Starting this spring, a participatory science project launched by UCLouvain, UAntwerpen and Scivil invites citizens to decode these traces… to map air quality, neighborhood by neighborhood.

Each year, fine particles are responsible for thousands of premature deaths in Europe. Invisible to the naked eye, they penetrate deep into the body and are associated with numerous diseases (respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological). 

Yet, despite their major impact, their distribution remains difficult to measure precisely at the local scale.

This is where plane trees come into play. During winter, their bark acts as a true pollution trap, capturing fine particles present in the air. 

In spring, when the tree naturally renews its bark, these fragments become valuable scientific indicators. 

Thanks to the analysis of their magnetic properties, it is possible to quantify the accumulated pollution, particularly that linked to road traffic.

A scientific investigation at the territorial scale

With the Ecorc’Air 2026 campaign, citizens are no longer only exposed to pollution: they become active participants in its measurement.

The objectives are multiple:

• Revealing the invisible: producing a detailed map of air pollution where traditional sensors are absent.
• Increasing data: each collected sample enriches the scientific understanding of the territory.
• Connecting science and everyday life: concretely showing the impact of road traffic on the immediate environment.

The results will be published at the end of the year in the form of an interactive map, accessible to all.

How to participate?

It’s very simple: just collect a few pieces of plane tree bark when they naturally detach (until the end of April 2026), register the sample via the PartiCollect application, then send it or drop it off at a collection point. 

Follow the precise protocol to ensure the scientific quality of the data. The samples will be analyzed by the University of Antwerp, under the direction of Dr. Ir. Roeland Samson.

You can help build solutions

Beyond measurement, this project illustrates a major evolution in research: a more open, collaborative science rooted in society. 

By transforming a simple action into a scientific contribution, Ecorc’Air enables everyone to better understand their environment… and to take part in building solutions to a major public health issue.

In Belgium, participatory science is gaining new momentum: more than 240 citizen science projects engage citizens, whose involvement goes far beyond simple data collection.

Everyone can thus contribute to producing knowledge on issues that directly affect our environment and our health, bringing scientific research closer to everyday life for all. 

The professor leading the project at UCLouvain is Yannick Agnan.

Find more information on the website of the project. 

This article was originally written in French by the AREC team of UCLouvain. It is available to be read here. 

Beaucoup d'ateliers affichaient complet, l'occasion pour de nombreux élèves du primaire et du secondaire d'en apprendre plus sur un aspect du monde scientifique. 

Des activités grand public, comme de grandes conférences, étaient aussi organisées, notamment en soirée et le weekend.

L'Earth and Life Institute a été particulièrement bien représentée pendant le Printemps des Sciences. 

De nombreuses chercheuses et de nombreux chercheurs ont donné de leur temps et de leur énergie pour transmettre aux plus jeunes et moins jeunes la passion des sciences. 

Retrouvez ci-dessous une galerie de photos non-exhaustive pour découvrir quelques-unes des activités passionnantes organisées pendant le Printemps des Sciences 2026.

Et rendez-vous l'année prochaine pour une nouvelle édition !

An international study conducted in part at UCLouvain highlights the role of agricultural terraces – these “step-like” crops arranged on slopes – in carbon storage. However, their effects on the climate are not uniform: they depend closely on local environmental conditions.

Conducted among others by Pengzhi Zhao and Professor Kristof Van Oost from the Earth and Life Institute (UCLouvain), the study compared different agricultural landscapes. 

As revealed in an article published in Sciences Advances, the results show that in humid regions such as Belgium, terraces promote long-term carbon storage in soils. 

While their construction initially causes disturbance and carbon loss, plant growth subsequently makes it possible to gradually compensate for these losses, with a lasting stabilization of this element in soils.

"In regions with a relatively humid climate such as Belgium, terraces most often have a positive effect on soils and can act as genuine carbon sinks, while also providing other benefits: they limit erosion, retain water and improve growing conditions on sloped land." 

Contradictory results

Conversely, in drier or semi-arid regions, the results are more mixed. Vegetation is less productive there and soils stabilize carbon less effectively, which prevents compensation for the losses linked to terrace construction. Climate benefits are therefore uncertain, or even limited.

Kristof Van Oost, head of this project funded by an EU ERC grant, emphasizes that studies on the impact of terraces on soil carbon had so far produced contradictory results: “This work helps resolve this paradox by showing that climate plays a key role: it determines the balance between soil disturbance linked to terraces and the capacity to stabilize carbon in them.”

