Project SOILdarity is coming to an end and you are all invited to its Final Event!
During the conference, researchers will present project results and will demonstrate how SOILdarity has integrated soil science with cutting-edge technology and precision agriculture in Portugal.
Representatives from local rural and economic communities will intervene to talk about the importance of healthy soil for sustainable growth and development for Portugal and the whole European Union.
The course on biofertilizers will include theoretical lectures about biofertilzers type and sources, their agronomic and environmental benefits, variable rate technologies to implement biofertilizers site specifically, and the potential socio-economic and environmental benefits of combining biofertilizers with variable rate technologies. The online course will be integrated by a field trip to visit the experimental plots of biofertilizer use at different rates of applications implemented at Herdade dos Conqueiros . Participants will be able to do some evaluation of different agronomic differences using visual assessments, soil properties measurement using optical methods and crop NDVI sensors.
When and Where? The course will be an online event from the 19th to the 30th of June 2023, with 2 hours of classes a day from 10:00 to 12:00 (Lisbon time).
Field trip will be held on June 28 at Herded dos Conqueiros (Alvalade do Sado, Alentejo).
Registration
The course is free of charge, but participants must register via the form available at the link below.
If you have troubles opening the link, copy and paste the following URL into your browser https://forms.gle/G5kJaQY2mHNjEMpv5 or contact us via mail at
amventura@fc.ul.pt | Ana Maria Ventura (FCUL)
or
ccruz@fc.ul.pt | Prof. Cristina Cruz (FCUL)
Web link to the lectures will be available a few days before the course starts.
Course Content The course consists in 9 theoretical lectures (one lecture per day, from 10:00 to 12:00, Lisbon Time) and a field trip at Herded dos Conqueiros.
Lectures will be structured as follows:
Date
Name of the lecture
19 June Monday
Introduction to biofertilizers in the context of soil ecology
20 June Tuesday
The need for biofertilizers: a market perspective
21 June Wednesday
From microbes to biofertilizers
22 June Thursday
Techincal and legal issues, the business plan associated with biofertilizers
23 June Friday
Alternatives to biofertilizers
24 June Saturday
No lecture
25 June Sunday
No lecture
26 June Monday
Works on Biofertilizers
27 June Tuesday
Black soldar fly as a soil stimulant
28 June Wednesday
Campo (Alvalade do Sado; Herdade dos Conqueiros)
29 June Thursday
Precision agriculture and biofertilizers, results from field assays
30 June Friday
Biofertilizers in precision agriculture: round table
Boosting the impact of research activities and making their results exploitable can be a challenge for reseachers, as they may lack competences or resurces to prepare dissemination or exploitation strategies. The challenge could also be harder if the research result is also a business enabler.
The Content of the Course
SOILdarity organises an intensive training course made up of a series of modules in the field of sustainable business modelling in order to bridge the gap between academia and market and provide researchers with a set of basic tools to improve the capacity to disseminate to farmer’s organization, advisors and innovation brokers, as well as to industrial sectors and actors.
The objectives
MIGAL – Galilee Research Institute and one of the research partners in SOILdarity – has set up a programme revolving around the concept of cost/benefit analysis, leading to the creation of business models. The course will:
Seek to to provide tools for engaging farmers and related agro-industry organisations and increase the proficiency in agro-economics and sustainable business;
fit to Mediterranean specificities as well as water and soil management, and accountability.
generate knowledge in key areas (technical, social, financial and political) and will drive forward essential agriculture issues and acceptance of innovative methods.
When & Where
20-21 September 2022
Faculdade de Ciências- Universidade de Lisboa
How to participate
Would you like to participate or receive more information on the course?
or copy and paste https://forms.gle/RJLpWHMvXrh4ZLbu8 into your web browser.
If you’d like to receive more information, you can email us at
amventura[at]fc.ul.pt | Ana Maria Ventura (FCUL)
or
ccruz[at]fc.ul.pt | Prof. Cristina Cruz (FCUL)
Here below you find the theoretical content of the course.
