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Professor Achim Schmalenberger has long been fascinated by the hidden world beneath our feet. His passion for soil science began during his time at the University of Hanover in Germany, where he was drawn to a department focused on nitrogen-fixing bacteria in plant roots—an experience that sparked his enduring interest in the complex life within the soil.

“I have always been interested in microbes and what they do. During my time in Hanover, we wanted to see if bacteria could fix nitrogen for the benefit of the plant. In order to do this, we tried to grow the bacteria in the root and on the root of the plant to see if we offered the plant some nitrogen, where it would go? Would these bacteria help the plant to grow?”

Plants live alongside many helpful microbes, known as their microbiota, which are found both inside and on the surface of plant tissues and support plant health and growth.  Professor Schmalenberger’s research on the European funded NutriSTORM project, which sees ��ɫ��Ƶ partner with Teagasc, BioAtlantis, Warwick University and the Technological University of Munich looks to address the worldwide degradation of soils due to intensive farming, by helping these microbes to support plant growth.

“What we are doing on NutriSTORM is looking at the balance of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil and how a change would improve or potentially improve the cycling of nutrients, optimising the stoichiometric balance. What we want to see is what happens when we try to return carbon to the soil, what happens to the microbes, is it beneficial to them and do they improve the services to the plant?”

Too many years of intensive farming using synthetic fertiliser has meant that our agricultural soils have become unhealthy and will be unable to sustain our ability to produce food on agricultural land in the future. This had led the European Union to introduce targets for the reduction of synthetic fertiliser use by 20% by 2030. Working in tandem with this reduction is a target increase of 50% in nutrient efficiency. The NutriSTORM project aims to provide information on how these targets can be achieved.

"The issue arises when we apply synthetic fertilisers to the soil to boost plant growth; it essentially short-circuits the natural system. Instead of relying on the soil as a functioning metaorganism, we bypass it entirely by feeding the plant directly. As a result of this, the microbes become redundant, and the soil begins to lose carbon. Since the plant is fed directly, there's no longer any incentive to build up the organic matter that would normally support a healthy soil ecosystem."

Professor Schmalenberger uses an analogy to compare the functioning of plant microbes to that of the microbes in the human gut.

“You are what you eat in a way. If you use synthetic fertilisers in large quantities to maximise plant growth it is the equivalent of living on a diet of fast food. So just imagine your whole diet would be burgers, pizza and fries. What we are looking at is not cutting out fertiliser entirely but like with humans, trying to find a balanced diet that will allow for microbe growth.”

Last year, the NutriSTORM project was rolled out across six existing field trials in Ireland and Europe focusing on crops as well as grassland sites. These sites are being used to gather data on the effects of carbon amendments on the soil. This information will be used to conduct targeted trials in the greenhouse before being trailed in a field scenario.

“We are using different methods to return carbon to the soil, from traditional methods already used in agriculture such as using slurry and straw, to not so usual methods like waste products from insect farming and spent brewers’ grains. Many of these are applied in agriculture but the effect on the soils stoichiometry and the microbiota to cycle and make nutrients available is not well researched.”

These innovative approaches reflect the philosophy behind the —emphasising sustainability and collaboration with natural systems rather than working against them.

“The aim is to work in harmony with nature, letting the natural environment work with you and for you more effectively.”