Soils are involved in many processes: the production of food, the provision of clean drinking and surface water, water retention capacity, and regulation of carbon and nutrients – to name but a few. Soil life is involved in many of these functions or ecosystem services. In order to gain a better understanding of the relationship between soil life and soil functions, a consortium of six knowledge institutes and 17 civil society organizations applied for a Perspectief program, SoilProS (Soil biodiversity analysis for sustainable production systems), from NWO in 2021. The dot on the horizon for the research program is that farmers and other soil users will obtain tools with which they can steer soil biodiversity and the associated soil functions in a desired direction.
Innova Connect contributed to the construction of this consortium by bringing parties together around a common theme. During the TEKNOWLOGY innovation festival on 31 May 2022, NWO announced that the Perspective application had been accepted. This means that the programme, with a total volume of almost 4 million euros, can get started!
For more information, see: https://nioo.knaw.nl/en/news/using-soil-life-predict-and-boost-sustainable-food-production