Agricultural terraces therefore do not constitute a universal solution to climate change. Their effectiveness depends on climate, soils and landscape characteristics. Hence the importance of adapting agricultural practices to local realities. 

A mapping tool to help farmers

To this end, the team is now working on developing a mapping tool for the carbon storage potential associated with terraces. 

Ultimately, this tool could help farmers and public authorities identify the areas where such developments would be most relevant and guide land management strategies.

Legend second photo: Agricultural landscape near Fouron-Saint-Martin in Belgium: the terraces were formed under the effect of long-term ploughing, erosion and the deposition of sediments downhill, which produced step-like forms bounded by vegetated embankments. This type of terrace, commonly called lynchets, is a characteristic feature of many temperate agricultural landscapes in Europe. 

This article was originally written in French by the AREC team of UCLouvain. It is available to be read here. 

C’est ce que vous prouveront neuf doctorant·es de l’UCLouvain lors de la soirée "Ma Thèse en 180 secondes" (MT180), le 24 mars prochain. En 180 secondes, ils et elles vous plongeront dans l’univers de leurs recherches et tenteront de vous convaincre de l’intérêt de celles-ci…

Parmi elles et eux, Caroline Bottu, 31 ans, doctorante à l'Earth and Life Institute, présentera en quelques minutes sa thèse sur "L'énergie solaire dans les Alpes: pourquoi le soleil ne suffit-il pas?". Interview.

Caroline, qu'est-ce qui t'a poussé à t'inscrire au concours MT180 ?

Pendant mon bachelier, j’avais assisté au concours et j’avais trouvé ça vraiment génial. Je m’étais dit que, si un jour je faisais une thèse, je participerais. Donc quand j’ai commencé la mienne, c’était presque une évidence de m’inscrire.

Qu'aimes-tu particulièrement dans le fait de faire de la recherche scientifique ?

Je suis une personne curieuse de nature et j’aime apprendre en permanence. La recherche me correspond bien parce qu’à chaque étape, je découvre de nouvelles choses. Et puis, travailler à l’université, c’est très stimulant, on est entouré de sujets passionnants et de personnes inspirantes.

Qu'as-tu suivi comme parcours pour en arriver là où tu es aujourd'hui ?

J’ai commencé par un bachelier en géographie à l’UNamur, puis j’ai fait un master en gestion agro-environnementale à Aarhus University, au Danemark. Après ça, j’ai travaillé comme enseignante dans le secondaire, puis comme chargée de projet et de développement dans une ASBL qui promeut le voyage à vélo et en parallèle, je travaillais comme collaboratrice didactique à l’UNamur. Quand j’ai vu un poste d’assistante à l’UCLouvain, je n’ai pas hésité : l’idée de combiner recherche et enseignement me plaisait beaucoup. Et depuis octobre, je suis à 100 % en recherche, c'est chouette ça laisse plus de temps pour aller sur le terrain et en conférence. 

Ton sujet de thèse porte sur "Le solaire dans les Alpes: pourquoi le soleil ne suffit-il pas?", en quoi ce sujet est-il important et pourquoi mérite-il d'être mis en lumière, selon toi ?

On doit avancer dans la transition énergétique, mais la vraie question, c’est : comment le faire ? Le solaire et l’éolien ont un énorme potentiel pour produire de l’énergie renouvelable, mais ils entrent aussi en concurrence avec d’autres usages du sol. Il est donc essentiel de comprendre comment ces projets sont développés aujourd’hui : qu’il s’agisse de grands parcs, qui s’inscrivent dans un modèle énergétique centralisé, ou de projets plus décentralisés. L’idée, c’est d’analyser les choix qui sont faits pour pouvoir mieux orienter les politiques publiques à l’avenir. Parce qu’aujourd’hui, on est encore loin des objectifs fixés par l’Union européenne pour 2030. Il faut agir, mais agir de manière juste et équitable.

Les résultats de la recherche scientifique, bien que pertinents et pointus, restent souvent enfermés dans des articles scientifiques difficilement lisibles et compréhensibles pour la majorité des personnes. Pour y remédier, penses-tu que les initiatives de vulgarisation comme MT180 devraient devenir une priorité dans le milieu de la recherche ?

