Proxectos

Beneath our feet, a hidden crisis is unfolding. Crucial for ecosystem functions and services, soils are at risk, facing increasing pressures from land use changes, inappropriate management, and climate shifts. In this context, the EU-funded BIOservicES project aims to decode the intricate relationship between soil organisms, land use and management, and climate change. To assess their impacts and develop innovative tools for sustainable land management, BIOservicES will identify the pressures and drivers influencing soil life. To explore the relationship between soil organisms, soil structure, and ecosystem functions and services, the project will develop new indicators, digital tools, and models for climate-resilient land management practices. Moreover, it will take a collaborative approach with experimental sites spanning eight land uses and five biogeographic regions.

To ensure all EU soils are healthy by 2050, it is of utmost importance to integrate soil biodiversity (SOB) into land management. However, SOB gets less attention in large monitoring efforts than higher plants and vertebrates. As a result, its contribution to ecosystem services (ES) is undervalued, unquantified, and is not incorporated into EU policies. By creating a comprehensive evaluation framework and determining the cost-effectiveness of SOB indicators in different ecosystems, SOB4ES aims to improve current evaluations of ecosystem condition and to increase the uptake of practical applications to enhance SOB and its contribution to ES. Above all, SOB4ES transdisciplinary perspective will allow for inclusion of social, economic and political factors to transform soils into healthy systems.

El proyecto Net4Food supone la creación de una red de excelencia en el ecosistema alimentario de la Euroregión Galicia-Norte de Portugal, impulsando la aparición y puesta en marcha de nuevas soluciones innovadoras; valorando los recursos endógenos de la Euroregión; y promoviendo una alimentación sostenible, segura y saludable.

Europe’s soil is being irreversibly lost and degraded mainly due to natural factors such as climate change and human activities such as agriculture. While an investment in soils is necessary, soils can take decades to recover. Given this scenario, the EU-funded InBestSoil project will design an economic valuation system of the ecosystem services delivered by a healthy soil and the impacts of soil interventions, and assess its incorporation into business models and incentives. This will allow public and private organisations to assign economic value to their actions. Involving 19 partners like farmers and enterprises from 10 countries, InBestSoil will provide data, evidence, tools and models to assess how investment in soil health can contribute to long-term resilient and sustainable use of soil.

Wheat is an important crop in Europe. To keep it growing, scientists are studying soil and plant microbial communities. The EU-funded WHEATBIOME project will bring together academia, industry, food system actors and governmental authorities in six EU countries to carry out two case studies and a lab-scale demonstrator. The project will also study the role of microbial fermentation in food/feed quality and reduce food waste by recirculating wheat by-products. Another aspect of the research will be explaining the interactions between wheat (prebiotics, probiotics, bioactive compounds and immunogenic proteins) and the human/animal microbiota, and their effect on human and animal health. The findings will be used to develop farming practices for resilient and nutritious wheat crops. Specifically, the project will produce a new decision support system.

Climate change is a growing pressure on the agricultural industry. Aiming to deliver crops adapted to changing environments, the EU-funded Root2Res project will enhance the resilience of rotational cropping systems. It will consider the relevant root traits with respect to the impact of climate change. Innovations include phenotyping, genetic and modelling tools that will help breeders evaluate novel and existing genotypes of a range of crops (cereals, potatoes, legumes) as root ideotypes for different soil and climatic environments across Europe. It will also investigate the potential role of emerging crops (sweet potato, lentil) to enhance resilience to environmental change.

Plastic is a vital material in our economy and daily lives. Unfortunately, it is associated with high levels of waste and leakage to the environment. For instance, plastic debris and especially microplastics (particles less than 5 mm in size) can be found in agricultural soils – from silage bags and greenhouse cover films to sewage sludge and compost. The EU-funded SOPLAS project will assemble a multidisciplinary team to study the nexus of plastic–agriculture–soil. It will also train a new generation of leading experts. The project aims to identify the plastic cycle within agricultural soil systems and support the development of environmental policies related to mitigating the impact of plastics. The findings will advance our knowledge about the sustainable use of plastics in European agriculture.

The COPPERPLACE project develops and validates a series of integrated, innovative, and viable solutions to reduce the use of copper and its environmental impact in vineyards. The solutions promoted within the project will be transferable and durable to allow that the wine sector complies with the new European law and promoting environmentally sustainable production.

The Chemical Technology Unit of Eurecat participates in the project by developing encapsulation technology for new efficient phytosanitary products that allow reducing the amount of copper used without generating microplastics.

Olive and grape processing produces a residual biomass which most of time remains underexploited. To tap the potential of this residual biomass, the EU-funded UP4HEALTH project aims to work on a zero-waste sustainable process for olive and grape pomace, nut by-products and olive pits. Their residue will be transformed into a natural fruit water rich in polyphenols, polyphenol-rich dietary fibres, natural oily fruit extracts and prebiotic xylooligosaccharides that will be used in functional food, nutraceutical supplements and cosmetics. What is more, the remaining solid fraction from the hydrolysis of the olive pits will be used to produce energy.

EcoChestnut project aims at enhancing the development opportunities and boost the growth potential of European chestnut farmers & chestnut products producers.

EcoChestnut main output is an online comprehensive and tailored training on organic chestnuts farming & chestnut products manufacturing. The course focuses also on enhancing the competences on marketing strategy, communication with customers, and diversification of the activities.

EcoChestnut project supports farmers and producers in development of their potential for production and promotion of organic chestnuts & chestnut products. EcoChestnut will also provide the vocational trainers with learning methods and material to encourage farmers in their initiative.

Soil biodiversity and associated ecosystem services may result in crop production and quality increases. EU policies encourage management practices and production systems that ensure agricultural stability, resilience and growth. The EU-funded SoildiverAgro project aims to propose new practices increasing quality and production of crops while reducing external inputs. SoildiverAgro will be deployed in nine European regions using advanced management practices based on mycorrhiza and plant growth promoting bacteria, appropriate management of soil organisms, suitable crop rotations and intercropping, pest alert systems, nutrient catch crops, trap crops for pest control, by-products as soil ameliorants and adequate tillage systems. Project outcomes will be evaluated for soil biodiversity, ecosystems services delivery, and environmental, social and economic impact of crop management.

ECOBREED will improve the availability of seed and varieties suitable for organic and low- input production. Activities will focus on four crop species, selected for their potential contribution to increase competitiveness of the organic sector, i.e. common wheat, potato, soybean and common buckwheat. The project will develop (a) methods, strategies and infrastructures for organic breeding, (b) varieties with improved stress resistance, resource use efficiency and quality and (c) improved methods for the production of high quality organic seed. The objectives are:

• To increase the availability of seeds and varieties for the organic and low-input sector.
• To identify traits and combinations of traits suited to organic and low-input production environment including high nutrient use efficiency and weed competitiveness/allelopathy.
• To increase breeding activities for organic and low-input crop production.