SOILSPONGE – Improving the SOIL SPONGE function to adapt to climate change – quantifying agroecology-biochar synergies and trade-offs to sustainably combat desertification

Coordinator

Franciscus Gert Anton Verheijen

Programme

Concurso de Projetos de I&D em Todos os Domínios Científicos - 2023

Dates

11/09/2025 - 27/08/2028

Total Funding

212 388 €

Funding Entity

Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) & COMPETE 2030

Proponent Institution

Universidade de Aveiro (PT)

URL / WWW

https://sites.google.com/view/biocharcology

The SOILSPONGE project breaks new ground by studying the effects of biochar on total soil water storage (sponge function) at the slope scale and 2 modelling scales (catchment, water scarcity footprint).

SOILSPONGE is an interdisciplinary collaboration combining researchers in soil structure, moisture and organic matter dynamics, environmental biology, chemistry, spatiotemporal modelling, life cycle analysis and C footprints within CESAM, as well as vital consultants from Harper-Adams University (HAU, UK), civil engineering from the University of Aveiro, and the award-winning Portuguese company Terraprima.

CESAM members in the project

Ana Cláudia Relvas Vieira Dias

Investigadora Principal

Liliana Beatriz Simões

Estudante de Doutoramento

Zahra Khodaparast

Estagiária de Pós-Doutoramento