Project Announcement: SoilData@UniGraz – FAIR Handling of Soil Data through Data Stewardship

With SoilData@UniGraz, the Institute of Biology will launch a strategically significant project on 1 December 2025 within the framework of the Implementing EU Missions – IMPA 2024 / Data Stewards 2025 programme. The initiative strengthens professional research data management in soil-related research fields and contributes substantially to the implementation of the EU Mission “SOIL.”

Background and Objectives

The increasing digitalization of biological research has led to a rapid growth of complex and heterogeneous datasets. In soil ecology and biodiversity research in particular, structured, well-documented, and standardized data are essential for addressing ecological questions efficiently and reproducibly.

At the institute, research data management has so far been largely decentralized and lacking clear responsibilities. This hampers reusability, standardized documentation, and long-term data preservation.
SoilData@UniGraz addresses these challenges by establishing a sustainable, discipline-specific, and FAIR-compliant data management system for soil-biological research projects.

Key Facts

Project duration: 12/2025 – 02/2028
Programme: Implementing EU Missions – IMPA 2024 / FFG Data Stewards 2025
Data Steward: Michaela Kerschbaumer
Project Lead: Stephan Koblmüller