Exploring soil ecoacoustics through co-creation: key conclusions from the Basque Living Lab workshop
On 11 June 2026, the iCOSHELLs Basque Living Lab brought together researchers, students, technology experts, environmental professionals, policymakers and community members to explore soil ecoacoustics, an emerging approach based on recording sounds and vibrations produced by soil organisms and considered promising for understanding soil health and biodiversity.
Soil ecoacoustics is based on the premise that soils with greater acoustic complexity reflect higher levels of biodiversity. For the Basque Soil Health Living Lab, focused on the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve, exploring this approach is of particular interest because it is less invasive than other soil diagnostic techniques.
The workshop, entitled “Transdisciplinary Challenges of Soil Ecoacoustics”, was coordinated by Euskampus Fundazioa within the framework of the iCOSHELLs project and the Basque Living Lab led by GAIA.
The main objective of the workshop was to foster a transdisciplinary understanding of soil ecoacoustics and its development opportunities, while engaging different stakeholders in the co-creation of research and intervention proposals based on ecoacoustics. The event also aimed to raise awareness of soil health and biodiversity and contribute to building a transdisciplinary community interested in advancing this emerging field.
Inspiring perspectives from science, technology and creativity
The workshop programme combined expert knowledge with collaborative exploration. First, the 29 participants (14 attending in person and 15 online) had the opportunity to learn about the state of the art and future opportunities of ecoacoustics applied to biodiversity and soil health monitoring through a keynote presentation delivered by Diego Llusia, President of the International Ecoacoustics Society and researcher at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM).
This was followed by four inspiring presentations that demonstrated how ecoacoustics can connect multiple disciplines and generate new ways of understanding ecosystems by:
- Miriam Muñoz Rojas (IRNAS-CSIC), who addressed the potential of ecoacoustics for studying soil biodiversity;
- Pilar Durante (Agresta Cooperative), who discussed the challenges associated with ecoacoustic data and its spatial extrapolation;
- Raquel Esteban Terradillos (Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, UPV/EHU), who presented the emerging role of ecoacoustics in plant resilience; and
- Jaume Reus and Laia Malo (Rampa Lab), who explored ecoacoustics as a tool for listening, learning and creating.
These contributions provided both the inspiration and the knowledge base for the workshop’s core activity: a collaborative co-creation process in which participants worked together to identify opportunities, challenges and future application areas for soil ecoacoustics.
Co-creating ideas for research and real-world impact
Participants were divided into four multidisciplinary groups, combining in-person and online attendees from different organisations and fields of expertise. Following a structured methodology, each group reflected on the ideas raised during the presentations, shared individual perspectives and collaboratively developed proposals for future lines of action.
The co-creation process generated a broad range of ideas, which were subsequently organised into several emerging thematic categories.
Among the most prominent proposals we found initiatives focused on:
- controlled biodiversity experiments to better understand the relationship between acoustic signals and soil life,
- the development of acoustic indicators for the early detection of soil degradation, and
- the creation of sound libraries and databases to support artificial intelligence applications in the field of ecoacoustics.
Participants also explored practical environmental applications, such as the use of ecoacoustics for monitoring ecological restoration processes, the development of early warning systems for environmental change and the assessment of soil recovery processes following wildfires.
Beyond research and monitoring, the groups identified opportunities to expand the impact of ecoacoustics through education, communication and artistic creation initiatives, helping translate scientific knowledge into accessible experiences capable of bringing the importance of soil biodiversity closer to the public.
Several more exploratory ideas also emerged, related to the study of fungal networks, underground biological interactions and the acoustic monitoring of plant growth and stress, opening new avenues for future research.
Building a community around soil ecoacoustics
One of the most valuable outcomes of the workshop was the creation of connections among participants from different disciplines and sectors. The event successfully generated enthusiasm for future collaborations and strengthened a network of people interested in exploring ecoacoustics as a non-invasive tool for advancing soil remediation and sustainable soil management.
In this regard, the workshop served as an example of how the iCOSHELLs Basque Living Lab can act as an open innovation ecosystem where knowledge, experimentation and co-creation converge to address challenges related to soil health and biodiversity. By bringing together diverse perspectives, the session not only highlighted the potential of soil ecoacoustics but also helped identify concrete opportunities to accelerate its development and application in the coming years.
