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

该项目将利用材料科学和生物工程的原理来制造生物泡沫，即由天然聚合物制成的颗粒，可以增强它们所含土壤细菌的固氮作用，从而减少对合成肥料的依赖及其对社会和环境的有害影响。考虑到为实现发展中国家农民的农业可持续性而获得的资源不成比例，并确保该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、智利的小农和土著社区合作，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-液相分离原理和数学/动力学建模来创造可再水化的微生物，这些微生物可以混合到土壤中，并为生物固氮提供最佳条件。将在田间条件下进行试验，以确定在没有合成氮肥的情况下，生物泡沫能在多大程度上支持作物生长。将结合深度访谈和焦点小组，结合参与性网络绘图技术，对合作制作过程进行最后评估。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。

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.