At the 4th edition of the Congress of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) in Naples, the young researcher from the University of Milano-Bicocca won first prize with an innovative approach to assessing the environmental quality of soil, tested in the University's Piazza della Scienza area.
Lorenzo Federico, PhD in Environmental Sciences, as part of the Musa project, won the first prize for best young researcher at the national SETAC (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry) Congress held in Naples, thanks to his work: “Linking Behavioural Bioassays and Soil Biodiversity as an Integrated Strategy for Environmental Quality Assessment”.
Federico’s study originated at the heart of the University of Milano-Bicocca, specifically in the Piazza della Scienza, which is undergoing a re-greening project planned by MUSA. The starting point of Federico’s work was the health status of the soil in the green areas of the Piazza, both before and after the re-greening interventions.
Federico’s insight is to use animal behaviour as a predictive tool for soil quality. “I assessed the state of the art at time zero,” he explains, “that is, before the work began, to understand the health conditions of the soil in the different green areas of the piazza. I analysed both soil biodiversity and the behaviour of some small organisms, woodlice, used as environmental biosensors.”
These tiny animals react to soil alterations by changing their behaviour. Studying how they move or group together makes it possible to predict whether a soil is healthy or contaminated. “The biosensor,” he recounts, “allows me to identify areas subject to reduced biodiversity in just 48 hours. It is a fast, economical, and above all, sustainable test: it does not use chemical solvents and does not require lengthy or expensive analyses.”
This method can become a screening tool for public bodies or companies managing green areas, helping them to quickly identify potentially contaminated or ecologically impoverished soils. The advantage, the researcher highlights, is twofold: “It can be applied both at a diagnostic level, to verify the health status of a soil, and at a prognostic level, to predict the environmental impact of a chemical substance before it is placed on the market.”
Federico’s work also aligns with the European guidelines on environmental risk assessment for chemicals and plant protection products. “The European Commission,” states Federico, “requires rapid and reliable tests to verify the impact of new compounds on the environment. Ours is a sublethal test, because it does not measure mortality, but the change in behaviour in response to a contaminant. This way, we assess the effect on the population, not the individual.”
The approach, in addition to having great scientific value, contributes to promoting a more ethical and sustainable ecotoxicological research, in line with new European environmental policies. “In simple terms,” concludes Federico, “my tool serves to predict the loss of biodiversity. It is a way to give a voice to the soil and the organisms that inhabit it, to understand in advance when an urban ecosystem is in difficulty and intervene before it is too late.”
