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

拟议的研究项目包括圭尔夫大学（UoG, Guelph， ON）的Emily Chiang教授和Rafael Santos教授领导的研究团队和MANTECH Inc. （Guelph， ON）之间的合作伙伴关系。该合作伙伴关系的主要目标是制定一项协议，通过光催化反应动力学快速测量总有机碳（TOC）并对土壤中的有机碳库进行分类。开发的协议将集成到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TOC的形式封存在土壤中被视为通过减少大气中的二氧化碳来缓解气候变化的一种方法。因此，预计这项技术将使农民能够采用增加土壤中TOC的农业做法，特别是稳定的有机部分，以实现长期缓解气候变化的目的。这项研究对加拿大减缓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。本研究的预期结果和影响包括：1)开发一种快速、低成本地测定不同土壤碳含量（即不稳定碳、腐殖质碳和抗性碳）的技术；2)向农民和农民协会（如OFVGA、OSCIA、OFA）、学者和政府机构代表（如OMAFRA、AAFC）进行知识转移活动，为碳信用额度奠定基础；3) HQP的先进仪器和分析技术培训。

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.