RII Track-2 FEC: Developing effective adaptation strategies to enhance the resilience of farmers under changing climate

农业活动产生温室气体排放，导致气候变化。由于气候变化，干旱变得更加频繁和严重。干旱是指由于缺乏降水而导致的一段时间的长期干旱天气，减少了维持作物生产力所需的水资源，这对农民造成了重大影响，他们的生计依赖于农业生产力。因此，制定和评估有助于抵御干旱对农业经营的负面影响并从中恢复过来的管理做法，将有助于农业的可持续性和粮食安全。该项目是位于三个NSF EPSCoR管辖范围内的大学之间的合作：阿拉巴马州的奥本大学；新墨西哥州立大学；以及特拉华州的特拉华大学。通过拟议的研究，项目小组旨在制定和评估农业管理实践，这些实践将有助于减少农业系统的温室气体排放，改善土壤健康和水质，并减少干旱期间作物歉收的脆弱性。项目团队由不同性别和种族的早期职业、中期职业和成熟的研究人员组成。拟议的项目将有助于发展一支由研究生和本科生、博士后学者和早期职业教师组成的高技能和多样化的劳动力队伍。此外，将编写教育材料以吸引更广泛的受众（例如，农村社区、K-12学生、生物炭生产者、保护人员），特别强调教育传统上代表性不足的群体的人。这个NSF EPSCoR研究基础设施改善轨道2重点EPSCoR合作项目（NSF EPSCoR RII轨道2 FEC）的总体目标是使农业系统更能适应气候变化，以环境可持续的方式减少农业来源的温室气体排放（例如，改善土壤健康、水和空气质量），并增强农民对气候变化负面后果的适应能力。这一目标将通过以下三个重点领域实现，包括研究、教育和推广活动：(a)开发用于农业系统的工程生物炭；(b)为理解使用工程生物炭对环境和作物生产系统的影响提供新的见解；(c)量化使用工程生物炭的社会经济效益。该研究项目利用各院校独特和互补的研究专长和资源来实现以下目标：(1)在气候适应系统中开发工程生物炭以降低农业氧化亚氮排放；(2)确定在缺水条件下，与工程生物炭修正产量积极响应相关的植物基因和途径；(3)阐明工程生物炭对养分、温室气体排放和微生物过程的影响；(4)模拟极端事件对作物产量和养分损失的影响。并确定对农业生产力影响较小的条件组合，以及(5)评估农民对将工程生物炭与动物粪便一起使用的看法和经济学。该项目包括针对本科生和研究生、博士后学者、早期职业教师和各种社区（农民、生物炭生产商、K-12学生、行业人员）的教育、指导和培训活动。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

Agricultural activities result in greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. As a result of climate change, droughts are becoming more frequent and severe. Drought, a period of prolonged dry weather due to a lack of precipitation, reduces the water availability required to maintain crop productivity, which impacts farmers substantially, whose livelihoods depend on agricultural productivity. Therefore, developing and assessing management practices that can help withstand and recover from the negative impacts of droughts on agricultural operations will contribute to the sustainability of agriculture and food security. This project is a collaboration among universities located in three NSF EPSCoR jurisdictions: Auburn University, Alabama; New Mexico State University, New Mexico; and the University of Delaware, Delaware. Through the proposed research, the project team aims to develop and assess agricultural management practices that will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural systems, improve soil health and water quality, and reduce the vulnerability of crop failures during droughts. The project team consists of early-career, mid-career, and established researchers with diversity in gender and ethnicity. The proposed project will contribute to developing a highly skilled and diverse workforce consisting of several graduate and undergraduate level students, post-doctoral scholars, and early career faculty. Further, educational materials will be developed to engage with a broader audience (e.g., rural communities, students K-12, biochar producers, conservation personnel), with particular emphasis on educating people from traditionally underrepresented groups.The overarching goal of this NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Track-2 Focused EPSCoR Collaborations (NSF EPSCoR RII Track-2 FEC) project is to make agricultural systems more resilient to climate change, reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural sources in an environmentally sustainable manner (e.g., improving soil health and water and air quality), and enhance the resilience of farmers to the negative consequences of climate change. The goal will be accomplished through the following three thrust areas, comprised of research, educational, and outreach activities: (a) development of engineered biochar for use in agricultural systems; (b) providing new insights toward understanding the impact of using engineered biochar on the environment and crop production systems; and (c) quantify the socioeconomic benefits of using engineered biochar. The research project leverages each institution's unique and complementary research expertise and resources to accomplish the following objectives: (1) develop engineered biochar to lower agricultural nitrous oxide emission in a climate-resilient system, (2) determine the plant genes and pathways associated with a positive yield response to engineered biochar amendment under water deficit conditions, (3) elucidate the impact of engineered biochar on nutrients, greenhouse gas emissions, and microbial processes, (4) simulate the impact of extreme events on crop yield and nutrient losses, and identify the suites of conditions that are less impactful for agricultural productivity, and (5) assess farmers' perceptions and the economics of using engineered biochar along with the animal waste. The project includes educational, mentoring, and training activities for undergraduate and graduate level students, post-doctoral scholars, early career faculty, and various communities (farmers, biochar producers, students K-12, industry personnel).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.