Projects
SOILCOMBAT - Engineering the sponge function of Portuguese pasture soils to sustainably combat desertification
SOILCOMBAT’s main innovative aspect is the focus on the sponge function of soil COMBINED with screening for potential trade-offs - such as germination, soil ecotoxicity – to maintain sustainability.
SOILCOMBAT is a collaboration between the University of Aveiro, the Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA), and the Instituto Superior Tecnico (IST-ID).
POLLINATE - Can biochar-engineered soils boost habitat use for pollinators in Portuguese sown biodiverse pastures?
POLLINATE’s pioneer concept and approach was designed to evaluate if, and how, engineering soil conditions through biochar may improve ecosystem characteristics that are directly linked to pollinator habitat use in pastures (as proof-of-concept)
POLLINATE is a collaboration between the University of Aveiro, Terraprima, and the Instituto Superior de Tecnologia (IST-ID)
TRUESOIL - True SOC sequestration: understanding trade-offs and dynamic interactions between SOC stocks and GHG emissions for climate-smart agri-soil management
The main goal of TRUESOIL is to assess how GHG emissions from agricultural production systems are influenced by biochar incorporation into a sown biodiverse pasture.
TRUESOIL is a collaboration between 13 international research institutes from Europe, South-America, New-Zealand, Indonesia, and Ethiopia.
SOLVO - Solutions to restore degraded Soils in mediterranean OLive orchards Via Organic mulch and biochar using olive industry residues.
SOLVO´s idea is to engineer nature-based solutions combining mulch with biochar to produce immediate effect on the farm system. Mulch-based solutions will also promote circular economy since olive residues will represent a new resource instead of an often-economic burden.
SOLVO is a collaboration between the University of Evora, the University of Aveiro, and Instituto Politecnico de Beija.
PASTURE+ Adaptive and resilient pastures: biochar-based agroecology for improving ecosystem services above and belowground
PASTURE+ uses an innovative and interdisciplinary approach at pot and field scales, aimed at sustainably improving soil-plant-biota interactions in a Mediterranean sown pasture.
PASTURE+ relies on interdisciplinary collaborations within four of CESAM’s research groups (RG), as well as with Harper-Adams University (HAU, UK) and the award-winning Portuguese company Terraprima.