Soil health is highly relevant to global sustainability. According to the European Commission, ensuring the health of at least 75% of soils by 2030 is essential to guarantee healthy food, people, nature and a healthy climate. Of the five missions of the Horizon Europe programme, one is related to European soils (Soil Health and Food), with the objective of recovering degraded soils. Soil management also greatly influences the five missions, as highlighted in the soil mission’s deployment plan. Furthermore, the European Union’s new soil strategy was published in November 2021. Good soil management is crucial for the entire system, as it can reduce the environmental impact of food production, mitigate climate change, reverse biodiversity loss and contribute to more stable and secure food production.
In this regard, the Institute is involved in the following R&D&I programmes:
Soil fertility and carbon sequestration (emerging trend)
Increasing soil fertility, reducing nutrient loss and cutting the use of chemically synthesised fertilisers is key to a sustainable agroforestry system. On the other hand, boosting soil organic matter is of particular importance for soil fertility, erosion reduction and climate change mitigation. Therefore, studies on this topic will be of great relevance in the near future.
Soil and water contamination processes, accumulation, dynamics, transport and effect on biota.
Understanding the behaviour of potential contaminants (including emerging ones) in soils and waters is of great importance for predicting their behaviour in the environment and designing prevention strategies. On the other hand, knowing the levels of any contaminants in soil and water that do not affect the activity or diversity of the organisms living in them is essential to decide whether or not it is necessary to establish soil remediation strategies.
Recovery of degraded soils
Once soils that have lost at least some of their functions have been identified, it is necessary to establish recovery strategies. In this regard, strategies for restoring the functions of contaminated soils, soils in mining areas, or those degraded by wildfires are evaluated. In many cases, recovery processes are accompanied by the reuse of waste or by-products as soil amendments, or by nanoremediation or phytoremediation strategies.
Soil economy (emerging line)
The economic valuation of the various ecosystem services provided by soil is of great importance for designing awareness campaigns, public incentives or business models associated with these services. However, to date there are almost no studies on the value of these services. This is due to the need for a multidisciplinary approach involving actors from fields such as economics, edaphology and agronomy. In this regard, it is proposed that personnel from these areas work together to establish the value of the services provided by the soil.
Sustainable Development Goals
