Soils provide a wide set of ecological functions that are fundamental for our survival: they filter pollutants preventing groundwater contamination, store nutrients and protect slopes against natural hazards. Soils are subject to threats that can compromise their properties and functioning, reducing the overall soil quality. Some threats, such as erosion and contamination, are worldwide spread, while others (e.g. avalanches) occur on specific ecosystems or are linked to particular events (e.g. forest fires).

The research Group focuses on the theme of soil degradation and remediation from a multidisciplinary perspective.
The advanced research methodologies of the Group cover the assessment and control of the main risk factors and processes (both natural and anthropogenic) that can affect agroecosystems and forests with potential impacts on soils.

Specific themes:

• Soil pollution with special attention to the transfer of contaminants to other environmental compartment (air and water) (Padoan)
• Lithogenic sources of soil contamination, soil/plant relationship on serpentinitic soils (Bonifacio)
• Physical processes at the snow/soil interface (Freppaz)
• Arsenic contamination in soils, water and food (Martin)
• Shallow soil instability and topsoil degradation by erosion (Stanchi)
• Variations in the physical and chemical properties of burned soils (Bonifacio, Stanchi)
• Dynamics of inorganic contaminants in urban matrices (soil, road dust, airborne particulate matter) bioavailability, bioaccessibility, chemical speciation and distribution of the pollutants in soil size fractions (Padoan)
• Chemical and biological (phytoremediation) remediation methods applied to urban and mine soils (Padoan)
• Recycling of excavated materials and construction and demolition waste into plant-growing substrates and constructed soils (Padoan).

• proGIreg 'productive Green Infrastructure for post-industrial urban regeneration': nature for renewal. (2018-2023)
• Links4Soils (Interreg Alpine Space) Linking Alpine Soil Knowledge for Sustainable Ecosystem Management and Capacity Building
• TERRASUS "The Effect of Root Reinforcement As an indicator in soil SUSceptibility mapping in mountain ecosystems". TRAIN2MOVE Program.
• Pa.T.Ch. Parco Tessile Chierese - Recupero e restituzione di un bene comune – Compagnia di San Paolo, bando Restauro Ambientale Sostenibile (2020-2023)
• NBSOIL “Nature-based Solutions for Soil Management” – funded under the EU Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ (2022-2026)
• EUREECA “Rare Earth Elements in Urban and mining aReas: an EmErging Concern for soil (and human) health” – finanziato dal bando MUR PRIN 2022 (2023-2025)

• Li Y., Padoan E., Ajmone-Marsan F. (2021). Soil particle size fraction and potentially toxic elements bioaccessibility: A review. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 209, 111806 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.111806
• Padoan, E., Maffia, J., Balsari, P., Ajmone-Marsan, F., Dinuccio, E. “Soil PM10 emission potential under specific mechanical stress and particles characteristics” Science of The Total Environment 779, 146468 (2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146468
• Hudek C., Barni E., Stanchi S., D’Amico M., Pintaldi E., Freppaz M. (2020). Mid and long-term ecological impacts of ski run construction on alpine ecosystems. Scientific Reports. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-67341-7
• Wang, J., Halder, D., Wegner, L., Brüggenwirth, L., Schaller, J., Martin, M., Said-Pullicino, D., Romani, M., Planer-Friedrich, B. (2020). Redox Dependence of Thioarsenate Occurrence in Paddy Soils and the Rice Rhizosphere. Environ. Sci. Technol. 54 (7), 3940-3950 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b05639
• Negri S., Stanchi S., Celi L., Bonifacio E. (2021) Simulating wildfires with lab-heating experiments: Drivers and mechanisms of water repellency in alpine soils. Geoderma, 402, art. no. 115357, DOI: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2021.115357

The Group is involved in local and international research and protection networks: LIFE+ (Enverope), CNR-Ev-K2, CNR-IIA-EKOLab, ILTER (International Long Term Ecological Research), Mountain Risk Research Team, FAO-Mountain Partnership.
More than 20 years of experience led to the foundation of the NatRisk research center.