Soils for Europe Conference di Coimbra

From 7 to 11 September 2026, the University of Coimbra hosted the Soils for Europe Conference, dedicated to the future of soil health in Europe and to dialogue between research, public policy and the agricultural sector.

The conference was organised by Soils for Europe (SOLO), a Horizon Europe Mission Soil project coordinated by the University of Coimbra, together with more than 30 EU-funded projects. Around 500 participants, including researchers, farmers, representatives of public institutions and professionals from the sector, took part in five days of discussions on some of the key issues shaping soil research and protection in Europe.

INTERESH was represented at the conference by Professor Cristina Cruz, from the Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa and Group Leader of the Plant-Soil Ecology Research Group at cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes. Professor Cruz is a partner in the project and leads INTERESH Experimental Action 1, focused on the valorisation of olive production residues through nature-based solutions.

Measuring progress in soil health

During her presentation, Cristina Cruz introduced the method developed by INTERESH to define and monitor performance indicators, described in the Handbook on INTERESH performance metrics.

The method provides a common framework for identifying the indicators best suited to the different experimental activities and assessing their results throughout the project. INTERESH is already applying it in Apulia to the work carried out in olive orchards and crop production.

The discussion following the presentation focused on one of the most complex aspects of stakeholder engagement: different interests and priorities can make it difficult to find common ground. Recognising a shared problem can bring different perspectives closer and support collaboration. It is therefore important to understand which problems are relevant to all those involved and to find a language that can engage different actors in the search for a common response.

INTERESH is working on the same challenge in Apulia. Its four Experimental Actions involve farmers, researchers, businesses, public institutions and local organisations in developing and testing possible solutions. In this way, the project brings different expertise and interests into the same process, starting from needs identified at territorial level.

A European network around soil health

The Soils for Europe Conference was also an important networking opportunity with projects and organisations working on different aspects of soil health.

Among the initiatives encountered in Coimbra, SOILRES addresses the relationship between soil health and crop resilience, while GroundWork works on the integration of animals into farming systems. Nitroscope focuses its research on the nitrogen budget of European agricultural soils, while SaveWater explores the connection between water and soil management. Citizen science is at the heart of ECHO, a project dedicated to soil awareness.

The Portuguese landscape offered further opportunities for exchange. Mais Solo works directly with farmers to raise awareness of the importance of soil, while Soil Academy was created to answer farmers’ questions through the exchange of knowledge and expertise. The conference also brought together Solutopus, active in soil research and management, and Lost in Cloud, which applies artificial intelligence to agricultural systems.

Several projects with Italian participation were also represented, including LivingSoiLL, NEMESIS, iCOSHELLs, SUS-SOIL, DeepHorizon, PHISHES and SOILCRATES.

For INTERESH, Coimbra provided a concrete space to present the work carried out in Apulia, learn about approaches developed in other territories and open a dialogue with European initiatives working on issues closely connected to the project.