Theoretical content
Introduction on the aim of the module (Uri Marchaim, Ori Ben-Herzel, Abdul Mouazen)
The Portuguese main goal in agriculture (official from Ministry of Agriculture, Patrick Crehan by Zoom)
Working with and for the Farmers (Uri Marchaim)
Innovation and entrepreneurship implementation (Ori Ben-Herzel)
The possibilities for patent registration (Ori Ben-Herzel)
Summary (Uri Marchaim and Ori Ben-Herzel)
Develop activities of the “task Forces” (FC.ID/CIÊNCIAS)
Subject
20 of March
21 March
Introduction (3h)
9:30 -12:30
Lunch
12:30 – 14:00
Portuguese goals (2 h)
14:00 – 16:00
R & D Activities (3 h)
16:00 – 19:00
Business development (4 h)
9:00 – 13:00
Lunch
13:00 – 14:30
Patent registration (4h)
14:30 – 18:30
The implementation of the course contributes to fulfil the task 3.3 of the project SOILdarity “Specialized training on sustainable business modelling: bridging science to industry and market”.
Soil health living labs are becoming increasingly popular in Europe as a way to promote sustainable farming practices and improve soil health. These labs are designed to be a collaboration of farmers, researchers, and other stakeholders, with the goal of sharing information and best practices for improving soil health with the broader agricultural community. The focus of these labs is typically on the use of cover crops, reduced tillage, and other conservation practices that help build soil organic matter and improve soil structure, water-holding capacity, and nutrient cycling. These practices have been shown to increase crop yields, reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers, and improve water quality.
Our workshop on soil health living labs
SOILdarity is currently working to raise awareness on the preliminary steps the project partners have taken for the development of a living lab in Alentejo, a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal.
The SOILdarity workshop ‘A living lab for a just transition to sustainable food production systems based on soil health and ecosystem services‘, which took place on 17th January 2023, has been set up to establish new connections and consolidate the collaborations with a group of relevant Portuguese and European stakeholders representing different categories (academia, business, civil society, policy) with the final aim to discuss the application of the concept of living lab in the Alentejo region.
SOILdarity’s consortium members representing FC.ID, UGENT, EUKNOW.
The objectives
One of our main goals was to show what has already been done in Portugal and Europe, which challenges need to be addressed, which successful practices and methodologies can be transferred from more mature living lab experiences to Alentejo. The resulting interaction between the participants provides key insights on common understandings, problems and difficulties that living labs are facing in the development process and produced a lively debate on possible solutions to make this initiative sustainable in the long term. The workshop focused on a specific topic relevant to the attendees and their industries, with presentations and group exercises designed to encourage collaboration and idea-sharing.
Presentations
Despite the chilly weather outside, the atmosphere in the room was warm and productive as the participants actively engaged in the activities and shared their own experiences and insights. Here, we gathered the presentations by the partners and experts who spoke at the workshop. You can freely download them if you are interested in knowing more.
Introduction to “A Living Lab for a Just Transition to Sustainable Food Production Systems based on Soil Health and Ecosystem Services”
Agenda of awareness-raising event, 17 January 2023.
Output
As the morning progressed, the group took a break to enjoy a tasty coffee break together, allowing them to continue conversations and build connections with one another. After lunch, the workshop resumed with more hands-on exercises and a final presentation summarizing the key takeaways from the day. By the end of the workshop, the attendees left feeling energized, having gained valuable knowledge and connections that they could apply to their work. The sunny but chilly morning in Brussels had been well-spent, and the group was already looking forward to the next opportunity to come together and learn.
9:30 – 9:40 | Gabriele Quattrocchi – Euknow project advisor – “Welcome and introduction to SOILdarity”
9:40 – 09:55 | Cristina Cruz – Professor in Plant Biology at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon – “The path from SOILdarity to soil related sustainable development and the need for a Living Lab in Alentejo”
09:55 – 10:10 | Ana Maria Ventura – Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon – “A Living Lab in Alentejo: strengths, needs and the regional context.”
10:10 – 10:25 | Marcos Nogueira – H2020-AURORAL coordinator – “Rural is Europe’s new frontier. Healthy soil is the most critical dimension for making it sustainable. H2020-AURORAL tools enable the use of digital tools for supporting intelligent territorial management in rural areas.”
10:25 – 10:50 | Note & Vote: How to engage the farming community and society?
10:50 – 11:00 | Coffee Break
2nd Part | 11:00 – 13:00
11:00 – 11:15 | Giulia Campodonico – European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) – “Soil Health Living Labs and what NATI00NS project will do to support them”
11:15 – 11:30 | Manlio Bacco, PhD – Institute of Information Science and Technologies (ISTI), National Research Council (CNR) – “Living Labs in the H2020 DESIRA project”
11:30 – 11:45 | Didier Stilmant, head of the ‘Sustainability, systems and prospectives’ department at CRA-W – “Lighthouse farms and living labs to explore wicked problem, an example”
11:45 – 12:00 | Leigh Ann Winowiecki, PhD – Global Research Lead for Soil and Land Health at Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and World Agroforestry (ICRAF)– “Advances in monitoring and tracking soil health and building coalitions to scale soil health globally”
12:00 – 12:20 | Note & Vote: How to make Living Labs economically sustainable when public funds end?
