Currently, most of the agricultural soils in the world are at risk of degradation. Among those that pose the greatest threat are the loss of fertility, pollution, desertification or the loss of structure or power. These effects are being aggravated by the climate change situation. This degradation of soils leads to the loss of the largest store of CO₂ without counting on the oceans. In addition, the loss of soils entails a feedback process of lack of support for root systems, increased erosion and loss of biodiversity in the ecosystem. The gradual loss of farmland seriously jeopardizes the volume of production necessary to meet the needs of a growing population.
Faced with this situation, we have to look for alternatives in the use and management of the land that favor its preservation and protection over time. These alternatives should seek to strengthen the local populations of soil macro and microorganisms as fertilizing, structuring and soil protecting agents. In this way, our proposal seeks to generate improvements in local soil populations through the combined use of biofertilizers, biostimulants and formulation with nanoparticles. Our project seeks to combine the use of microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) for plants (growth promoters and tolerance enhancers in plants) and soil binders, with inducing, structuring and water and nutrient retention compounds. We want to improve the microbiota and structure of agricultural soils to promote root growth and reverse the degradation cycle towards a regenerative and protective cycle. For this purpose we will fine-tune the preparation of formulations based on nanoparticles. This new technology allows the generation of controlled release carriers (nanospheres and nanotubes) that would allow controlling the amount of microorganisms released, as well as their inducing compounds and structuring agents.
This new technology will allow bypassing the problems of application and success of most biostimulant formulations as a sustainable fertilization alternative. In addition, it would be a technology adaptable to conventional machinery and reduce inputs for agricultural use, which would provide economic relief to farmers. A better formulation supported with adjuvants or inducers that is accompanied by greater control and efficiency in use will allow regeneration and sustained maintenance of agricultural soils over time.
As a study model, we propose fields of conventional use for horticultural plants (such as tomato, pepper, corn or cereals) that allow us to establish parallels with other study areas. This strategy would be implemented on crop fields with different degrees of degradation and subjected to different environmental pressures to improve the resolution of the study and improve its real application of the products that we design.

NOVA University Lisbon is a public university created in 1973 hosting more than 20000 students, 1800 teaching and research staff, and 41 Research Units, distributed by 9 Academic Units in the metropolitan area of Lisbon. The Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier (ITQB NOVA) is an Academic Unit of NOVA whose mission is to carry out scientific research and postgraduate teaching in life sciences, chemistry, and associated technologies, while serving the community and promoting science and technology. ITQB NOVA has a strong expertise in Molecular Biosciences – including Cellular, Molecular and Structural Biology, Biotechnology and Chemical Biology. This expertise drives research with impact in strategic challenges: the well-being of human societies and the environment. ITQB NOVA coordinates two FCT funded Research Units – MOSTMICRO-ITQB and GREEN-IT and is involved in a third – iNOVA4HEALTH, all rated Excellent by the FCT.
Researchers benefit from first-rate equipment, research facilities, and support services to carry out competitive research. Currently, with 57 independent labs, it hosts approximately 500 researchers. With a track-record of scientific excellence and a focus on internationalization, ITQB NOVA is a leading centre for advanced researcher training that is also part of the Associate Laboratory Life Sciences for a Healthy and Sustainable Future (LS4FUTURE) which is among the top-rated Associate Laboratories in Portugal.