URoL:ASC: Co-producing knowledge, biotechnologies, and practices to enhance biological nitrogen fixation for sustainable agriculture

URoL:ASC：共同生产知识、生物技术和实践，以增强可持续农业的生物固氮

• 批准号: 2319430
• 负责人: Lily Cheung
• 金额: $ 266.88万
• 依托单位: Georgia Tech Research Corporation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-15 至 2028-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2319430&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: URoL; ASC; Co; producing; knowledge

This project will utilize principles of material science and bioengineering to create biopebbles, particles made of natural polymers that can enhance nitrogen fixation by soil bacteria they will contain, thereby reducing dependency on synthetic fertilizers and their harmful social and environmental effects. Given the disproportionate access to resources to achieve agricultural sustainability among farmers in the developing world and to ensure that the technology developed in this project meets the needs of these populations, the team will collaborate with international science-policy interface organizations, regional agricultural development agencies, agricultural scientists, and small-scale farmers and indigenous communities in Chile to co-design every stage of the research, from concept to field tests and evaluation. The project will provide interdisciplinary training and intercultural competencies to participating American students and help build a more globally oriented workforce. Nitrogen fixed by soil bacteria is a sustainable biofertilizer. However, the efficiency of this process is low, forcing farmers to rely instead on synthetic fertilizers that cause environmental pollution. This project will utilize principles of liquid-liquid phase separation and mathematical/kinetic modeling to create rehydratable microcosms that can be mixed into soil and provide optimum conditions for biological nitrogen fixation. Experiments in field conditions will be conducted to ascertain the extent to which biopebbles can support the growth of crops in the absence of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. A final assessment of the co-production process will be performed with a combination of in-depth interviews and focus groups, integrating participatory network mapping techniques.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.

该项目将利用材料科学和生物工程原理制造生物气泡，由天然聚合物制成的颗粒，可以通过它们所包含的土壤细菌增强固氮作用，从而减少对合成肥料的依赖及其有害的社会和环境影响。鉴于发展中国家农民获得资源的机会不成比例，无法实现农业可持续性，并确保本项目开发的技术满足这些人口的需求，该团队将与国际科学政策接口组织、区域农业发展机构、农业科学家以及智利的小规模农民和土著社区合作，共同设计研究的每个阶段，从概念到现场测试和评估。该项目将为参与的美国学生提供跨学科培训和跨文化能力，并帮助建立一支更加面向全球的劳动力队伍。土壤细菌固氮是一种可持续的生物肥料。然而，这一过程的效率很低，迫使农民转而依赖造成环境污染的合成肥料。该项目将利用液-液相分离和数学/动力学建模的原理，创造可再水化的微观世界，这些微观世界可以混合到土壤中，为生物固氮提供最佳条件。将在田间条件下进行实验，以确定在没有合成氮肥的情况下，生物气泡能在多大程度上支持作物生长。联合制作过程的最终评估将结合深入访谈和焦点小组，整合参与式网络绘图技术。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。