricultural area for horticultural crops surpasses 836.000 thousand hectares in EU-28. Each analysis withVegAlert will be sold at 50 ?. On average, 4 samples will be taken for each hectare and per season, this means that the totalmarket size for VegAlert is 3.3 million of potential analysis per year (165 M?).The feasibility study showed that EU farmers are worried by pathogens, and willing to pay for this solution, which minimisestheir risks of losing production.BUSINESS OPPORTUNITYThis new business line is expected to generate important growth for Microgaia. The business plan predict that by 2022, 18new jobs will be created with an annual turnover of 7.1 M? and EBITDA of 3.1 M?. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/725026
VULCAN Vulnerability of soil organic carbon to climate change in permafrost and dryland ecosystems Soil organic matter provides essential ecosystem services and is one of the largest C reservoirs on Earth, holding more than three-fold as much C as does the atmosphere. Over 75% of the global soil organic C pool is stored in permafrost and dryland regions, both under high pressure due to climate change. In particular, global warming may accelerate soil organic matter decomposition in these ecosystems, which may dramatically endanger their functioning and worsen climate change by releasing significant amounts of CO2 to the atmosphere. However, the rate of this effect and to what extent it may be offset by warming-induced increases of plant-derived organic inputs remain highly uncertain. The main objective of this project is to gain a deeper insight into the vulnerability of soil organic matter to climate change in permafrost and drylands, and to explore potential implications in terms of ecosystem functioning and feedback to global warming. We will use globally unique ecosystem warming experiments in Alaska (permafrost) and central Spain (dryland), with a well-established monitoring of plant productivity, phenology, and nutrient status, soil physical, chemical, biochemical, and microbiological properties, and CO2 fluxes. We will focus on the destabilization, stabilization, and transformation processes of soil organic matter at the molecular level by using an unparalleled combination of state-of-the-art methods for soil organic matter fractionation into pools directly related to conceptual preservation mechanisms, powerful stable and radioactive isotope techniques, and advanced nuclear magnetic resonance tools. VULCAN will fill major gaps in our knowledge, will make this information widely available to scientists, policy makers, and the general public, and will provide the Fellow with the necessary knowledge, skills, networking, and experience to lead future research projects related to the feedbacks between climate change and terrestrial ecosystems in Europe. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/654132
WATER4AGRI Securing water for food and safety with the world's most advanced soil moisture information derived from satellites European agriculture is facing important challenges in the coming decades linked to our changing climate. Periods of droughts and floods will further increase which threaten production and require a smart usage of our vulnerable water resources. Climate change also stimulates crop disease, which causes farmers to use more pesticides and in turn endangers water quality and impacts people's health and the environment. Satellite Remote Sensing has a crucial role to play in tackling these challenges. At VanderSat we have developed a method to provide accurate high-resolution images of soil moisture, at any place on Earth 24/7 a year. Soil moisture is a key indicator for the physical status of a plant, and has a strong predictive value with respect to crop yield and weather conditions including flooding and droughts. By combining microwave data obtained from different satellites ? including the ones in the Copernicus Sentinel constellation ? we are revealing a revolutionary data set that can be used to retrieve key information about the water availability for crops at field level. This data is crucial for improving the accuracy of Agricultural (Ag.) models that are the backbone of modern agribusiness. Through the WATER4AGRI project we want to lift the technology to TRL9 by: (1) scaling VanderSat soil moisture for implementation in Ag. models and, (2) demonstrating the effectiveness of VanderSat in the two most widespread Ag. models. With VanderSat our customers will be able to accurately predict crop yield, pesticide requirements, droughts and flooding and, most important, reduce climate related risks for their businesses. VanderSat is creating business opportunities that were unimaginable before, like reducing crop risks through smart re-insurance strategies and integrated pest management. In doing this VanderSat impacts agribusiness in the most important dimension: improving yield and the overall profit or loss of the operation. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/783989
