PROTINUS — PROviding new insighT into INteractions between soil fUnctions and Structure

Results in brief

PROviding new insighT into INteractions between soil fUnctions and Structure

The PROTINUS project assembles a multi-disciplinary team from the EU and three associated countries, viz. France, Italy, Denmark, New Zealand, Mexico and Japan These teams combine advanced, experimental and theoretical research expertise in soil physics and chemistry, microbiology, image analysis, computer sciences, and systems modelling to develop a new standard in modelling the interactions between soil structure and soil functions. This project proposes an interdisciplinary integrated methodology based on imaging and analysis of soil structure to allow modelling and predicting soil functions. Soil structure impacts a range of services that soil renders to humans, including for example, contaminant filtering, gas regulation, and nutrient cycling. Quantifying dynamics of the microstructure of soils will allow evaluating the impact of soil management on these ecosystem services, and thereby, will assist in developing ways to reduce the environmental footprint of anthropogenic activities. The development of an integrated methodology is only possible by bringing together experts in soil science, hydrology, microbiology, reactive transfer modelling, imaging and image processing. Our project aimed to answer the following questions: • Can trans-disciplinary understanding and sharing of standards developed separately in different research areas provide a way to foster synergies between disciplines? • Can synergies be found between the four pillars to develop a new trans-disciplinary approach? • Can a trans-disciplinary approach to the understanding of the interaction between soil structure and functions improve current theoretical understanding? • Can each of the four pillars benefit from a new trans-disciplinary approach? The main results of PROTINUS project were: • Put together best and up-to-date best practices in soil science, image processing, and soil functions modelling; • Confront, adapt or improve these practices in the framework of an integrated multidisciplinary methodology; • Use this integrated methodology to challenge nowadays theory on mathematical description of soil functions; • Develop new strategies and approaches to build transversal paradigms.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

The PROTINUS proposal assembles a multi-disciplinary team to combine advanced, applied and theoretical research to create a new standard in imaging, analysing, modelling and predicting the interactions between soil structure and soil functions. Soil structure impacts a whole range of services soil renders to ecosystems, including for example contaminant filtering, carbon storage, root growth, and microbiological diversity. By using modern imaging, image analysis and modelling techniques, we will develop an integrated approach to perform experiments in soil physics, bio-chemistry, to reconstruct soil structure in 3D and to model soil processes. The evaluated models will be used for predicting the different services soil renders to ecosystems in a dynamic way and for testing classical theory, where soil structure is not directly taken into account. To do so we will bring together the theoretical and practical expertise of the involved researchers, infrastructure of the partnering institutes, soil samples and databases. The first stage will investigate today’s best practise in experimental soil science and imaging, data analysis and modelling. Our findings will enable our second stage approach where synergies between the different disciplines will be explored. The third stage will provide the cornerstone of a new unified methodology meant to modify practise and outcomes of current experimental/imaging, analysis and modelling approaches. Our final stage will look at the changes brought to each of the specific research area’s practises and how it impacts the understanding of soil structure and its functions. It is expected that our proposal will foster bilateral collaborations within Europe and with our overseas partners through local and international funding, shared database and infrastructure management, and lead to the creation of a sustainable international network of researchers, infrastructure and institutes.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

INSTITUT DE RECHERCHE POUR LE DEVELOPPEMENT · MarseilleCoordinatorFrance
AALBORG UNIVERSITET · AalborgDenmark
AARHUS UNIVERSITET · Aarhus CDenmark
CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS · ParisFrance
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CORPORATION KUMAMOTO UNIVERSITY · Chuo Ku KumamotoJapan
NOVITOM SAS · GRENOBLEFrance
SAITAMA UNIVERSITY · SAKURA KU SAITAMAJapan
THE NEW ZEALAND INSTITUTE FOR PLANT AND FOOD RESEARCH LIMITED · AucklandNew Zealand
THE UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND · AucklandNew Zealand
UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL AUTONOMA DE MEXICO (UNAM) · CIUDAD DE MEXICOMexico
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PADOVA · PadovaItaly
UNIVERSITE DE LORRAINE · Nancy CedexFrance
UNIVERSITE GRENOBLE ALPES · GrenobleFrance

PROTINUS · PROviding new insighT into INteractions between soil fUnctions and Structure

Results in brief

PROviding new insighT into INteractions between soil fUnctions and Structure

Project objective

Participants

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