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What is FIXSOIL?
FIXSOIL is a research project which aims to understand how plant root traits and soil microbial processes influence soil erodibility.
The research project lasts for two years and there are two host organizations involved: INRA, Montpellier (France) and CEH, Wallingford (UK).
The project is funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions from the European Commission's 7th Framework programme.
Background - Why do we need to do research on soil fixation?
The recent trend of attributing services to ecology allows society to value the benefits provided by the environment [1]. In this project, we investigate the ecosystem service of soil fixation provided by different crop / forest systems. We aim to determine how the function and role of different parts of a root system and the microbial communities provide (or not) this service with regard to soil erosion. Field sites lie in erodible environments and represent natural forest, agroforest and organic farmland in temperate maritime and Mediterranean regions.
Methodology- How do we conduct our research?
The research in Fixsoil is structured in two main blocks: one correlative approach (field study) and one experimental approach (inoculation experiment).
[1] Costanza, R., d'Arge, R., de Groot, R., Farber, S., Grasso, M., Hannon, B., Naeem, S., Limburg, K., Paruelo, J., O'Neill, R.V., Raskin, R., Sutton, P., van den Belt, M. 1997. The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature, 387:253-260.
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