WATERAGRI WATER RETENTION AND NUTRIENT RECYCLING IN SOILS AND STREAMS FOR IMPROVED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION The WATERAGRI vision is to solve agricultural water management and soil fertilisation challenges in a sustainable manner to secure affordable food production in Europe for the 21st century. The WATERAGRI concept aims to introduce a new framework for the use of affordable small water retention approaches for managing excess and shortage of water as well as better recovery of nutrients from agricultural catchments applying a multi-actor approach. The objectives are to(a) Co-develop (multi-actor approach) the links between agricultural land and soil-sediment-water management for improved management of water excess and shortage, maximizing crop production and improving water quality and nutrient uptake by crops;(b) Undertake both technical and sustainability assessments of proposed measures considering tested and reviewed management options;(c) Develop a cloud-based simulation and data assimilation system based on a physically-based terrestrial system model, which is able to assimilate in situ and remotely sensed observations of hydrological and plant variables and meteorological data in near-real time to analyse effects of structures such as drains and dams for improved farm-scale water management and retention;(d) Identify, develop and test affordable and easy-to-implement long-term technical and operational farm solutions such as controlled drainage, regulated deficit irrigation, subsurface irrigation, groundwater recharge, farm constructed wetlands, soil management and nutrient recovery options;(e) Assess the techniques for their potential regarding adaptation to climate change and their impact on ecosystem services for different biogeographic regions using case studies; and(f) Disseminate the implemented innovations to farmers, advisory services and decision-makers as part of a multi-actor approach.The key performance indicators are increased crop production, enhanced nutrient recovery from streams and a simulation and data assimilation system. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/858375
WaterWorks2015 Water Works 2016-2020 in Support of the Water JPI (WaterWorks2015) - Sustainable water use in agriculture, to increase water use efficiency and reduce soil and water pollution The WaterWorks2015 proposal responds to the Horizon 2020 (H2020) Societal Challenge 5 2015 Call topic Water-3 [2015]: Stepping up EU research and innovation cooperation in the water area.WaterWorks2015 aims at pooling resources from the 32 participating research programme owners / managers of 23 countries to implement a joint call for proposals, with EU co-funding in the area of sustainable water use in agriculture and forestry. It's a collaboration between the Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs), Water JPI ?Water Challenges for a Changing World? and FACCE JPI ?Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change?. Achieving a ?sustainable water use in agriculture, to increase water use efficiency and reduce soil and water pollution? is at the intersection of the two JPIs, contributing to the implementation of their respective Strategic Research Agendas. WaterWorks2015 includes 9 organisations from associated and third countries in an effort to reinforce international cooperation. Additional Activities will also be carried out to further support the implementation and strategy of the Water JPI.The overall aims include:? Increasing the value of relevant national and EU R&D funding by concerted and joint planning, implementation and evaluation of national research programmes; ? Pooling financial resources from participating states towards the definition and implementation of a Co-funded transnational and multi-disciplinary Call for research and innovation proposals. The aim of the Call will be to support the implementation of initiatives and environmental policies, in particular those related to water and agriculture & forestry, as a way to increase water use efficiency and to reduce soil and water pollution;? Overcoming the fragmentation of European water and agriculture/forestry-related research and innovation activities; ? Supporting the implementation and the development of the two Joint Programming Initiatives, seeking synergies in overlapping research issues. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/689271
WeThaw Mineral Weathering in Thawing Permafrost: Causes and Consequences Enhanced thawing of the permafrost in response to warming of the Earth?s high latitude regions exposes previously frozen soil organic carbon (SOC) to microbial decomposition, liberating carbon to the atmosphere and creating a dangerous positive feedback on climate warming. Thawing the permafrost may also unlock a cascade of mineral weathering reactions. These will be accompanied by mineral nutrient release and generation of reactive surfaces which will influence plant growth, microbial SOC degradation and SOC stabilisation. Arguably, weathering is an important but hitherto neglected component for correctly assessing and predicting the permafrost carbon feedback. The goal of WeThaw is to provide the first comprehensive assessment of the mineral weathering response in permafrost regions subject to thawing. By addressing this crucial knowledge gap, WeThaw will significantly augment our capacity to develop models that can accurately predict the permafrost carbon feedback.Specifically, I will provide the first estimate of the permafrost?s mineral element reservoir which is susceptible to rapidly respond to enhanced thawing, and I will assess the impact of thawing on the soil nutrient storage capacity. To determine the impact of increased mineral weathering on mineral nutrient availability in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in permafrost regions, the abiotic and biotic sources and processes controlling their uptake and release will be unraveled by combining novel geochemical techniques, involving the non-traditional silicon, magnesium and lithium stable isotopes, with soil mineral and physico-chemical characterisations. I posit that this groundbreaking approach has the potential to deliver unprecedented insights into mineral weathering dynamics in warming permafrost regions. This frontier research which crosses disciplinary boundaries is a mandatory step for being able to robustly explain the role of mineral weathering in modulating the permafrost carbon feedback. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/714617
