Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA), Lisbon – 11 December 2025
On 11 December 2025, SOILRes was officially presented at the Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA), part of the University of Lisbon, during a dedicated event aimed at introducing the project’s objectives, approach and national activities to Portuguese stakeholders. The session also marked the formal launch of the Portuguese National Task Force (NTF), a key component of the project’s multi-actor engagement strategy.
Speakers highlighted the growing challenges affecting European agriculture, including soil degradation, loss of soil organic matter, increasing pest and pathogen outbreaks, and the environmental impacts of excessive agrochemical use. These pressures threaten ecosystem services, agricultural productivity and climate resilience. SOILRes addresses these challenges through the development and validation of agroecological practices, digital tools for soil health assessment, and multi-actor collaboration across six case studies representing five different pedoclimatic zones.
The Portuguese Case Study: ISA/CHOLDA Field Activities
The Portuguese case study, implemented by Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA) in collaboration with Quinta da Cholda (CHOLDA), presented its ongoing experimental work focused on improving soil functionality and reducing environmental impacts in maize-based systems.
Key research activities include:
- Cover crop–maize rotations, comparing a commercial mixture and a locally developed mixture to evaluate their agronomic and environmental performance.
- Monitoring of nitrate leaching reduction and greenhouse gas emissions throughout the cropping cycle.
- Assessment of nutrient availability, maize productivity and crop quality.
- Comprehensive evaluation of soil health indicators, including physical-chemical properties, enzymatic activity, and soil micro- and macrofauna diversity.
- Investigation of the potential of cover crops to contribute to weed suppression in maize systems.
- Trials on the application of bio-stimulants and microbial inoculants, under both full and reduced nitrogen fertilisation scenarios.
- Demonstration trials testing innovative cover crop sowing and termination methods, including direct seeding, drone-based application, roller-crimper and grass-chopper techniques, as well as evaluation of cover crop mineralisation dynamics.
These activities aim to generate robust, field-validated knowledge that balances productivity, environmental sustainability and long-term soil regeneration.
Launch of the Portuguese National Task Force
A central outcome of the event was the creation of the Portuguese National Task Force (NTF), designed to ensure strong stakeholder involvement and local relevance of project outcomes.
The NTF will:
- Facilitate active participation of farmers, SMEs, researchers, policymakers, NGOs and other value chain actors.
- Contribute to the co-creation and evaluation of proposed technical solutions.
- Analyse socio-economic drivers and barriers to adoption.
- Support the development of strategies for scaling up and policy alignment.
- Promote knowledge exchange through workshops, field visits, training sessions and open days.
Through regular meetings and thematic working groups, the NTF will help ensure that SOILRes innovations are practical, scalable and aligned with national agricultural priorities.
Strengthening Multi-Actor Collaboration for Long-Term Impact
The Lisbon event reaffirmed the importance of integrating scientific research with stakeholder engagement to accelerate the transition towards more resilient and sustainable agricultural systems. By combining agroecological practices, advanced monitoring tools and structured multi-actor collaboration, SOILRes aims to deliver tangible improvements in soil health and crop resilience across diverse European contexts.