NSF Convergence Accelerator Track J Phase 2: AquaSteady - Balancing Soil Moisture, A Seaweed-Based Hydrogel for Sustainable Agriculture

人类正在经历前所未有的全球挑战，从不断升级的气候变化和普遍的粮食和营养不安全到不断增加的全球人口。农业在这些挑战中至关重要，对于养活我们不断增长的人口至关重要。尽管如此，它仍然是全球最大的水消费国，将高达80%的淡水资源用于粮食生产。此外，农业是造成严重土壤退化的原因，导致土壤侵蚀、压实、盐碱化和土壤养分流失造成土壤质量下降。不适当的水管理做法在很大程度上造成土壤退化，导致可耕地丧失、荒漠化，并最终导致粮食生产损失。这些挑战可以通过使用天然水凝胶来解决，以增加土壤中的水分保持，同时促进土壤健康，从而减少对水的需求。在这个项目中，AquaSteady是一种海藻水凝胶，将被优化用于各种农作物的农业。初步结果表明，AquaSteady具有与合成水凝胶相似的持水能力和吸收率，适当地将AquaSteady应用于土壤可以提高树苗的耐旱性，这一发现不仅对农业而且对重新造林都有影响。AquaSteady由从棕色海藻中提取的藻酸盐制成，如海带，可以可持续地养殖，同时螯合碳并从我们的海洋中去除多余的营养物质，如氮和磷。因此，AquaSteady在其供应链的两端都提供了积极的环境和经济影响，促进了陆地和海洋的再生农业实践，并为加强和发展美国海藻产业提供了一个新市场。该项目的目标是开发和优化AquaSteady用于各种作物和土壤类型，以平衡保水能力，改善土壤健康和作物产量。这将通过与各种各样的农民合作进行反复的实验室和实地测试来实现。将建立一个小型生产实验室，以生产和优化AquaSteady用于现场测试。AquaSteady的特定形状和形式，包括粉末，颗粒，字符串和图案网，将与农民密切合作，以匹配特定的农业应用和作物。根据循环经济的原则，将优化AquaSteady的制造工艺，以减少水和能源的使用。该项目将在学术界与陆地和海洋农业行业之间建立伙伴关系，利用海洋农场的海藻优化藻酸盐提取过程，并在农业推广和一系列规模，作物和土壤类型不同的私人土地农场进行AquaSteady的实地测试。此外，还将制定一个小农场方案，通过测试AquaSteady让农民参与该项目，重点是妇女和代表性不足的群体的参与和领导。所有活动，从大到小，将有助于社会福祉，减轻极端天气对我们的粮食系统的影响，并提高对粮食和营养不安全的认识。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

Humanity is experiencing unprecedented global challenges, ranging from escalating climate change and widespread food and nutrition insecurity to ever-increasing global populations. Agriculture is crucial in these challenges and essential for feeding our growing populations. Still, it is the biggest consumer of water globally, using up to 80% of freshwater resources for food production. Additionally, agriculture is accountable for significant soil degradation, leading to the decline in soil quality caused by soil erosion, compaction, salinization, and loss of soil nutrients. Inappropriate water management practices contribute considerably to soil degradation, resulting in the loss of arable land, desertification, and, ultimately, food production loss. These challenges can be addressed by using natural hydrogels to increase moisture retention in soils while promoting soil health and thereby reducing water demands. In this project, AquaSteady, a seaweed-based hydrogel, will be optimized for use in agriculture for various crops. Preliminary results indicate that AquaSteady has similar water-holding capacity and absorption rates to synthetic hydrogels and that proper application of AquaSteady to soils increases drought tolerance of tree saplings, a finding that not only has implications for agriculture but also reforestation. AquaSteady is made from alginate extracted from brown seaweeds, like kelp, that can be sustainably farmed while sequestering carbon and removing excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus from our oceans. Thus, AquaSteady provides net positive environmental and economic impacts at both ends of its supply chain, promoting regenerative farming practices on land and sea and providing a new market to strengthen and grow the US seaweed industry.The goal of this project is to develop and optimize AquaSteady for various crops and soil types to balance water retention and improve soil health and crop yields. This will be accomplished through iterative lab and field testing in collaboration with a diverse array of farmers. A small production laboratory will be established to manufacture and optimize AquaSteady for field tests. Specific shapes and forms of AquaSteady, including powder, granules, strings, and patterned nets, will be developed to match specific agricultural applications and crops in close collaboration with farmers. The manufacturing process for AquaSteady will be optimized to reduce the use of water and energy, in line with the principles of a circular economy. The project will build partnerships between academia and both the terrestrial and marine farming industries, with the alginate extraction process being optimized using sugar kelp from marine farms and field tests of AquaSteady taking place at Agricultural Extensions and an array of private land farms differing in scale, crops, and soil types. Additionally, a Small Farm Program will be developed to involve farmers in the project by testing AquaSteady, with an emphasis on the participation and leadership of women and underrepresented groups. All activities, from large to small, will contribute to societal well-being by mitigating the impact of extreme weather on our food system and increasing awareness of food and nutrition insecurity.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.