BREAD: Biochar Inoculants for Enabling Smallholder Agriculture

Pi：Johannes Lehmann(康奈尔大学作物和土壤科学)合作者：Janice Thies(康奈尔大学作物和土壤科学)合作者：Rufus Edwards(加州大学欧文分校流行病学系)合作者：Henry NeuFeldt(肯尼亚内罗毕世界农林中心(ICRAF))合作者：Betta Fisher(康奈尔大学机械和航空航天工程)合作者：Fred Gouldin(康奈尔大学机械和航空航天工程)合作者：David Lee(康奈尔大学应用经济学和管理学)合作者：Stephen Joseph(新南威尔士大学机械和航空航天工程，康奈尔大学)澳大利亚)非洲农业生产力面临的主要威胁是土壤退化迅速加剧，这与粮食不安全、饥饿和贫困直接相关。将稳定的生物炭整合到发展中国家的碳限制农业系统中，或许能够解决长期的生产力限制。尽管生物炭具有巨大的潜力，但能否开发出通过改善固氮菌、促进植物生长的根际细菌和丛枝菌根真菌的生长条件来促进作物生长的生物炭接种剂，目前尚不清楚。该项目的目标是提供关于如何在肯尼亚的小农农业系统内最好地开发和使用生物炭接种剂的基本知识。绘制了整个农场的资源机会图，并对生物炭炉灶进行了优化，以产生清洁的家庭能源以及具有农业价值和环境安全的稳定生物炭产品。生物炭为有益微生物提供更好的生长条件的能力是通过在一系列土壤条件下的培养来确定的，在这些土壤条件下，使用先进的显微镜对有机体进行成像。通过将微生物的出现与生物炭的物理和分子特性联系起来，可以从机理上理解某些生物炭特性如何改善接种剂的行为。微生物-生物炭相互作用的研究是新颖的，有望提供土壤健康科学前沿的基础知识。对于更广泛的社区，项目成果将介绍农业系统中生物质的使用和优化、炉灶优化以及微生物接种过程的机制，这将大大加强我们对土壤健康管理的理解，并改善发展中国家的小农农业系统。该项目将产生可持续提高发展中国家土壤资源的创新方法。它是第一个采用全生命周期方法来解决小农农业碳限制的此类方法，可以在当地实施和管理。该项目将在肯尼亚和美国建设当地的教学、学习和研究能力。本科生、研究生和研究生将接受一系列新的分子技术和系统科学方法的培训。该项目将利用我们与联合国和非政府组织的现有联系，并将成果直接传达给参与教育、研究和政策制定的非洲国家组织。该项目正在通过一个项目网站、康奈尔大学D-SPACE档案的永久存档数据库和一个光盘提供成果，光盘将包括炉灶设计、生物炭接种剂生产和应用协议。还将通过关于生物碳接种方法的讲习班、出版物、项目简报和演示文稿来传播信息。

PI: Johannes Lehmann (Crop and Soil Sciences, Cornell University)Co-PI: Janice Thies (Crop and Soil Sciences, Cornell University)Co-PI: Rufus Edwards (Department of Epidemiology, University of California Irvine)Co-PI: Henry Neufeldt (World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya)Collaborator: Betta Fisher (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University)Collaborator: Fred Gouldin (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University)Collaborator: David Lee (Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University)Collaborator: Stephen Joseph (University of New South Wales, Australia)The major threat to agricultural productivity in Africa is the rapid increase in soil degradation that is linked directly to food insecurity, hunger and poverty. Integrating stable biochar into carbon-constrained agricultural systems in developing countries may be able to address long term productivity constraints. Despite its significant potential, it is less known whether biochar inoculants can be developed that enhance crop growth by improving growth conditions for nitrogen fixing bacteria, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The objective of this project is to provide fundamental knowledge of how to best develop and use biochar inoculants within smallholder agriculture systems in Kenya. Resource opportunities are mapped for entire farms, and biochar cook stoves optimized to generate clean household energy as well as agronomically valuable and environmentally safe, stable biochar products. The ability of biochars to provide improved growth conditions for beneficial microorganisms is determined using incubations under a range of soil conditions where organisms are imaged using advanced microscopy. A mechanistic understanding of the way certain biochar traits improve inoculant behavior are obtained by relating microbial occurrence to physical and molecular properties of biochars. The investigation of microbe-biochar interactions are novel and are expected to provide fundamental knowledge at the frontier of soil health science. For the broader community, project outcomes will inform about biomass use and optimization in agricultural systems, cook stove optimization, and mechanisms of microbial inoculant processes, which will significantly strengthen our understanding of soil health management and improve small holder agricultural systems in developing countries.This project will generate innovative ways to sustainably enhance soil resources in developing countries. It is the first of its kind to embrace a full life-cycle approach to solving carbon constraints in small-holder agriculture that can be locally implemented and managed. This project will build local capacity in teaching, learning and research both in Kenya and the US. Students at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels will be trained using a wide array of new molecular technologies and approaches to system science. This project will make use of our existing linkages to the United Nations and non-governmental organizations, and communicate results directly to national organizations in Africa involved in education, research and policy making. The project is making results available through a project website, a permanently archived database on Cornell University's D-space archive, and a CD-ROM which will include cook stove designs, biochar-inoculant production and application protocols. Information will also be disseminated through workshops on biochar-inoculant methods, publications, project briefs, and presentations.