The Soil@INT project - Inland soils: monitoring to mitigate the effects of climate change, approved in September 2023, has as its main objective the development of a soil health monitoring network, based on the integration of remote sensing data and in situ ecological indicators, with a view to producing models that facilitate the creation of soil monitoring routines at different spatial and temporal scales.

Another objective is to provide the intervention area with tools to maximise ecosystem services and the climate resilience of its natural capital.

This project is coordinated by the University of Aveiro and involves several partners, including Palombar. It is funded by BPI - Fundação ‘la Caixa’ and the Foundation for Science and Technology.

The Soil@INT project has two lines of action:

1. The development and implementation of a robust, innovative, accessible and spatially delimited environmental monitoring system;
2. The promotion of literacy about soils, their functioning and importance for the region, through awareness-raising, qualification and training of local agents and the general population.

The first aims to generate regional scientific knowledge about the functioning of soil ecosystems at different scales, through the integration of robust ecological indicators and remote sensing technologies and artificial intelligence. The second aims to contribute to providing territories with tools that can autonomously enhance natural capital and endogenous resources in the medium/long term.

This project will be implemented in the municipality of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo (case study), but will also be carried out in the municipalities of Alfândega da Fé, Almeida, Freixo de Espada à Cinta, Miranda do Douro, Mogadouro, Pinhel and Sabugal.

In this project, Palombar is responsible for implementing the Citizen Science initiative ‘Test your soil for free’, which aims to promote literacy among the population, with a focus on schools and farmers, about the importance of soil. This initiative allows the assessment of soil decomposition rates, a key process in soil ecosystems.

The combination of transdisciplinary and multi-actor approaches, with strong participation from key local actors, will provide the region with tools to maximise ecosystem services and the resilience of its natural capital to climate change. The project will be implemented between September 2023 and September 2026.

Coordination University of Aveiro
Partners Palombar, National Energy and Geology Laboratory, Faia Brava and Municipality of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo
Area of intervention Beira Interior and Trás-os-Montes
Funding FCT, BPI and ‘la Caixa’ Foundation