12:20 – 12:35 | Tayfun Bahsi – 17 Sustainable Services – “The importance of financial security and peer-to-peer learning and how it can be linked with business cases which can support “living labs” approach”
12:35 – 12:45 | Giuseppe Saija – EUKNOW Director – “Mission soil, an overview of the next round of calls for proposals”
Are you interested in learning more about soil monitoring and reforestation? Then mark your calendars for January 26th and 27th, and join us for our informative webinar series on these important topics.
On January 26th, we will delve into the latest techniques and technologies for monitoring soil health. From remote sensing to in-situ measurements, we will cover the various methods for measuring key soil properties such as moisture content, nutrient levels, and organic matter. We will also discuss the importance of soil monitoring and its role in sustainable land management.
On January 27th, we will focus on reforestation and the various strategies for restoring our forests. We will discuss the benefits of reforestation, including carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, and soil health improvement. We will also cover the different approaches to reforestation, such as natural regeneration and plantation establishment, and the challenges and opportunities involved in each.
Two SOILdarity webinars on Soil Monitoring and Reforestation on 26-27 January 2023.
These webinars will be led by experts in the field and will include interactive Q&A sessions, allowing you to ask questions and engage with the speakers. Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your knowledge and contribute to the conservation of our precious natural resources. Take a look at the content of each webinar and who will be there!
Webinar 1 – Soil Monitoring in Europe and beyond
Programme 26 January 2023 | (GMT+1, Lisbon time)
11:00 – 11:05 | Prof. Iggy Litaor – Introductory remarks
11:05 – 11:50 | Prof. Tomas Reznik, Kotlarska – Geospatial Modelling in Precision Agriculture: Satellite-based Predictions in Light of a Decade of Second-by-second Yield Measurements
11:50 – 12:35 | Prof. Pinchas Fine – Environmentally safe disposal of dairy/domestic wastewater via irrigation of reconstructed mixed forest – forage formation
12:35 – 12:50 | Coffee Break
12:50 – 13:35 | Prof. Yael Laor – Monitoring and archiving challenges at the Model Farm for Sustainable Agriculture, Newe Ya’ar Research Center
13:35 – 14:10 | Prof. Iggy Litaor – Alpine Ecosystem Response to Climate Warming: Long-Term Monitoring Data of Lakes, soils and Streams Chemistries Revisited
14:10 – 14:30 | Discussion
Webinar 2 – Reforestation: a technique to promote soil health
SOILdarity researchers from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon have taken part in and contributed to a workshop on soils with Portuguese farmers and advisors. The event took place at the Confederation of the Portuguese Farmers – CAP – on 5 December 2022. What a great way to celebrate the World Soil Day!
During the event, Ana Paula Rosa, a PhD student at the University of Lisbon, holds a practical class on circular soil chromatography, a tool for farmers to have an integrated view of the soil properties.
Soil as a hotspot of biodiversity.
The workshop was also an occasion for the project coordinator, Prof. Cristina Cruz, to provide some insight on the research team’s activities and spotlight soil as a hotspot of biodiversity and a life supporting system.
A module of the event was also dedicated by Dr. Teresa Dias to soil ecology and ecosystem services, who opened a general discussion on how to implement the compensation to farmers based on ecosystem services.
The workshop was a great opportunity for the project team, which was able to graps the main interests and needs of the audience. How to use the knowldge of soil ecology to better implement the ambitions of the Green Deal, the new CAP and the strategy for biodiversity were the most debated issues. The discussion was very lively and focused on the fragilities of the Portuguese Pepac.
About 95% of what we eat comes from soil. It sounds quite obvious but we too often neglect the relation that exists between food and farmland. There has been a deep separation in recent decades between food and the environments in which it is produced. To reiterate that food begins with soil and that its management plays a key role in food security, the overarching theme of the World Soil Day 2022, held on December 5, is: ‘Soils, Where Food Begins’.
On this very special day, SOILdarity has announced an upcoming project event dedicated to raise awareness on the relation between soil health and the transition to sustainable food production systems.
The workshop A living lab for a just transition to a sustainable food production system based on soil health and ecosystem serviceswill take place on 17th January 2023 in Brussels in a hybrid format.