WETRES Optimising wetland restoration strategies to minimise methane emissions and maximise carbon uptake The aim of the WETRES project is to determine the greenhouse gas fluxes from restored wetlands to see how fluxes change if drained and degraded wetlands are restored. Restoring degraded peat soils is an attractive, but largely untested climate change mitigation approach. Drained peat soils used for agriculture or for peat extraction are often large carbon dioxide sources and will contribute to global warming. Therefore, restoring subsided peat soils to managed, impounded wetlands can turn these sources into carbon sinks. However, at present, the amount of scientific information available to guide such restoration decisions and assess the impact of these actions is still sparse and restoration outcomes can be low carbon uptake and high methane emissions. Therefore, the overarching goal of this project is to provide an experimental and theoretical understanding of how to restore wetlands with minimised methane emissions and maximised carbon uptake. To understand processes that regulate carbon sequestration efficiency and methane fluxes, there is a need to cover fields from the molecular level to the ecosystem level. To achieve that, multiple drivers, such as site-specific hydrology, legacy effects, soil chemistry, soil microbiology, vegetation development will be analysed in conjunction with greenhouse gas emissions. This effort directly addresses the European H2020 priorities of sustainable rural development and lower greenhouse gas emissions, which will help to slow down climate change. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101028186
WISLAS Warmed Icelandic soils, Lipids and Sequencing: towards a better understood climate proxy The distribution of the soil bacterial membrane lipids ?branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers? (brGDGTs) in geological records has been used to reconstruct palaeoclimatic conditions, specifically the mean annual air temperature and soil pH. However, the large error associated with the most recent brGDGT-based calibration, makes this method unsuitable for determining absolute temperatures. The fellow aims to perform geochemical and microbiological work that will result in the improvement of this palaeotemperature proxy. Firstly, an improved analytical method will be used, targeting not only fifteen brGDGTs that are currently used for palaeoclimate reconstructions, but including an additional fifteen brGDGT lipids, and a suite of precursors, whose diversity in soils is unstudied. This extended dataset will be measured in a well-studied, naturally (geothermally) warmed soil, linking the observed lipid distributions directly to the measured in-situ soil temperature (covering a 0-35<f8>C gradient). Furthermore, the applicability of the novel temperature proxy proposed, will be tested in a well-studied dataset of European soils, covering a latitudinal temperature gradient. Although environmental studies point towards the Acidobacteria as the source organism, only one brGDGT has been found in an Acidobacterial culture so far and brGDGTs are still considered to be ?orphan lipids?. Using a novel approach to identify the source organism, the fellow proposes to study the microbial community using a next-generation sequencing method. Tracking the patterns in (Acido)bacterial distribution along a temperature gradient, will enable the fellow to ascertain if the changes in the brGDGT pool are caused by a shift in the microbial community, or are caused by phenotypic plasticity. This interdisciplinary project will improve the accuracy and interpretation of lipid-based palaeoclimate reconstructions and will extend the applicant?s scientific experience and career perspectives. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/707270
Xerobranching Xero-Branching: discovering how plant roots adapt to reduced water availability Plant roots forage for key resources like water and nutrients which are often distributed heterogeneously in soil. Plants optimize foraging by employing adaptive responses to modify their root shape. The host laboratory recently discovered (using non-invasive X-ray microCT imaging) that root branching is tightly regulated by the availability of soil moisture. For example, roots growing through an air-filled space transiently repress root branching until re-entering moist soil. This new root adaptive response is termed Xerobranching. Initial studies reveal that Xerobranching is dependent on ABA and auxin responses. However, how these hormone pathways cross-talk to regulate Xerobranching is unclear. Xerobranching is induced by transient accumulation of ABA in root tip tissues following reduced water uptake. Transient water stress also increases levels of protein SUMOylation in plant roots. The host lab recently reported in the journal Science that the transcription factor ARF7 is a target for SUMOylation during transient water stress. I will examine whether Xerobranching requires the ABA-dependent post-translational modification of key lateral root regulator, AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR 7 (ARF7). I will also investigate whether Xerobranching depends on specific components of the SUMOylation machinery in an ABA-dependent manner. Furthermore, I will explore the wider impact of Xerobranching on soil exploration and crop performance. The highly interdisciplinary project will allow me to master advanced molecular and imaging techniques. This experience will uniquely position me to study adaptive responses at the root-soil interface and exploit allelic variation in key loci to create new varieties of cereal crops with greater foraging abilities. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/891262