Can we improve soil properties and plant biomass using rock powder as soil amendment?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena Reifschneider ◽  
Vinzenz Franz Eichinger ◽  
Evelin Pihlap ◽  
Noelia Garcia-Franco ◽  
Anna Kühnel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Plant Growth ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
New Mineral ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Rock Powder ◽  
Overburden Material ◽  
Neutral Soil ◽  
Mitigate Climate Change

<p>The application of rock powder is an option to improve soil fertility while valorising the overburden material produced by industries. The “enhanced weathering” of silicate rock has also gained recent interest in the scientific community for its potential to mitigate climate change. However, the effect of rock powder on the soil physical properties remains unclear, especially under climate change (e.g., increasing drought events). Prior to any large scale application of rock powder, it is crucial to disentangle the potential effects of rock powder application on its environment. In a mesocosm experiment, we explored the effect of three rock powders on plant biomass, soil aggregation and organic carbon (OC) allocation within aggregates, in two soils with clayey and sandy textures, under regular watering or severe drought conditions. We demonstrate that the rock powder was the third factor after drought and soil texture significantly affecting the plant growth, resulting in a significant plant biomass decrease ranging from - 13 % to - 42 % compared with the control. We mainly attribute this effect to the increase of the already neutral soil pH, along with the release of excessive heavy metal amounts at a toxic range for the plant. Yet, we found that adding rock powder to the soil resulted in an increase of the relative amount of microaggregates in the soil by up to + 70 %, along with a re-distribution of OC within the fine fractions of the soil (up to + 32 % of OC in < 250 µm fractions). The new mineral-mineral and organo-mineral interactions promoted by the rock powder addition could potentially favour OC persistence in soil on the long term. With our results, we insist on the potential risks for plant growth associated to the application of rock powder when not handled properly. In addition to the current enthusiasm around the capacity of rock powder to enhance carbon sequestration in the inorganic form, we also encourage scientists to focus their research on its effect on soil structure properties and OC storage.</p>

scholarly journals Public Awareness: What Climate Change Scientists Should Consider

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 8369
Author(s):  
Mohammad Rahimi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Connected Network ◽  
Multi Scale ◽  
Valuable Addition ◽  
Scientific Approach ◽  
Design Solutions ◽  
Mitigate Climate Change

In this Opinion, the importance of public awareness to design solutions to mitigate climate change issues is highlighted. A large-scale acknowledgment of the climate change consequences has great potential to build social momentum. Momentum, in turn, builds motivation and demand, which can be leveraged to develop a multi-scale strategy to tackle the issue. The pursuit of public awareness is a valuable addition to the scientific approach to addressing climate change issues. The Opinion is concluded by providing strategies on how to effectively raise public awareness on climate change-related topics through an integrated, well-connected network of mavens (e.g., scientists) and connectors (e.g., social media influencers).

scholarly journals Towards Vine Water Status Monitoring on a Large Scale Using Sentinel-2 Images

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1837
Author(s):  
Eve Laroche-Pinel ◽  
Sylvie Duthoit ◽  
Mohanad Albughdadi ◽  
Anne D. Costard ◽  
Jacques Rousseau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Potential ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Water Status ◽  
Vegetation Indices ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithms ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Stem Water Potential ◽  
Stem Water ◽  
Sentinel 2

Wine growing needs to adapt to confront climate change. In fact, the lack of water becomes more and more important in many regions. Whereas vineyards have been located in dry areas for decades, so they need special resilient varieties and/or a sufficient water supply at key development stages in case of severe drought. With climate change and the decrease of water availability, some vineyard regions face difficulties because of unsuitable variety, wrong vine management or due to the limited water access. Decision support tools are therefore required to optimize water use or to adapt agronomic practices. This study aimed at monitoring vine water status at a large scale with Sentinel-2 images. The goal was to provide a solution that would give spatialized and temporal information throughout the season on the water status of the vines. For this purpose, thirty six plots were monitored in total over three years (2018, 2019 and 2020). Vine water status was measured with stem water potential in field measurements from pea size to ripening stage. Simultaneously Sentinel-2 images were downloaded and processed to extract band reflectance values and compute vegetation indices. In our study, we tested five supervised regression machine learning algorithms to find possible relationships between stem water potential and data acquired from Sentinel-2 images (bands reflectance values and vegetation indices). Regression model using Red, NIR, Red-Edge and SWIR bands gave promising result to predict stem water potential (R2=0.40, RMSE=0.26).

