Development of rapid quantification of soil organic carbon pools via photocatalytic kinetics

拟议的研究项目包括由埃米莉·蒋教授领导的研究小组与圭尔夫大学(UOG，Guelph，ON)的Rafael Santos教授和ManTech Inc.(Guelph，ON)的合作伙伴关系。该伙伴关系的主要目标是开发一种协议，通过光催化反应动力学来快速测量总有机碳(TOC)并对土壤中的有机碳库进行分类。开发的方案将集成到ManTech现有的PeCOD分析仪中，以进行快速和信息丰富的土壤TOC分析。将碳以总有机碳的形式固定在土壤中，被视为通过减少大气二氧化碳来缓解气候变化的一种方式。因此，这项技术被设想为使农民能够采取农业措施，增加土壤中的TOC，特别是稳定的有机部分，以达到长期缓解气候的目的。这项研究对加拿大缓解气候变化和改善农业环境指标(如二氧化碳排放)的战略非常重要。这项研究的预期结果和影响包括：1)开发一种低成本快速测定不同土壤有机碳组分(即活性碳、腐殖质C和抗性碳)的技术；2)向农民和农民协会(如OFVGA、OSCIA、OFA)、学者和政府机构(如OMAFRA、AAFC)的代表进行知识转移活动，为碳信用建立平台；3)培训HQP先进的仪器和分析技术。

The proposed research project includes a partnership between the research team led by Prof. Emily Chiang and Prof. Rafael Santos at the University of Guelph (UoG, Guelph, ON) and MANTECH Inc. (Guelph, ON). The primary goal of the partnership is to develop a protocol to rapidly measure total organic carbon (TOC) and classify the organic carbon pools in soils, via photocatalytic reaction kinetics. The developed protocol will be integrated into MANTECH's existing PeCOD analyzer to carry out rapid and informative soil TOC analysis. Sequestering carbon as TOC in soil is seen as one way to mitigate climate change by reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Therefore, this technology is envisioned to enable farmers to adopt agricultural practices that increase TOC in soils, and in particular the stable organic fraction, for long lasting climate mitigation purpose. This research is important to Canada's strategies for climate change mitigation and improving Agri-Environmental Indicators (e.g. CO2 emission).The intended outcomes and impacts of this study include: 1) development of a technique to rapidly and at low cost determine the different soil OC fractions (i.e. labile C, humus C, and resistant C); 2) knowledge transfer activities to farmers and farmer associations (e.g. OFVGA, OSCIA, OFA), academics, and representatives of government institutions (e.g. OMAFRA, AAFC) to set a stage for carbon credits; 3) training of HQP in advanced instrumentation and analytical techniques.