NitroScope: European Initiative on the Future of Nitrogen Management Launches in Ghent

Efficient and sustainable nitrogen use has become one of the most pressing issues in European agriculture. While nitrogen remains essential for crop productivity, its excessive use continues to harm soils, water systems and the climate. With the official launch of the ‘NitroScope’ project at Ghent University, research is now underway to better quantify, control and reduce nitrogen flows in the long term.

As the European Green Deal pursues climate neutrality by 2050, gaseous nitrogen emissions from agricultural soils remain difficult to track and are therefore often underestimated – mainly due to a lack of monitoring capabilities. This is exactly where NitroScope comes in: the project is developing new methods and digital tools to close existing data gaps.

The two-day kick-off meeting organised by Ghent University brought together representatives from 25 partner institutions across 15 countries, including universities, research organisations and industry actors. More than 50 experts aligned on a shared vision for measuring and mitigating nitrogen losses from European soils. Discussions focused on the project’s scientific objectives, methodologies and the deployment of innovative sensing systems that will operate at over 100 monitoring sites and five pilot locations across Europe. In addition, strategies were developed to involve experts from agriculture, consulting and politics at an early stage and to jointly develop practical measures for improved nitrogen management.

NitroScope’s ambition is to deliver the most comprehensive update of Europe’s nitrogen budget in more than two decades. To achieve this, the consortium will develop sensor-based tools and models for real-time monitoring of nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide emissions, build a European nitrogen database and cloud platform, and integrate new insights into existing farm decision support systems. This will enable farmers to adapt fertiliser strategies with greater temporal and spatial precision while providing policymakers with robust scientific foundations to support the Green Deal, the Soil Strategy for 2030 and the Nitrates Directive.

During the kick-off, partners defined key milestones, technical workflows and communication plans. They also confirmed the approach for the five pilot sites located in Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Norway and Greece, where precision nitrogen management practices will be tested under real agricultural conditions.

Over the coming months, the project will begin deploying sensors, establishing farm networks and setting up the cloud-based database. Initial insights into nitrogen flux patterns and effective management strategies are expected by mid-2026 and will support Europe’s transition toward climate-smart and resilient agriculture.

Further information

• Project website https://nitroscope.eu/
• ‘NitroScope’ in the IGZ project database: https://igzev.de/en/research/projects/128/nitroscope