Teaching Authentic Soil & Plant Science in Middle School Classrooms with a Biochar Case Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 256-268
Author(s):  
Yamina Pressler ◽  
Mary Hunter-Laszlo ◽  
Sarah Bucko ◽  
Beth A. Covitt ◽  
Sarah Urban ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Middle School ◽  
Plant Growth ◽  
Plant Interactions ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
Promote Plant Growth ◽  
Rich Material ◽  
Mitigate Climate Change

We designed two NGSS-aligned middle school classroom experiments to investigate the effects of biochar on plant growth and soil respiration. Biochar is a carbon-rich material, produced by heating organic matter under limited oxygen, that is added to soils to improve fertility, to promote plant growth, and as one possible strategy to help mitigate climate change. The experiments offer an ideal case study for students learning fundamentals of soil and plant interactions. Soils and biochar are accessible, are connected to global issues such as agriculture and climate change, and are the focus of ongoing research in soil science. These classroom experiments promote authentic science because students design replicated experiments, collect and analyze data, discuss variability in the data, and interpret their results in the context of recent research.

scholarly journals Towards understanding hydroclimatic change in Victoria, Australia – why was the last decade so dry?

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 6181-6206 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. S. Kiem ◽  
D. C. Verdon-Kidd
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Seasonal Rainfall ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Physical Mechanisms ◽  
Drought Conditions ◽  
Hydroclimatic Change ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Abstract. Since the mid-1990s Victoria, located in southeast Australia, has experienced severe drought conditions characterized by streamflow that is the lowest on record in many areas. While severe decreases in annual and seasonal rainfall totals have also been observed, this alone does not seem to explain the observed reduction in flow. In this study, we investigate the large-scale climate drivers for Victoria and demonstrate how these modulate the regional scale synoptic patterns, which in turn alter the way seasonal rainfall totals are compiled and the amount of runoff per unit rainfall that is produced. The hydrological implications are significant and illustrate the need for robust hydrological modelling, which takes into account insights into physical mechanisms that drive regional hydroclimatology, in order to properly understand and quantify the impacts of climate change (natural and/or anthropogenic) on water resources.

Precautionary Politics: Principle and Practice in Confronting Environmental Risk. By Kerry Whiteside. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2006. 198p. $50.00 cloth, $21.00 paper.

2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-158
Author(s):  
Scott Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Hadron Collider ◽  
The Earth ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
The World ◽  
Desert Regions ◽  
Mitigate Climate Change ◽  
Theoretical Risk

Here are two challenges that the world has had to face in 2008: 1) Construction of the Large Hadron Collider was recently completed. Experiments using this machine will yield new knowledge of a fundamental kind. There is also a theoretical risk, believed to be vanishingly small but not zero, that the machine could create a black hole capable of destroying the Earth. Should the machine be turned on? 2) Fertilizing “desert” regions of the oceans with iron is expected to stimulate phytoplankton growth, sucking carbon dioxide into the oceans and thus helping to mitigate climate change. It might also alter vital ocean ecosystems. To know the full consequences of ocean fertilization, large-scale experiments are needed. Should they be allowed?

scholarly journals Priming of Plant Growth Promotion by Volatiles of Root-AssociatedMicrobacteriumspp.

