Climate proof soils by steering soil and residue microbiomes (ClipsMicro)
Informations
- Funding country
Netherlands- Acronym
- -
- URL
- -
- Start date
- -
- End date
- -
- Budget
- 1,376,812 EUR
Fundings
| Name | Role | Start | End | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dutch Research Agenda (Nationale Wetenschapsagenda - NWA) | Grant | - | - | - |
Abstract
Increasing carbon sequestration while lowering GHG emissions and maintaining crop yields is one of the biggest societal and scientific challenges. Sequestering and preserving soil organic carbon (SOC) in arable sandy soils is particularly challenging due to low carbon stabilization and buffering capacity, especially in crops with low SOC-input, like maize. Current state-of-the-art knowledge on SOC dynamics indicates a crucial role of microbially derived carbon, implying that microbial growth and carbon use efficiency are key regulators in SOC build-up. We propose that microbial carbon transformation can be harnessed to increase carbon sequestration potential of organic residues. Further, residue-associated N2O emissions can be mitigated by controlling N20-producing and -consuming microbes, e.g. using biological nitrification inhibitors exuded by plant roots. Hence, climate-smart agriculture should focus on “steering” residue and soil microbiomes involved in carbon and nitrogen cycling. This project focuses on “nurturing” microbiomes in soil and organic inputs to realize a year-round contribution of the microbiome to carbon sequestration and mitigation of GHG emissions from arable sandy soils. The approach will focus on the combined use of refined organic residues and (cover-)crops capable of nitrification inhibition. The research consortium is organized as follows: a Ph.D. at Utrecht University, focusing on optimizing microbial biomass development and necromass stabilization through organo-mineral complexation in composts; a PhD-student at NIOO determining the effects of these refined residues on soil, the nitrification inhibition potential of (cover-)crops and associated effects on GHG-emissions; a postdoc at the Louis Bolk Institute focused on feasibility, upscaling and the development of optimal scenarios for combined use of climate-smart residues and (cover-)crops. Common field experiments are envisaged in close cooperation with Aeres University of Applied Sciences for knowledge transfer to the future generation of farmers, as well as seed and composting companies and other actors in the agri-waste sector.