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This focus area aims to understand the physical, chemical, and biological effects of MCMs on soil over time, and how cascading of MCMs to land can be optimised to regenerate soil.
Description
Dr Angeliki Kourmouli, is working with Professors John Quinton and Carly Stevens at Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University. The overall aim of her project is to understand the impact of the cascading of MCMs on:
- soils multifunctionality and the provision of ecosystem services
- plant establishment and growth
Specifically, this research focuses on the addition of three MCMs (concrete, brick and plasterboard) in deep excavated soils deriving from construction and their impacts on physical, chemical and biological soil properties, as well as plant establishment and growth, under current and future climate regimes.
This research will provide evidence regarding the potential of introducing construction and demolition waste-derived soils into circularity, enabling development of evidence-based government policy and supporting good practice by industry.
To complement her ongoing research, Dr Angeliki Kourmouli undertook a 3- month secondment with the Environment Agency in spring 2023. Her work contributed to the potential introduction of a Soil Reuse and Storage System (SRSS) in England under existing policy and regulatory frameworks, as well as a preliminary design of the system. The project was developed based on interviews focussed on existing international systems and schemes, as well as interviews with national regulators and industry representatives.
The project will assist in the government’s decisionmaking regarding a pilot soil storage scheme that will be launched in 2026. The outcome of this project will become publicly available soon and it will also be presented at the Centennial Celebration and Congress of the International Union of Soil Sciences conference, in Florence in May 2024.
Preliminary results of this research have already been presented in the British Society of Soil Science (BSSS) and Soil Science Society of Ireland (SSSI) annual conference and the BSSS Early Career Conference, in December 2023. Latest findings were presented at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly, in Vienna in April 2024.