203 results for group: agriculture-1

How powdered rock could help slow climate change

WEB PAGE: "A method called enhanced rock weathering shows promise at capturing carbon dioxide from the air" Ann Leslie Davis (2024)."How powdered rock could help slow climate change": Science News, Vol 205 #12 https://www.sciencenews.org/article/powdered-rock-help-slow-climate-change

Mineral-enriched biochar delivers enhanced nutrient recovery and carbon dioxide removal

ABSTRACT: Biochar production via biomass pyrolysis with subsequent burial in soils provides a carbon dioxide removal technology that is ready for implementation, yet uptake requires acceleration; notably, through generation of cost reductions and co-benefits. Here we find that biomass enrichment (doping) with refined minerals, mineral by-products, or ground rocks reduces carbon loss during pyrolysis, lowering carbon dioxide removal costs by 17% to US$ 80–150 t−1 CO2, with 30% savings feasible at higher biomass costs. As a co-benefit, all three additives increase plant-available nutrient levels. Doping with potassium-bearing minerals can ...

Unraveling iron oxides as abiotic catalysts of organic phosphorus recycling in soil and sediment matrices

ABSTRACT: In biogeochemical phosphorus cycling, iron oxide minerals are acknowledged as strong adsorbents of inorganic and organic phosphorus. Dephosphorylation of organic phosphorus is attributed only to biological processes, but iron oxides could also catalyze this reaction. Evidence of this abiotic catalysis has relied on monitoring products in solution, thereby ignoring iron oxides as both catalysts and adsorbents. Here we apply high-resolution mass spectrometry and X-ray absorption spectroscopy to characterize dissolved and particulate phosphorus species, respectively. In soil and sediment samples reacted with ribonucleotides, we uncover the ...

Parana basin basalt powder: A multinutrient soil amendment for enhancing soil chemistry and microbiology

ABSTRACT: This study evaluated the effects of Paran´a Basin basalt powder, a mining byproduct from southern Brazil, on the macro- and micronutrient content of two soil types, Oxisol (OX) and Typic Quartzipsamment (TQ), as well as the metabolic activity of soil microorganisms. Basalt powder doses were determined based on CaO levels required to correct Ca2+ levels in each soil, ranging from 0 to 4 times the recommended amount. Soil samples were collected for analysis after 60 and 170 days of incubation to assess soil attributes. Additionally, a laboratory study examined soil basal respiration (SBR) after 168 days of greenhouse incubation. The ...

Global agricultural N2O emission reduction strategies deliver climate benefits with minimal impact on stratospheric O3 recovery

ABSTRACT Agricultural nitrous oxide (N2O) emission reduction strategies are required given the potency of N2O as a greenhouse gas. However, the growing influence of N2O on stratospheric ozone (O3) with declining stratospheric chlorine means the wider atmospheric impact of N2O reductions requires investigation. We calculate a N2O emission reduction of 1.35 TgN2O yr-1 (~5% of 2020 emissions) using spatially separate deployment of nitrification inhibitors ($70–113 tCO2e−1) and crushed basalt (no-cost co- benefit) which also sequesters CO2. In Earth System model simulations for 2025–2075 under high (SSP3-7.0) and low (SSP1-2.6) surface ...

Additive effects of basalt enhanced weathering and biochar co-application on carbon sequestration, soil nutrient status and plant performance in a mesocosm experiment

ABSTRACT Co-deployment of a portfolio of carbon removal technologies is anticipated in order to remove several gigatons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and meet climate targets. However, co-application effects between carbon removal technologies have rarely been examined, despite multiple recent perspectives suggesting potential synergies between basalt enhanced weathering and biochar application. To study the co-application effects of basalt for enhanced weathering and biochar on carbon sequestration, along with related co-benefits and risks, we conducted a fully replicated factorial mesocosm experiment with wheat. Basalt applied alone (74 t ...

The potential for carbon dioxide removal by enhanced rock weathering in the tropics: An evaluation of Costa Rica

Abstract Tropical environments show great potential to sequester CO2 by enhanced rock weathering (ERW) of powdered mafic rocks applied to agricultural fields. This study seeks to assess carbon dioxide reduction (CDR) potential in the humid tropics (1) by experimental weathering of mafic rock powders in conditions simulating humid tropical soils, and (2) from weathering rates determined from a Holocene tropical soil chronosequence where parent material is andesitic sediments. Experimentally determined weathering rates by leaching of basaltic andesites from Costa Rica (Arenal and Barva) for 50 t ha−1 applications indicate potential sequestration ...

Initial agronomic benefits of enhanced weathering using basalt: A study of spring oat in a temperate climate

ABSTRACT Addressing soil nutrient degradation and global warming requires novel solutions. Enhanced weathering using crushed basalt rock is a promising dual-action strategy that can enhance soil health and sequester carbon dioxide. This study examines the short-term effects of basalt amendment on spring oat (Avena sativa L.) during the 2022 growing season in NE England. The experimental design consisted of four blocks with control and basalt- amended plots, and two cultivation types within each treatment, laid out in a split plot design. Basalt (18.86 tonnes ha−1) was incorporated into the soil during seeding. Tissue, grain and soil samples ...

Environmental impacts and resource use of urban agriculture: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Erica Dorr, Benjamin Goldstein, Arpad Horvath, Christine Aubry, and Benoit Gabrielle Abstract Environmental merits are a common motivation for many urban agriculture (UA) projects. One powerful way of quantifying environmental impacts is with life cycle assessment (LCA): a method that estimates the environmental impacts of producing, using, and disposing of a good. LCAs of UA have proliferated in recent years, evaluating a diverse range of UA systems and generating mixed conclusions about their environmental performance. To clarify the varied literature, we performed a systematic review of LCAs of UA to answer the following questions: What is ...

Enhanced clay formation key in sustaining the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum

Alexander J. Krause, Appy Sluijs, Robin van der Ploeg, Timothy M. Lenton & Philip A. E. Pogge von Strandmann Abstract The Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (around 40 million years ago) was a roughly 400,000-year-long global warming phase associated with an increase in atmospheric CO2 concentrations and deep-ocean acidification that interrupted the Eocene’s long-term cooling trend. The unusually long duration, compared with early Eocene global warming phases, is puzzling as temperature-dependent silicate weathering should have provided a negative feedback, drawing down CO2 over this timescale. Here we investigate silicate weathering during this ...