PROTINUS : PROviding new insighT into INteractions between soil fUnctions and Structure

WP1 : Coordination, management and dissemination - (leader : IRD)

The project coordinator IRD-LTHE is responsible for this work package. Its aim is to foster communication and information about project activities to the overall stakeholder communities and institutions. The work package will guarantee the dissemination, outreach and knowledge management of project results. It will run throughout the course of the PROTINUS project.

WP2 : Understanding today's best practise across disciplines - (leader : IRD)

The objectives of this WP is to :

- To gather theoretical and experimental knowledge of the project participants in CT-scan imaging, physical, chemical and microbiological experimentation, image processing, and modelling.

- To identify and explore potential for significant improvements in the above mentioned research area.

- To explore potential for larger funding to support our experiments and wider participation within our pool of research collaborators (e.g., in Chile, Bolivia, Brazil, South Korea, Australia, Germany, Austria).

WP3 : Implement multi/trans-disciplinary protocols - (leader : Université de Lorraine)

The objectives of this WP is to :

- To confront restrictions, limitations and requirements in each discipline.

- To develop new protocols (e.g. comparison of contrast agents for improving CT characterization) and methods taking into account the requirements of each discipline (i.e. displacement experiments during CT scan, acquisition of 3D soil structure for modelling of fluxes, monitoring in time of biofilm growth in soils).

- Discuss a selection of existent models, their limitations and advantages, set up experiments and image acquisition protocols to evaluate all selected models with the same adequate data set.

WP4 : Create a unified trans-disciplinary approach - (leader : IRD)

The objectives of this WP is to :

- To develop specific improvements for the imaging and soil physics, microbiology and chemistry experiments, image analysis, and modelling.

- To acquire new data sets with our adapted protocols.

- To use the new data sets to implement and validate new modelling approaches

WP5 : Explore our unified approach and its impact on imaging, analysis, modelling and conceptualisation processes - (leader : IRD)

The objectives of this WP is to :

- To validate outcomes of work package #4 by devising new series of imaging, physico- chemical and microbiological experimental processes.

- To evaluate selected existing models with new benchmark data sets acquired in WP#4.

- To explore new theoretical concepts.

- To produce a general framework to move from multi-disciplinary to transversal approaches.