Pour moi, l’objectif de MT180, c’est avant tout de susciter la curiosité et de donner envie d’en savoir plus. Pendant les coachings, j’ai appris à aller à l’essentiel et à rendre ma recherche plus accessible, et ça, je pense que c’est vraiment essentiel aujourd’hui. Donc oui, la vulgarisation devrait prendre une place plus importante dans le milieu de la recherche. 

Envie d'en apprendre plus ? Venez écouter et soutenir Caroline Bottu lors de la soirée MT180, le 24 mars, à 17h30, à l'Aula Magna (Louvain-la-Neuve). Inscription ici. 

Au sein de son équipe de recherche Luiret, Caroline a déjà publié un article scientifique. Lisez un résumé vulgarisé de cet article ici (en anglais).

Caroline sera face à 8 autres candidats. Découvrez-les et leurs sujets de recherche dans cet article. 

Mise à jour du 24 mars 2026 : Lors de la finale UCLouvain du concours, Caroline Bottu a décroché la troisième place du podium et est sélectionnée pour participer à la grande finale interuniversitaire belge le 12 mai 2026 à Gembloux. Inscription ici.

Interview: Emmeline Van den Bosch

To achieve this, it must gradually free itself from its dependence on fossil fuels, while at the same time widely expanding renewable energy systems. 

Among these energy sources, solar and wind power hold tremendous potential. 

Their development, however, faces numerous obstacles: the limitations of the electrical grid and connection capacities, issues of social acceptability, and the land required for their installation, which creates conflicts with other land uses.

Understanding the obstacles to the development of renewable energy

These are precisely the issues addressed by the team of the European research project (ERC) Luiret, led by Professor and researcher Eric Lambin. The project focuses on land use and its impacts in relation to the ongoing energy transition.

The European Union is urging its Member States toward a rapid energy transition in order to meet the ambitious targets it has set. 

On the ground, the situation is not so simple, as there are significant spatial constraints, including: (1) conflicts with other land uses; (2) public opposition that may become more or less pronounced; and (3) landscape impacts.

The Luiret project team studies how the various stakeholders (citizens, landowners, developers, administrative authorities, farmers, etc.) make decisions regarding land use and seeks to understand their territorial, social, and environmental impacts.

A lack of territorial justice

Within the team, doctoral researcher Caroline Bottu is particularly interested in the development of solar energy in the mountainous massif of the French Alps. She studies territorial dynamics, regulations, and land-use changes.

The researcher has just published a scientific article, “Mismatch between where solar projects are proposed and approved: the case of PV acceptance in the French Alps”, whose conclusions highlight a lack of spatial justice in the development of solar energy infrastructure.

Caroline Bottu has demonstrated that the majority of photovoltaic parks recently built were concentrated in very few areas. These territories benefit from a higher permit approval rate, which encourages developers to submit more projects there. This mechanism reinforces the concentration of installations.

As a result, more than 50% of solar park projects submitted since 2020 have been located in a portion that represents only 9% of the territory of the French Alps. Populations living in these areas are therefore more likely to see forested or agricultural land disappear, replaced by solar parks.

The views of local residents rarely taken into account

Caroline Bottu’s research shows that residents’ opinions are generally given little, if any, consideration in the final decision by authorities to grant or refuse the permit for a solar park.

The researcher highlights a lack of transparency in the criteria considered by authorities to approve or reject projects. Neither the socio-demographic characteristics of the territories nor the conclusions of environmental impact assessments make it possible to predict the final decision.

The only significant predictor is how transformed the environment already is: the more urbanized or human‑modified a site is, the more likely it is to receive a permit.

Policy recommendations and next steps for the project

Caroline Bottu and the Luiret project team therefore recommend better planning of solar‑park sitting at the local and regional level. 

They call on authorities to demonstrate greater transparency when issuing their decisions. Finally, they suggest taking into account the full range of social, territorial, and environmental impacts when determining the location of a new solar park.

For the remainder of her PhD, Caroline Bottu will focus on citizen energy communities: how do they emerge, and what obstacles do they encounter?

Interested in learning more about the Luiret project? Visit its website.

Caroline Bottu will also give a seminar on April 14, 2026, at 13:00 in the Mercator 12 auditorium (Place Louis Pasteur 3, LLN) to discuss the ongoing research carried out as part of the project. The seminar is open to all without registration.

Reference  

Bottu, C., & Lambin, E. F. (2026). Mismatch between where solar projects are proposed and approved: The case of PV acceptance in the French Alps. Energy Policy, 211, Article 115103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2026.115103 

Article: Emmeline Van den Bosch & Caroline Bottu