Mitigation of Agricultural effects in Mediterranean soils and wetlands: bioremediation technologies, environmental and economic benefits – MAEWA

MAEWA aims to provide innovative remediation solutions for the treatment of agricultural complex contamination mixtures, containing inorganic (metals and fertilizers) and organic compounds (pesticides), in soil and wetlands in Mediterranean areas. The project ambitions to deliver a set of toolboxes to conduct efficient bioremediation processes in order to mitigate the effect of agricultural practices in soil and wetlands.
MAEWA objectives are to characterize RAMSAR sites in Mediterranean countries threatened by human activities, particularly agriculture and industry. The characterization of the soil usage and the hydrological context of the sites will be consolidated by collecting land management practices information from local sources. Physical-chemical and biological methods will be adapted and standardized in order to provide relevant analytical tools validated for a comprehensive characterization of agrochemical contamination and monitor the bioremediation progress. These analytical tools will determine the contaminant content and toxicology/ecotoxicology levels, and the microbial potential of the studied sites. The project will operate exploration tools, combining culture based and meta-omics approaches, to explore microbial metabolic capacities for producing microbial strains and consortia with high remediation capabilities. The project will utilise engineering tools to develop remediation strategies that include the implementation of green filters involving adapted plants to Mediterranean climate and salinity, use of biochar, natural attenuation and microbe additions, and combinations of these. MAEWA will develop optimized technologies by evaluating the influence of physical-chemical parameters on the treatment efficiency, proposing the most effective integrated strategy for the management of microbial activities, including inoculation systems to obtain optimal microbial activities and their maintenance during bioremediation progress. As well, biochar and functionalized derivatives will be examined for their sorption and retention capacities, together with their ability to enhance the degradation and transformation capacities of microbial communities. The most promising technologies will be scale-up in field demonstration trials sites, bringing the development of the technologies to TRL5/6, evaluating their performance by determining the environmental benefit and risks, including economic feasibility.
MAEWA will contribute to the implementation of EU directive for the management of water quality and agricultural activities by providing low-cost, sustainable and effective bioremediation techniques for the treatment of agrochemicals contaminated soil and wetlands to limit the accumulation of agrochemicals and metals in soil, wetland and groundwater, which is in line with the specific challenges of the PRIMA call for water management, namely Water scarcity and poor water quality, Pollution by agricultural activities, and Salinization of aquifers, and eutrophication of wetlands and coastal waters. MAEWA knowledge, technologies and guidelines will be largely disseminated to stakeholders and End users.