The National Science Foundation (NSF) is partnering with the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) to unlock the mysteries of the chemical and biological processes occurring within our soil. The agencies will collaborate on 10 research projects that will enable American and British researchers to gain a better understanding of soil ecosystems that will continue to play a critical role in feeding the world and supporting life functions.
This research is supported through a US-UK partnership, with an overall investment of $8 million from NSF and NIFA and £8 million from UKRI. In FY 2018, NSF invested nearly $7 million in 21 Signals in the Soil projects.
"As global demands rise for food, fibers and bioenergy, and as land degradation driven by land use change, poor agricultural practices, contamination, and urbanization occurs, humans require more from diminishing soil resources," said NSF Director France Córdova. "This valued partnership will provide new ways to tap into and understand complex underground signals and the soil ecosystems that we all depend on."
"The health of soils is crucial for sustaining life across the world," said UKRI's Chief Executive Professor Sir Mark Walport. "These projects will demonstrate the power of international collaboration in addressing the major global research questions in this area, developing new ways of monitoring and maintaining soils, and increasing our understanding of how ecosystems function and interact."
Through these projects, American and British researchers will create new methods to capture, communicate and analyze soil processes in order to advance our understanding of soil ecosystems and our capacity to manage them. Research teams will design durable new sensors for biological, chemical and/or physical signals in the soil and wireless technologies that can transmit the data through the soil. Researchers will also design new data tools and dynamic models to describe and predict soil processes, organism behavior, and the interactions between these processes and behaviors.
Each three-year project will receive approximately $800,000 for US team research and £800,000 for UK team research. Below is a list of projects and links to grant abstracts:
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