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Welcome to SMART Soils

Durham University has established a world first research group – the Soil and Microbiome Augmentation and Restoration Technologies Lab (SMART Soils Lab).  The SMART Soils Lab will enable environmental engineers and plant scientists to design soil and plant restoration technologies which can optimise the services that soil can provide for us all. Insights from social science will promote a necessary shift in how society thinks about soil, moving towards an understanding that soil is living and helping Government and industry sustainably manage land in urban and rural environments.

SMART Soils brings together expertise from Durham’s Engineering, Biosciences, and Sociology departments, along with an array of local and international government, industry and academic partners. The initiative will support the recruitment of exciting new key staff across the three departments.

 

Supporting SDGs with SMART Soils

Our long-term vision is that the Durham University SMART Soils Lab is recognised for its pioneering work developing a new field of nature-based environmental engineering of the soil microbiome to reverse fifty years of degradation and significantly contribute to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
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Meet the team

Find out more about the SMART Soils team.

  • Professor Karen Johnson

    The SMART Soils project is led by Professor Karen Johnson from the Engineering Department. She is an environmental engineer with a passion for soil.
    Headshot of white female with brown curly hair

  • Professor Ari Sadanandom

    Professor Sadanandom leads the SMART Soils project in the Bioscience Department & is co-director of the Durham Centre for Crop Improvement Technology.
    Asian male adult with short hair and glasses

  • Professor Tiago Moreira

    Professor Tiago Moreira leads the SMART Soils research in the Sociology department. He developed, and leads, the Health and Social Theory Group.
    Male adult with beard and glasses

Professor Karen Johnson

The SMART Soils project is led by Professor Karen Johnson from the Engineering Department. She is an environmental engineer with a passion for soil.
Headshot of white female with brown curly hair

Professor Ari Sadanandom

Professor Sadanandom leads the SMART Soils project in the Bioscience Department & is co-director of the Durham Centre for Crop Improvement Technology.
Asian male adult with short hair and glasses

Professor Tiago Moreira

Professor Tiago Moreira leads the SMART Soils research in the Sociology department. He developed, and leads, the Health and Social Theory Group.
Male adult with beard and glasses
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Our project

The SMART Soils project is funded by Durham University's Strategic Research Fund.

It demonstrates how adding minerals and organic matter back into the soil can regenerate brownfield land and improve soil health.

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