TERRASAFE showcased its research on tackling soil degradation and strengthening resilience in vulnerable landscapes at the Soils for Europe Conference, held from 7 to 11 September 2026 at the University of Coimbra. The event was co-organised by SOLO and 30 EU-funded research projects, including TERRASAFE.
Bringing together more than 500 researchers, policymakers and practitioners, the conference provided a platform to discuss the latest advances in soil research across Europe and to foster new collaborations and actions in support of healthy soils.
TERRASAFE partners Dr Ana Vasques and Dr Sofia Corticeiro (University of Aveiro) contributed to the session Reducing Soil Degradation and Strengthening Soil Resilience in Vulnerable Territories.
Dr Vasques opened the session with a bibliometric review of desertification modelling research. Analysing more than 3,115 articles published since 1981, the review showed that while the field has expanded rapidly, there remains a need for more integrated decision-support tools to guide action on the ground.
Dr Corticeiro presented a framework that generated 57 innovation proposals to address desertification, which are now feeding into the development of a harmonised monitoring system to assess their real-world impact.
At the poster session, PhD researcher Marina Alarcón (Wageningen University & Research) presented a preliminary framework for assessing and comparing regenerative practices across farms.
The framework provides a tool to understand how many farms have actually adopted regenerative approaches. These are gaining interest in the Mediterranean as farmers tackle soil degradation in areas vulnerable to desertification.
Visitors also had the opportunity to meet the team at the TERRASAFE stand during the project fair. We were delighted to welcome so many attendees and would like to thank everyone who stopped by to learn more about the project and share their thoughts.
