SHARING-Med SUMMER SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENT
SHARING-Med SUMMER SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENT
Çukurova University SHARInG-MeD Summer School on Carbon Sequestration and Plant Development in Mediterranean Agriculture
The SHARInG-MeD summer school program, organised as part of the SHARInG-MeD Project, supported by the European Union, is attached for your information.
Date: August 31 – September 4, 2026
Location: Çukurova University Faculty of Agriculture, Adana
Organised by: SHARInG-MeD and ÇÜ Rhizosphere Group / Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Adana
The Reason for Summer School
In the Mediterranean Region, 60-70% of soils are at risk of severe degradation and erosion due to intensifying extreme weather events, monoculture production, and unsustainable land use. There is a great deal of recent data indicating that the rapid decrease in soil organic carbon (SOC) directly jeopardises food security and soil health. The deterioration of the unique soil structure, crucial to the balance of nature and food security, due to human mismanagement has created serious threats to the soil, exacerbated by rising atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations and contributing to climate change. The vicious cycle created by carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, which drives climate change, leads to further destruction over time, primarily by disrupting ecosystem biodiversity. The negative effects of ongoing climate change on soil include reduced fertility and soil health, diminished ecosystem services, and reduced food security. Reversing this negative trend and restoring ecological life is still possible. In this context, within the framework of the SHARInG-MeD project, which aims to increase ecological production models based on the approach that the problem and its solution develop around the soil organic carbon dynamics, and to improve soil quality by capturing greenhouse gases such as CO2 that cause climate change in the atmosphere through plant mechanisms, a holistic training program focusing on the soil-plant-atmosphere axis is being organised. Program Content and Activities
The program for the five-day practical and theoretical training sessions is attached for your information.
Soil Management Practices: The effects of organic fertilization, cover crops, reduced tillage, mulching, and beneficial microbial consortia on carbon sequestration in the soil and plant growth,
Greenhouse Gas Measurements: Instantaneous and periodic measurement techniques of CO2 gas emissions causing climate change under field conditions, photosynthesis efficiency measurements,
Carbon Budgeting: Carbon sequestration in soil and plant tissues, long-term carbon sequestration methods, and budgeting calculations will be covered both theoretically and practically, using field-based data.
Target Audience
Young researchers, graduate students, public-sector officials, subject-matter experts, and environmentally conscious producers interested in sustainable agriculture who work in soil and forest ecology are invited.
We look forward to the participation and interest of all our stakeholders in our summer school, where we will examine sustainable soil management and future agricultural techniques together.
Contact and transportation information are specified in the attached program.