2018 ◽  
Vol 84 (22) ◽  
Author(s):  
Viviane Cordovez ◽  
Sharella Schop ◽  
Kees Hordijk ◽  
Hervé Dupré de Boulois ◽  
Filip Coppens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Growth ◽  
Volatile Compounds ◽  
Plant Growth Promotion ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Growth Promotion ◽  
Shoot Biomass ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Prolonged Contact

ABSTRACTVolatile compounds produced by plant-associated microorganisms represent a diverse resource to promote plant growth and health. Here, we investigated the effect of volatiles from root-associatedMicrobacteriumspecies on plant growth and development. Volatiles of eight strains induced significant increases in shoot and root biomass ofArabidopsisbut differed in their effects on root architecture.Microbacteriumstrain EC8 also enhanced root and shoot biomass of lettuce and tomato. Biomass increases were also observed for plants exposed only briefly to volatiles from EC8 prior to transplantation of the seedlings to soil. These results indicate that volatiles from EC8 can prime plants for growth promotion without direct and prolonged contact. We further showed that the induction of plant growth promotion is tissue specific; that is, exposure of roots to volatiles from EC8 led to an increase in plant biomass, whereas shoot exposure resulted in no or less growth promotion. Gas chromatography–quadrupole time of flight mass spectometry (GC–QTOF-MS) analysis revealed that EC8 produces a wide array of sulfur-containing compounds, as well as ketones. Bioassays with synthetic sulfur volatile compounds revealed that the plant growth response to dimethyl trisulfide was concentration-dependent, with a significant increase in shoot weight at 1 μM and negative effects on plant biomass at concentrations higher than 1 mM. Genome-wide transcriptome analysis of volatile-exposedArabidopsisseedlings showed upregulation of genes involved in assimilation and transport of sulfate and nitrate. Collectively, these results show that root-associatedMicrobacteriumprimes plants, via the roots, for growth promotion, most likely via modulation of sulfur and nitrogen metabolism.IMPORTANCEIn the past decade, various studies have described the effects of microbial volatiles on other (micro)organismsin vitro, but their broad-spectrum activityin vivoand the mechanisms underlying volatile-mediated plant growth promotion have not been addressed in detail. Here, we revealed that volatiles from root-associated bacteria of the genusMicrobacteriumcan enhance the growth of different plant species and can prime plants for growth promotion without direct and prolonged contact between the bacterium and the plant. Collectively, these results provide new opportunities for sustainable agriculture and horticulture by exposing roots of plants only briefly to a specific blend of microbial volatile compounds prior to transplantation of the seedlings to the greenhouse or field. This strategy has no need for large-scale introduction or root colonization and survival of the microbial inoculant.

Carbon storage in soils and plant biomass under future climate and land use pressures

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitry Yumashev ◽  
Victoria Janes-Bassett ◽  
John Redhead ◽  
Ed Rowe ◽  
Jessica Davies
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Local Evidence ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Uk

<p>It is widely accepted in the scientific, business and policy communities that meeting the Paris Agreement targets will require a large-scale deployment of negative emission technologies and practices. As a result, nature-based climate solutions, including carbon sequestration (Cseq) in soils and forests, have received much attention in the literature recently. Several national and global assessments have identified considerable potential for terrestrial Cseq, while other studies have raised doubts regarding its practical limits in the face of the likely future pressures from climate change and land use change. In general, the existing Cseq assessments lack sensitivity to climate change, perspective on local land use and nutrient limitations. Accounting for these factors requires process-based modelling, and is feasible only at national to regional scales at present, underpinned by a wide body of local evidence. Here, we apply an integrated terrestrial C-N-P cycle model (N14CP) with representative ranges of high-resolution climate and land use scenarios to estimate Cseq potential in temperate regions, using the UK as a national-scale example. Meeting realistic UK targets for grassland restoration and forestation over the next 30 years is estimated to sequester an additional 120 TgC by 2100 (similar to current annual UK greenhouse gas emissions), conditional on climate change of <2°C. Conversely, UK arable expansion would reduce Cseq by a similar magnitude, while alternative arable management practices such as extensive rotations with grass leys would have a comparatively small effect on country-wide Cseq outcomes. Most importantly, the simulations suggest that warmer climates will cause net reductions in Cseq as soil carbon losses exceed gains from increased plant productivity. Our analysis concludes that concerted land use change can make a moderate contribution to Cseq, but this is dependent on us cutting emissions from fossil fuels, soil degradation and deforestation in line with a <2°C pathway.</p>

scholarly journals Towards understanding hydroclimatic change in Victoria, Australia – preliminary insights into the "Big Dry"