The workshop
The workshop will offer the chance to raise awareness on the preliminary steps the project consortium has taken for the development of a living lab in Alentejo region (Portugal) which will outlive the project itself.
One of our main goals is to map what has already been done in Portugal and Europe, which challenges need to be addressed, which successful practices and methodologies can be transferred from more mature living lab experiences to Alentejo, discuss opportunities for funding and for collaboration with European partners which are part of the SOILdarity network. This interaction will provide key insights on common understandings, problems and difficulties that living labs are facing in the development process. Hence, we want to debate possible solutions to make this initiative sustainable in the long term.
9:30 – 9:40 | Gabriele Quattrocchi – Euknow project advisor – “Welcome and introduction to SOILdarity”
9:40 – 09:55 | Cristina Cruz – Professor in Plant Biology at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon – “The path from SOILdarity to soil related sustainable development and the need for a Living Lab in Alentejo”
09:55 – 10:10 | Ana Maria Ventura – Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon – “A Living Lab in Alentejo: strengths, needs and the regional context.”
10:10 – 10:25 | Marcos Nogueira – H2020-AURORAL coordinator – “Rural is Europe’s new frontier. Healthy soil is the most critical dimension for making it sustainable. H2020-AURORAL tools enable the use of digital tools for supporting intelligent territorial management in rural areas.”
10:25 – 10:50 | Note & Vote: How to engage the farming community and society?
10:50 – 11:00 | Coffee Break
2nd Part | 11:00 – 13:00
11:00 – 11:15 | Giulia Campodonico – European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) – “Soil Health Living Labs and what NATI00NS project will do to support them”
11:15 – 11:30 | Manlio Bacco, PhD – Institute of Information Science and Technologies (ISTI), National Research Council (CNR) – “Living Labs in the H2020 DESIRA project”
11:30 – 11:45 | Didier Stilmant, head of the ‘Sustainability, systems and prospectives’ department at CRA-W – “Lighthouse farms and living labs to explore wicked problem, an example”
11:45 – 12:00 | Leigh Ann Winowiecki, PhD – Global Research Lead for Soil and Land Health at Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and World Agroforestry (ICRAF)– “Advances in monitoring and tracking soil health and building coalitions to scale soil health globally”
12:00 – 12:20 | Note & Vote: How to make Living Labs economically sustainable when public funds end?
12:20 – 12:35 | Tayfun Bahsi – 17 Sustainable Services – “The importance of financial security and peer-to-peer learning and how it can be linked with business cases which can support “living labs” approach”
12:35 – 12:45 | Giuseppe Saija – EUKNOW Director – “Mission soil, an overview of the next round of calls for proposals”
How to register
You can participate in the event either vitually or in person. Select the most suitable solution for you here below and click to get further information.
DEADLINE for registering: January 6 for participating in person, but places are limited, so hurry up! Due to the nature of the event, the places in the virtual room will be also limited.
SOILdarity, what is going on?
SOILdarity is a H2020 twinning project aiming to boost the capacities of researchers in soil and agricultural sciences to deliver impact to society at large. The project is currently building up new opportunities for collaborations in research and innovation activities to deliver concrete results that can be adopted at territorial level to maintain or restore soil health in the regional food production systems. The project shares the objectives of the European Green Deal and sustains the momentum of the Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”, which aims to pioneer, showcase, and accelerate the transition to healthy soils by 2030, supporting the long-term commitments towards the creation of 100 Living Labs (LLs) and Lighthouses.
5 December 2022 is World Soil Day. This year the main them is the connection between soils and what we eat. #Soils4nutrition
Soil nutrient loss is a major soil degradation processes threatening nutrition and is recognized as being among the most important problems at a global level for food security and sustainability all around the globe.
The video aims to raise awareness on the risks associated with soil nutrient imbalance and soil fertility loss while highlighting the role of soil fertility in producing sufficient, safe, and more nourishing food for healthier plants, animals, and people.
World Soil Day 2022 (#WorldSoilDay) and its campaign “Soils: Where food begins” aims to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being by addressing the growing challenges in soil management, increasing soil awareness and encouraging societies to improve soil health.
“Healthy soils can significantly contribute to ending hunger and creating a healthy planet, but only if we address soil global threats, including nutrient imbalance,” Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), told the opening of the Global Symposium on Soils for Nutrition.
Yes, exactly! The theme of World Soil Day 2022 comes The Global Symposium on Soils for Nutrition – “Soils, where food begins,” that was held in a virtual format from 26 to 29 July 2022. The Symposium brought science and policy together to review the status and challenges of soil fertility in relation with crop, animal and human nutrition.
