New project on soil health and sustainability joins the LifeWatch ERIC network. Meet SUS-SOIL!

SUS-Soil

The European research project SUS-SOIL, promoting sustainable soil and subsoil health, held its kick-off meeting in Lugo, Spain, on 2nd October 2024. Funded by Horizon Europe with a budget of nearly 6 million euros, it aims to raise awareness about soil health’s role in tackling climate change, over its four years of activity.

Coordinated by the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), the project has brought together a consortium of 22 organisations, including universities, research institutions, technical entities, foundations, companies, and public bodies from 13 countries.
SUS-SOIL, which stands for “Sustainable Soil and Subsoil Health Promotion”, will focus on implementing agro-ecological land-use and management practices to enhance ecosystem services in both rural and urban environments. The project will cover eight biogeographic regions with 15 Subsoil Living Labs across Europe and North Africa.

The three-day kick-off meeting, hosted at the USC’s Lugo Campus, saw nearly 50 participants from over ten countries come together to discuss the goals and strategies for the first months of activities (LifeWatch ERIC was represented there by Xavier Rotllan-Puig, Data Management Specialist). A field visit to Millo e Landras, an organic farm in Galicia, had the attendees engaged in hands-on soil sampling to learn about sustainable farming practices.

SUS-SOIL will not only contribute through research, but also engage with land managers and public authorities. By promoting sustainable subsoil management, it aims to address issues such as water security, ecosystem service delivery, and climate change mitigation in Europe.
The project’s progress, updates will be shared on their official website and social media channels: for more information, visit sus-soil.eu.

Fund raising

  • End of January 2025 – Establishing a WG Committee on scouting project application opportunities and fundraising

Organising WG workshops and conferences

  • End of January 2025 – Setting priority research lines and contributions to the BEeS 2025 LifeWatch Conference for the session on the “Ecological responses to climate change”
  • March/April 2025 (TBD) – Workshop ‘Ecological modelling and eco-informatics to address functional responses of biodiversity and ecosystems to climate change’ co-organized with the University of Salento
  • 30 June – 3 July 2025 – Participation to LifeWatch 2025 BEeS Conference on “Addressing the Triple Planetary Crisis”

Implementing services

  • End of January 2025 – Internal distribution of a questionnaire on the most used/relevant model resources in the WG member research activity
  • February 2025 (TBD) – Online working table on setting priorities, timeline and milestones for the mapping service and model requirements by scientists and science stakeholders

Mapping user requirements

  • End of January 2025 – Catalogue of services already available in LifeWatch ERIC or research lines addressing ecological responses to climate change
  • February 2025 (TBD) – Online working table on setting priorities, timeline and milestones for the mapping service and model requirements by scientists and science stakeholders
Bulgaria

The Bulgarian National Distributed Centre is represented by the  Agricultural University-Plovdiv.

To know more about how Bulgaria contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.

Spain

The Spanish National Distributed Centre is supported by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, the Regional Government of Andalusia and the Guadalquivir River Basin Authority (Ministry for Ecological Transition-MITECO). Moreover, Spain is the hosting Member State of LifeWatch ERIC, the location of its Statutory Seat & ICT e-Infrastructure Technical Office (LifeWatch ERIC Common Facilities). 

To know more about how Spain contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.

Slovenia

The Slovenian National Distributed Centre is led by the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU). It focuses on the development of technological solutions in the field of biodiversity and socio-ecosystem research.

To know more about how Slovenia contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.

Portugal

The Portuguese National Distributed Centre is managed by PORBIOTA, the Portuguese e-Infrastructure for Information and Research on Biodiversity. Led by BIOPOLIS/CIBIO-InBIO – Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, PORBIOTA connects the principal Portuguese research institutions working in biodiversity.

To know more about how Portugal contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.

Netherlands

The Dutch National Distributed Centre is hosted by the Faculty of Science of the University of Amsterdam. Moreover, The Netherlands hosts one of the LifeWatch ERIC Common Facilities, the Virtual Laboratory and Innovation Centre.

To know more about how The Netherlands contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.

Italy

The Italian National Distributed Centre is led and managed by the Italian National Research Council (CNR) and is coordinated by a Joint Research Unit, currently comprising 35 members. Moreover, Italy hosts one of the LifeWatch ERIC Common Facilities, the Service Centre.

To know more about how Italy contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.

Greece

The Greek National Distributed Centre is funded by the Greek General Secretariat of Research and Technology and is coordinated by the Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, in conjunction with 47 associated partner institutions.

To know more about how Greece contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.

Belgium

The Belgian National Distributed Centre makes varied and complementary in-kind contributions to LifeWatch ERIC. These are implemented in the form of long-lasting projects by various research centres and universities distributed throughout the country and supported by each respective political authority.

To know more about how Belgium contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.