ReBALAN:CE - Recycling Biomass to Agricultural LANd: Capitalizing on Eutrophication

ReBALAN:CE - 将生物质回收到农业用地：利用富营养化

• 批准号: NE/K015710/1
• 负责人: David Oliver
• 金额: $ 7.84万
• 依托单位: University of Stirling
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2013 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FK015710%2F1
• 关键词: ReBALAN; CE; Recycling; Biomass; Agricultural

This project will bring together an interdisciplinary team of experts from across academic, policy and stakeholder organisations in order to prioritise and plan a response to the pressing science needs associated with resource recovery from waste. Specifically, the project will explore nutrient recovery from excessive aquatic plant and algal biomass production in nutrient enriched waters (e.g. ponds, constructed farm wetlands, sustainable urban drainage systems and natural waterbodies) and, crucially, will integrate economic, social, environmental and health-related dimensions that cut across traditional academic disciplines. Thus, the overall aim of this project is to facilitate the exchange of knowledge across the disciplinary boundaries of biology, geography, soil and water science, microbiology, human behaviour, risk perception, waste management, economics and catchment management. In turn, we will develop a comprehensive, holistic and targeted programme of research to 'close the loop' on nutrient transfer from land to water. This will be underpinned by understanding and quantifying the risks, opportunities and multiple benefits of recycling excessive aquatic plant and algal biomass back to agricultural land. The project will therefore contribute to a paradigm shift in current conceptualisation of 'waste' management to redress the current imbalance of focus on economic benefits of recovering resources from waste. In a wider context, effective and sustainable waste management must take account of the often unquantified and uncertain trade-offs for managing wastes across the environment. For example, recovering nutrients from aquatic plant and algal biomass makes economic sense because fertiliser costs are soaring due to shortages in mineral supply; however, this is only one part of a complex socio-economic-ecological system. We need to couple economics with the safeguarding of human health and protection of key ecosystem services, such as the provision of clean and safe recreational and drinking water, and appreciate the social and political barriers that may hinder or promote efficient nutrient recovery from this 'waste' by-product. While we know that anthropogenic inputs of nutrients to aquatic systems can be assimilated in aquatic biomass we have little knowledge on how pathogens and toxins may be recycled through agroecosystems following reapplication of this biomass to land, and poor understanding of nitrogen and phosphorus release rates from non-composted and composted biomass. Furthermore, the potential role for aquatic plant and algal biomass to be made into biochar (charcoal) as a novel approach to re-cycle nutrients and store carbon in soil (to offset emissions of carbon dioxide) is another dimension of resource recovery from waste by-products that might deliver multiple benefits and ecosystem services for wider society. There are a number of additional policy related dimensions to debate including whether there is an issue surrounding the classification of recycled biomass as non-waste in terms of regulation and licensing. Our team is well equipped with the expertise to develop core work-packages needed for a well balanced research agenda in recycling biomass to agricultural land.The project team are therefore tasked with framing some important emerging questions that will need innovative science and integrated solutions for 2020 and beyond. By pooling the cross-disciplinary expertise assembled in this catalyst grant we will identify where improvements in fundamental understanding are necessary to deliver step changes in 'waste' management for environmental benefits and help refine regulatory policy and practice to support this.

该项目将汇集来自学术，政策和利益相关者组织的跨学科专家团队，以优先考虑和计划应对与废物资源回收相关的紧迫科学需求。具体而言，该项目将探讨从营养丰富的沃茨（例如池塘、人工农田湿地、可持续城市排水系统和自然水体）中过度水生植物和藻类生物量生产中回收营养，而且至关重要的是，将整合跨越传统学科的经济、社会、环境和健康相关层面。因此，该项目的总体目标是促进生物学、地理学、土壤和水科学、微生物学、人类行为、风险认知、废物管理、经济学和集水管理等学科之间的知识交流。反过来，我们将制定一项全面、整体和有针对性的研究计划，以“闭合”从土地到水的营养转移。这将通过理解和量化将过多的水生植物和藻类生物质回收回农业用地的风险，机会和多重利益来支持。因此，该项目将有助于改变目前“废物”管理概念的模式，以纠正目前对从废物中回收资源的经济效益的关注不平衡。在更广泛的背景下，有效和可持续的废物管理必须考虑到在整个环境中管理废物时往往无法量化和不确定的权衡。例如，从水生植物和藻类生物质中回收营养物质具有经济意义，因为由于矿物供应短缺，肥料成本飙升;然而，这只是复杂的社会经济生态系统的一部分。我们需要将经济学与保障人类健康和保护关键生态系统服务结合起来，例如提供清洁安全的娱乐和饮用水，并认识到可能阻碍或促进从这种“废物”副产品中有效回收养分的社会和政治障碍。虽然我们知道，人为输入的营养水生系统可以吸收水生生物量，我们有很少的知识，如何病原体和毒素可能通过农业生态系统再循环后，这种生物量重新应用于土地，氮和磷的释放率从非堆肥和堆肥生物量的了解不足。此外，将水生植物和藻类生物质制成生物炭（木炭）作为一种新的方法来再循环营养物质并将碳储存在土壤中（以抵消二氧化碳的排放）的潜在作用是从废物副产品中回收资源的另一个方面，可能为更广泛的社会带来多重效益和生态系统服务。还有一些与政策有关的问题需要讨论，包括在监管和许可方面是否存在将回收生物质分类为非废物的问题。我们的团队拥有开发核心工作包所需的专业知识，以实现将生物质回收到农业用地的平衡研究议程。因此，项目团队的任务是制定一些重要的新兴问题，这些问题需要创新科学和2020年及以后的综合解决方案。通过汇集跨学科的专业知识，我们将确定在基本理解方面的改进是必要的，以实现环境效益的“废物”管理的逐步变化，并帮助完善监管政策和实践，以支持这一点。

项目成果

Can macrophyte harvesting from eutrophic water close the loop on nutrient loss from agricultural land?

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.01.046
• 发表时间: 2015-04
• 期刊: Journal of environmental management
• 影响因子: 8.7
• 作者: R. Quilliam;Melanie van Niekerk;D. Chadwick;P. Cross;N. Hanley;Davey L. Jones;A. Vinten;N. Willby;D. Oliver