Soil Health Worlds Project
In this session of the Anthropogenic Soils (SOILS) reading group, Tiago Moreira will present the Soil Health Worlds Project, a joint project with Anastasyia Halauniova and Karen Johnson from the Living Soils Team at Durham University.
Soil health – the capacity of soil to function as a living system that sustains ecological processes over time – is central to tackling climate change, securing food supplies and supporting human wellbeing. The concept emerged partly in response to widespread soil degradation and a long history of treating soil as an inert resource to be exploited, and now features prominently in environmental policy and scientific research.
A growing range of indicators and technologies aim to make it visible, measurable and manageable, and are key in the EU and UK climate initiatives like the upcoming Soil Monitoring and Resilience Directive. Yet there is still no agreement on what soil health is, how it should be measured and practically engaged with.
The Reading Group is hybrid, so you can also join us on Zoom:
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https://uio.zoom.us/j/69111477106?pwd=x0oiIJn9OQHDWoiDNBbGa0MZMeKsR0.1
Meeting ID: 691 1147 7106
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Bio
Tiago Moreira is Professor of Sociology at Durham University. Working primarily in STS, his research has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, European Commission, British Academy, Leverhulme Trust, Royal Society, and NORDEA Fonden (DK).
In the last years, Moreira’s focus has been on interdisciplinary collaborations such as the project Material Imagination (2019–23) with Prof Staykova, combining sociological and engineering expertise to develop ‘engineered living materials’ (Matter, 6(8): 2467–2470).
Moreira currently leads the social science component of the interdisciplinary collaboration ‘Soil Microbiome Augmentation and Restoration Technologies (SMART) Lab’ with Prof Karen Johnson, aiming to align innovation on ‘soil regeneration’ with the public values of inclusion, sustainability and care.