Study of the processes and mechanisms that regulate soil functionality and plant nutrition, from the molecular scale to the field scale.

The soil biogeochemistry and fertility group is engaged in the study of this fundamental environmental sector for the cycles of organic matter, nutrients, and contaminants. Our research objective is to provide an integrated understanding of the various processes that influence soil functionality, with a focus on plant fertility and nutrition, the stabilization of organic matter, carbon accumulation, as well as water and air quality (including greenhouse gas emissions) and food safety.

The group studies the processes that occur in the soil and at the interfaces between soil, biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. Our investigation extends over a wide spatial and temporal scale, allowing us to understand the complex interaction between these systems and their susceptibility to anthropogenic effects and climate change. Our expertise is particularly targeted at the interaction between element cycles, the association between organic and mineral components of the soil, and the microbial ecology of soils. These aspects, studied together, allow us to understand, preserve, and enhance soil functionality in agricultural, forestry, and natural ecosystems.

Specific topics of research activity for the group include the following:

• Nutrient biogeochemistry at the soil-plant interface (Luisella Celi)
• Role of soil-plant-microorganism interactions in the biogeochemical cycles of carbon and nutrients in agricultural soils (Daniel Said-Pullicino)
• Dynamics of nutrient ions and contaminants in the soil-water system (Maria Martin)
• Regulatory aspects of plant nutrition: interactions between elements at the soil-plant interface and at the metabolic level, effects of synthetic and natural bioeffectors on nutrient use efficiency and root traits (Michela Schiavon)
• Mechanisms of resistance and resilience of the soil-plant system to abiotic stress (Paola Ganugi)
• Microbial ecology and the functional role of microorganisms in biogeochemical cycles (Roberta Gorra).

• Innovative concepts and technologies for ecologically sustainable nutrient management in agriculture aiming to prevent, mitigate and eliminate pollution in soils, water and air (ECONUTRI) Horizon2020
• Percorsi agronomici innovativi per una risicoltura sostenibile (RISOSOST) - PSR Regione Lombardia 2023-2025
• Roots in armour: Formation and functions of iron plaques at the root-soil interface of wetland plants (ROOTARMOUR) PRIN - MUR 2023-2025
• Gestione innovativa dell’acqua in risaia (RISWAGEST). PSR Regione Lombardia 2020-2023.
• Fosforo in risaia. Equilibrio tra produttività e ambiente nell’ottica delle nuove pratiche agronomiche (P-RICE). PSR Regione Lombardia 2020-2023.
• Enhanced biological N fixation through improved P acquisition by leguminous plants (FOS4FIX) Fondazione CRT 2019-2021
• L’allocazione del carbonio durante e dopo eventi di siccità nella vite: evento chiave delle strategie di difesa delle piante (CARBOSTRESS). Fondazione CRT 2017-2020
• A novel and integrated approach to increase multiple and combined stress tolerance in plants using tomato as a model (TOMRES) - H2020-SFS-2016-2 2018-2021
• Nuove tecniche colturali per il futuro della risicoltura (RISTEC). PSR LOMBARDIA 2017-2020
• Greenhouse gas emissions from paddy rice soils under alternative irrigation management (GreenRice), Joint Research Programme Initiative on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change (FACCE-JPI) 2014-2019
• Carbon source/sink functions of rice agro-ecosystems and implications for mitigating green-house gas emissions (Carbo-PAD) MIUR - Futuro in Ricerca 2013.

• Martinengo, S., Santoro, V., Schiavon, M., Celi L., Martin M., Said-Pullicino D. (2023) The influence of phosphorus availability on rice root traits driving iron plaque formation and dissolution, and implications for phosphorus uptake. Plant & Soil.
• Martinengo S., Schiavon M., Santoro V., Said-Pullicino D., Romani M., Miniotti E.F., Celi L., Martin M. (2023). Assessing phosphorus availability in paddy soils: the importance of integrating soil tests and plant responses. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 59(4), 391–405
• Dămătîrcă C., Moretti B., Bertora C., Ferrarini A., Lerda C., Mania I., Celi L., Gorra R., Zavattaro L. (2023) Residue incorporation and organic fertilisation improve carbon and nitrogen turnover and stabilisation in maize monocropping. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 342, 108255
• Santoro, V., Schiavon, M., Visentin, I., Martin M., Said-Pullicino D., Cardinale, F., Celi, L. (2022) Tomato plant responses induced by sparingly available inorganic and organic phosphorus forms are modulated by strigolactones. Plant and Soil, 474(1-2), 355–372
• Ganugi, P., Fiorini, A., Ardenti, F., Caffi, T., Bonini, P., Taskin, E., Puglisi, E., Tabaglio, V., Trevisan, M., Lucini, L. (2022). Nitrogen use efficiency, rhizosphere bacterial community, and root metabolome reprogramming due to maize seed treatment with microbial biostimulants. Physiologia Plantarum, 174(2), e13679

Prof. Ingrid Kögel-Knabner e Dr. Angelika Kölbl, Technische Universität München (Germania)
Prof. Steven Sleutel, Ghent University (Belgio)
Dr. Klaus Kaiser, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (Germania)
Prof. Britta Palner-Friedrich, University of Bayreuth (Germania)
Prof. Emmanuel Frossard, ETH Zurich (Svizzera)
Prof. Håkan Wallander, Lund University (Svezia)
Dr. Luckasz Drewniak, University of Warsaw (Polonia)
Dr. Dominic Ponton, Université de Montréal, (Canada)
Dr. Jiang Ying, Shenyang Agricultural University (Cina)
Sanchez-Cortes Santiago, IEM-CSIC, Madrid (Spagna)
Dr. Ildikó Szent István University, Kaposvár (Ungheria)
Prof. Stefano Manzoni, Stockholm University (Sweden)
Prof. Feike Dijkstra, University of Sydney (Australia)
Prof. Robert Mikutta, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (Germania)
Prof. Angelia Seyfferth, University of Delaware (USA)
Prof. Antony Van der Ent, University of Wageningen (The Netherlands)
Prof. Mark Aart, University of Wageningen (The Netherlands)
Prof. Christian Hermans, Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium)
Dr. Klaudia Debiec-Andrzejewska, University of Warsaw (Poland)