SOILPROM is featured in the Autumn 2026 issue of EU Research magazine (Vol. 47, p. 52), in an article titled “How do pollutants spread in the environment?”

In this article, project coordinator Dr. Mahrooz Rezaei and scientific coordinator Prof. Dr. Coen Ritsema (Wageningen University) explain why contaminants in soil may travel much further across ecosystems than previously thought, and how SOILPROM is working to better understand and model these pathways.

Following pollutants from soil to air, water and plants

A wide range of chemical compounds used in agriculture and other sectors can spread from soil into the wider environment. SOILPROM focuses on emerging contaminants such as microplastics, pesticides and PFAS, as well as heavy metals and nutrients. The project studies four main transport pathways: from soil to the atmosphere through wind erosion, to surface water through runoff and erosion, to groundwater through percolation, and to plants through water uptake.

Nine use-cases across six countries

To better understand these processes, extensive field measurement campaigns are being carried out in nine use-cases across six countries. Each site has its own soil and landscape characteristics and faces specific pollution challenges, from heavy metal contamination linked to former mining activities in Spain to PFAS pollution from industrial emissions in Belgium.

From improved models to concrete recommendations

The data collected will be used to improve and validate pollutant transport models. These models will then help explore future scenarios, based on local stakeholder views, farmers’ perceptions and planned EU regulations, in order to provide targeted recommendations to authorities on preventing further contamination or assessing the need for remediation. The impacts of pollution on ecosystem services will also be assessed.

Tools for researchers and non-specialists

SOILPROM is developing a modelling platform that will host the project’s model codes, together with manuals and guidance for modellers and researchers. A decision support system will also help non-specialist users understand soil pollution dynamics and explore how different management choices affect pollution levels.

Read the full article

Rezaei, M., Ritsema, C. (2026) ‘How do pollutants spread in the environment?’, EU Research, Autumn 2026, Vol. 47, p. 52. Published under a CC BY 4.0 licence.