NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Potential for Diversified Crop Rotations to Promote Solid Phosphorus Cycling in Agroecosystems

这项行动资助了2023财年的NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，扩大了生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。该研究金支持研究员的一项研究和培训计划，该计划将增加在生物学领域代表性不足的群体的参与。该研究员将领导一个项目，调查多样化作物轮作的潜力，以加强农业中的土壤磷循环。磷是植物的重要营养元素，对植物的生长发育起着重要的作用。在农业中，磷肥可以帮助满足作物的营养需求并最大限度地提高作物产量，但由于磷储量的耗尽和其他环境问题，这些肥料的未来实用性是不确定的。通过长期的研究试验，研究员将确定多样化的作物轮作是否可以支持自然土壤磷循环，以帮助支持作物产量，同时最大限度地减少农业对磷肥的需求。这将最终有助于为作物生产制定更可持续和更注重生态的管理做法。作为该项目的一部分，研究员将通过与加州大学合作推广的各种推广平台，向农民和相关利益攸关方传播他们的研究成果。该研究员还将通过麦克奈尔学者计划等项目，为来自边缘化背景的本科生提供研究指导。最后，研究员将利用在加州大学戴维斯分校研究生课程的联系，为来自边缘化背景的博士后学者建立一个支持组织和方案。该项目的总体假设是，多样化的作物轮作将有益地改变土壤的理化和生物特性，这将增强土壤磷循环，植物磷吸收和生产力。该研究员将在位于整个中西部的四个长期研究地点比较多样化玉米-大豆轮作和非多样化玉米-大豆轮作之间的土壤特性。该研究员将进行土壤理化分析，包括分析土壤有机质和碳氮总含量，以检查作物轮作对磷循环相关特性的影响，进行土壤宏基因组和元转录组测序，以比较不同轮作方法之间的微生物分类和功能组成，并进行玉米表型分析，将土壤特性的变化与植物性状联系起来。研究员还将利用收集的数据实施结构方程建模，以研究生物和非生物土壤特性，磷库和植物生产力之间的关系。该研究员将通过各种平台传播这项工作的成果，包括农民外联和同行评议的科学期刊文章。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2023, Broadening Participation of Groups Underrepresented in Biology. The Fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. The Fellow will lead a project investigating the potential for diversified crop rotations to enhance soil phosphorus cycling in agriculture. Phosphorus is an important plant nutrient as it plays a major role in plant growth and development. In agriculture, phosphorus fertilizers can help meet the nutritional needs of crop plants and maximize crop yields, yet the future practicality of these fertilizers is uncertain due to depleting phosphorus reserves and other environmental concerns. Using long-term research trials, the Fellow will determine if diversified crop rotations can support natural soil phosphorus cycling to help support crop yields while minimizing the need for phosphorus fertilizers in agriculture. This will ultimately help to develop more sustainable and ecologically based management practices for crop production. As part of the project, the Fellow will disseminate findings from their research to farmers and relevant stakeholders through a variety of extension platforms with the University of California Cooperative Extension. The Fellow will also provide research mentorship to undergraduate students from marginalized backgrounds through programs such as the McNair Scholars Program. Lastly, the Fellow will leverage connections at University of California, Davis, Graduate Studies to establish a support organization and programming for postdoctoral scholars from marginalized backgrounds. The overarching hypothesis of the project is that diversified crop rotations will beneficially alter soil physiochemical and biological properties, which will enhance soil phosphorus cycling, plant phosphorus uptake, and productivity. The Fellow will compare soil properties between diversified corn-soybean rotations and non-diversified corn-soybean rotations across four long-term research sites located throughout the Midwest. The Fellow will perform soil physiochemical analyses, including analysis of soil organic matter and total carbon and nitrogen content, to examine the effects of crop rotation on properties relevant to phosphorus cycling, soil metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing to compare microbial taxonomic and functional composition between rotation methods, and corn phenotypic analyses to link changes in soil properties to plant traits. The Fellow will also implement structural equation modeling using the data gathered to study relationships between biotic and abiotic soil properties, phosphorus pools, and plant productivity. The Fellow will disseminate findings from this work through diverse platforms, including farmer outreach and peer-reviewed scientific journal articles.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.