Recipient Organization
WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY
886 CHESTNUT RIDGE RD RM 202
MORGANTOWN,WV 26505-2742
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
As global temperatures warm due to greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, the population continues to grow. As such, we face the great challenge of meeting the energy and food demands of a growing population while managing greenhouse gas emissions to limit warming. Historically, energy needs have largely been met by fossil fuels (e.g., oil and gas), which emit copious amounts of greenhouse gasses, driving climate change. Shifting toward plant-based energy, which may also capture carbon from the atmosphere in plants and soil, is an attractive alternative. However, we must manage our croplands carefully, since prime farmlands are in high demand to meet the imminent need to increase food crop production. Developing bioenergy cropping systems on lands not viable for food production due to poor soil conditions (i.e., marginal lands) may help alleviate the competition between food and energy crop production for land. The Appalachian region is home to vast amounts of marginal land due to its history of extensive coal extraction which has left many landscapes with disturbed soil properties (e.g., lost soil structure, low soil fertility). Cultivation of robust bioenergy crops like Miscanthus x giganteus may be feasible on these lands, leading to multifaceted benefits like carbon storage and soil structure recovery. However, we lack knowledge of how to best foster these systems for maximum productivity and sustainability.Vast diversity in the properties of marginal lands based on past disturbances makes predicting the potential of these systems to produce high yields and store carbon difficult. Further, common agricultural practices like fertilization may impact processes occurring in the soil of these lands, causing impacts to plant productivity and soil carbon storage potential. Specifically, the interactions occurring between nutrient-cycling microbes (bacteria and fungi) in soil and plants may be impacted by fertilization. Soil microbes work to liberate nutrients for plant use in return for carbon sent belowground from plant photosynthesis. When fertilized, plants may respond by changing their root structure and function (e.g., allocating less carbon belowground). This can impact the amount and stability of carbon in these soils as well as the interactivity of plants with soil microbes. Given these areas of uncertainty, this project seeks to study the traits of Miscanthus roots in marginal soils varied levels of disturbance history (e.g., intensity of mining disturbance) and across different fertilization scenarios (organic or conventional nutrient additions). We will collect and analyze soil and root samples from established field experiments and determine how these variables impact root traits (e.g., root structure) and soil microbial functions that govern soil carbon and nutrient cycles. This information will foster a better understanding of the potential of marginal lands to host productive, sustainable bioenergy agroecosystems, contributing broadly to the imminent societal need to generate renewable energy while also mitigating climate change and not interfering with food crop production. Additionally, this work supports the professional development of an early career female scientist and will result in outreach efforts aimed at Appalachian communities and conservation professionals.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
100%
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Bioenergy crop production on the world's vast amount of marginal land could foster agroecosystems that not only provide renewable sources of energy and materials but also help to rehabilitate damaged lands and mitigate the effects of climate change. However, we lack fundamental knowledge of the microbially-mediated processes that govern biomass crop productivity on and rehabilitation of marginal lands. Plant-microbe interactions at the root-soil interface (i.e., the rhizosphere) strongly influence plant productivity and soil health, but the underlying mechanisms and magnitude of these dynamics are not well resolved. Accordingly, the major research goal of this project is to determine how marginal soil conditions and fertilization alter root traits and plant-microbe interactions. To address this goal, the objectives are 1) to determine if and how fertilization alters root traits (e.g., specific root length) and 2) compare fertilization-driven changes in root traits with microbiome diversity and functional potential in the rhizosphere and in bulk soil to assess plant-microbe interactions. This project will help us understand how agricultural management and soil conditions impact agroecosystem productivity and sustainability. This knowledge is sorely needed to address increasing food and energy demands in the context of climate. The work force development goal of this project is to prepare PD Kane for a career advancing climate-smart agricultural innovation through research, education, and extension. In service of this goal, an objective of this project is for PD Kane to participate in professional development activities that are focused on 1) research competency, 2) teaching, mentorship, and outreach, and 3) leadership skills, which are detailed below.
Project Methods
To achieve our goals and meet our objectives, we will conduct analysis of soil and root samples from previously established, USDA AFRI-funded field experiment consisting of 5m2 plots of Miscanthus x giganteus established in 2019 on marginal land at the WVU farms. These plots receive either no fertilizer, inorganic fertilizer, or organic fertilizer yearly. A fully replicated set of plots is located on each of three sites that vary in disturbance level. We will collect root exudates, soil, and root tissue from each of these plots. Root exudate quantity and chemistry will be analyzed, and root tissues will be imaged to determine physical root traits (e.g., surface area, branching patterns, specific root length, and root tissue density). Soil will be collected from the base of each plant separated by proximity to live roots (rhizosphere soil versus bulk soil). Soil will be analyzed for microbial function using isotope tracer techniques (tracing 13C and 15N into microbial biomass) and microbial composition using shotgun metagenomics. We will analyze and evaluate our data elucidating the impact of fertilization on root morphological and chemical traits, and therefore microbial community structure and function. To detect differences in root morphological, chemical, and biotic (i.e., microbiome structure, function, and functional gene abundance) traits across treatments, sites, and soil compartment (rhizosphere or bulk), three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) will be employed. To determine which root traits are most important for determining microbial function and functional gene abundance, I will utilize generalized linear models. Data will further be interpreted considering the link between the rhizosphere microbiome and root morphology. To test whether fertilization-driven changes in root morphology and chemistry cascade to impact soil carbon storage by impacting microbial structure and function, confirmatory path analysis will be performed. These data will be communicated to the scientific community by 2-3 publications in peer-reviewed journal articles. Our findings will be communicated to extension and conservation agents by seminars focused on agricultural management and marginal land agriculture in the context of Miscanthus root traits. Finally, PD Kane will develop age-appropriate representations of the results to share with Appalachian public school students via experiential learning.