2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. S. Kiem ◽  
D. C. Verdon-Kidd
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Seasonal Rainfall ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Physical Mechanisms ◽  
Drought Conditions ◽  
Hydroclimatic Change ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Abstract. Since the mid-1990s the majority of Victoria, Australia, has experienced severe drought conditions (i.e. the "Big Dry") characterized by streamflow that is the lowest in approximately 80 years of record. While decreases in annual and seasonal rainfall totals have also been observed, this alone does not seem to explain the observed reduction in flow. In this study, we investigate the large-scale climate drivers for Victoria and demonstrate how these modulate the regional scale synoptic patterns, which in turn alter the way seasonal rainfall totals are compiled and the amount of runoff per unit rainfall that is produced. The hydrological implications are significant and illustrate the need for robust hydrological modelling, that takes into account insights into physical mechanisms that drive regional hydroclimatology, in order to properly understand and quantify the impacts of climate change (natural and/or anthropogenic) on water resources.

scholarly journals Delivery of Inoculum of Rhizophagus irregularis via Seed Coating in Combination with Pseudomonas libanensis for Cowpea Production

Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Ma ◽  
Aleš Látr ◽  
Inês Rocha ◽  
Helena Freitas ◽  
Miroslav Vosátka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Growth ◽  
Seed Yield ◽  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Rhizophagus Irregularis ◽  
Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria ◽  
Seed Coating ◽  
Plant Tolerance

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) is an important legume grown primarily in semi-arid area. Its production is generally inhibited by various abiotic and biotic stresses. The use of beneficial microorganisms (e.g., plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)) can enhance agricultural production, as these microorganisms can improve soil fertility and plant tolerance to environmental stresses, thus enhancing crop yield in an eco-friendly manner. Application of PGPB and AMF in large scale agriculture needs to be improved. Thus, the use of seed coating could be an efficient mechanism for placement of inocula into soils. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the AMF Rhizophagus irregularis BEG140 and the PGPB Pseudomonas libanensis TR1 alone or in combination on the biomass and physiological traits of cowpea. Four treatments were set: (i) non-inoculated control; (ii) PGPB; (iii) AMF applied via seed coating; and (iv) PGPB + AMF applied via seed coating. Cowpea plants inoculated via seed coating with R. irregularis and those inoculated with R. irregularis + P. libanensis showed root mycorrhizal colonization of 21.7% and 24.2%, respectively. PGPB P. libanensis was efficient in enhancing plant biomass and seed yield. There was no benefit of single (AMF) or dual (PGPB + AMF) inoculation on plant growth or seed yield. The application of beneficial soil microorganisms can be a viable approach for sustainable cowpea production in precision agriculture scenarios.

scholarly journals How Large-Scale Anthropogenic Activities Influence Vegetation Cover Change in China? A Review

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 320
Author(s):  
Dingrao Feng ◽  
Meichen Fu ◽  
Yiyu Sun ◽  
Wenkai Bao ◽  
Min Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Plant Growth ◽  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽  
Land Consolidation ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Natural Protection ◽  
Vegetation Cover Change

Vegetation cover plays a key role in terrestrial ecosystem; therefore, it is important for researchers to investigate the variation and influencing factors of vegetation cover. China has experienced a large-scale vegetation cover change in recent years. We summarized the literature of vegetation cover change and revealed how large-scale anthropogenic activities influence vegetation cover change in China. Afforestation and intensification of cropland played a key role in large-scale greening. Urbanization showed a “U” shape to influence vegetation cover change. Mining and reclamation, land abandonment and land consolidation, and regional natural protection all had a unique influence on the change of vegetation cover. Indeed, the large-scale vegetation cover change was caused by interaction of anthropogenic factors and part human-driven climate change. Anthropogenic factors influenced climate change to indirectly alter the condition of plant growth. Interaction between climate change and human activities influence on vegetation cover still needs to be further investigated in the future.

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