Humans, like plants, and animals, need sufficient food to survive. But food must be safe and nutritious not only to provide energy and basic nutrients, but also to prevent disease and the intake of harmful toxins. About 95 percent of our food comes from soils, which have a natural capacity to support plant growth by providing them with nutrients through the soil solution.
The third SOILdarity specialised training course is getting started!
The objective of the course is to offer the participants the chance to acquire fundamental understanding of the soil ecology characteristics of the dry ecosystems and be able to identify soil as a regenerative element of ecological sustainability. In doing so, the course will strengthen the capacities of the attendees in recognising and using biological indicators of soil health.
The course is totally free of charge but places are limited, so hurry up! Registration is open until 10 November 2022, 23:59 (Portugal Time).
The Content of the Course
MIGAL (Israel) will lead the theoretical and practical sessions of the course that will take place in a hybrid format (both online and in-person) at the Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa (Lisbon) from 14 to 25 of November 2022. The course will be held in English.
The objective
The objective of the course is to train primarily early stage researchers, MSc students and scientists of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon and then farmers and technicians engaged in soil ecology and soil ecosystem services. This aims at increasing the resilience of territories and soils against the challenges posed by climate change.
When & Where
14-25 November 2022
Zoom online platform and Faculdade de Ciências- Universidade de Lisboa
How to participate
Would you like to participate or receive more information on the course?
or copy and paste this https://forms.gle/FQDbbZzLiBZxi4Gk6 into your web browser.
If you’d like to receive more information, you can email us at
amventura[at]fc.ul.pt | Ana Maria Ventura (FCUL)
or
ccruz[at]fc.ul.pt | Prof. Cristina Cruz (FCUL)
Here below you find the theoretical content of the course.
Theoretical content
Systems Biology in Ecology & Agriculture.
The S cycle in the rhizosphere. Adding perspectives and new players.
Entomopathogenic fungi for the control of below and above ground soil pests.
Transcriptomic-metabolomic profiling of soil fungi for soil health determination.
Drivers of microbiome predator communities in soils and the resulting change in their function.
Soil predatory mites as bio-control agents and members of the soil food web.
Resistance–recovery trade-off of soil microbial communities under altered rain regimes: An experimental test across European agro-ecosystems.
Effects of fertilizers and root stock on above ground pests.
Effects of beneficial endophytic fungi on above ground pests.
Soil microbes and invasive plant species.
The implementation of the course contributes to fulfil the task 2.1 of the project SOILdarity “Specialized training on water management, plant-soil interactions, alternative fertilizers“, specifically the module “Soil ecology in dry ecosystems”.
You are never too young to discover soils! Soil care and health are two intertwined key concepts, which nowadays are even more central and imperative as it is no mystery that the ecological transition implies the implemetation of a set of wide-ranging strategies. The young generations, in this sense, are called upon to make an extra effort that should be fuelled by a full awareness. This should raise from a very early age, starting from basic education.
SOILdarity is supporting the online workshop Put your hands in the dirt – Communicate soil science to children which is organised by the project MED-N-CHANGE to collect information about experiences in soil science communication to youngsters. The workshop participants will take up an analysis based on the results of different initiatives. They will produce guidelines (from general recommendations to description of activities, to be defined based on the material we have) for scientists on how to maximize their success of science communication efforts.
Maria Amélia Martins-Loução from the University of Lisbon (Portugal): “Why is dirty soil interesting?”
Cristina Cruz from University of Lisbon (Portugal): “I have a mission, I am a soil steward!”
Apolline Auclerc from the Univerisity of Lorraine – INRAE: “Sharing knowledge on soil invertebrates with the Jardibiodiv tool”
Alberto Orgiazzi from Joint Research Centre (Italy): “Need for a soil culture, an EU perspective”
Francois-Xavier from University of Stirling, Scotland (UK): “Communication concepts of soil ecology to the general public and children”
Pierre Ganault from the German center for integrative biodiversity research (Germany): “Participatory action research in schools to study and protect soils”
Willy Xylander from Senckenberg research institute Gorlitz (Germany): “Digital media opening an inmersive view into the soil – VR and holograms presenting soil biodiversity”
Lourdes Morillas from University of Seville (Spain): “A learning videogame to raise awareness on soil biodiversity”
11:30-12:00 – Presentation and co-design of the questionnaire to collect data for the publication resulting from the workshop.
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