Progress 02/15/23 to 02/14/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences during this reporting period were four graduate students, where we talk about the importance of Increasing the soil health and improve the soil health to increase water retention. We talk about a simple method for water collection from air and injection in keyline tunnels enriched with biochar and polymers to preserve the tunnel integrity and enhance water retention. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project provides the opportunity for training directly to one graduate student and indirectly three graduate student that currently works in the Agroenviromental Laboratory at Rio Piedras. Also, three undergraduate students were exposed to the project and will have opportunities for training and professional development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?During the reporting period, three field trips were conducted, where the results and findings of the project were disseminated to a total of eight graduate students and three professors from the Biology Department of the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras. Additionally, a laboratory field trip was organized, during which five professors from UPR-Rio Piedras were briefed on the methods employed in the project. On December 14, 2023, we made a presentation of the Project in the Workshop on Organic Amendments: A Mitigation Strategy for Soils and Cash Crops, centering on the "Impact of Organic Practices on Soil Health." This informative session was offered to ca. Sixty extensionists from the University of Puerto Rico, and allowed to exchange insights and participate in meaningful dialogue concerning the project's implications for optimizing soil management techniques and enhancing crop production strategies. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We have chosen and prepared an experimental site within Juana Diaz-AES, incorporating Keyline tunnels for optimal agricultural management. This designated area is slated for the cultivation of beans (var. Beniquez) as part of a comprehensive study to investigate the impact of biochar and biopolymer amendments on the Jacaguas soil, and to study potential benefits of radiative air-water condensers on various soil chemical, physical, and biological parameters, as well as plant survival rates. The parameters under study encompass a wide array of soil characteristics, including acidity, electrical conductivity, and biological activity. Specific metrics such as beta-glucosidase activity, soil respiration, muramic acid, d-glucosamine content, microbial biomass, and the ratio of fungi to bacteria will be assessed. Furthermore, we will analyze soil organic carbon (SOC), labile organic carbon (LOC), active organic carbon, and soil microbial biomass of nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus (MBN, MBC, and MBP). In addition to these factors, we will evaluate aggregate stability, soil matric potential, amino sugars biomarkers, and soil density. These assessments are crucial for understanding the health and resilience of the agricultural system under various climatic conditions.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Soil water retention is essential in any agricultural system, and climate change has impaired it and has threatened agricultural productivity worldwide. Losses of organic carbon reduce the soil microbial activity, reducing soil necromass and increasing soil desertification, impairing the soil water dynamic. The study's main objective is to assess the effect of biochar and biopolymer applications on soil health parameters related to soil necromass accumulation. We used FTIR, soil respiration, water vapor retention curves, and amino sugars detection methods to fulfill the objective. The effect on soil health parameters in the mollisols, Jacaguas mixed with four polymers, and biochar shows an improvement in soil hydrophilicity, water vapor adsorption, soil microbial activity, and necromass. The effect on soil health parameters was polymer-dependent. At a polymer rate of 0.4% mixed with 0.1% CSBEM in the Jacaguas soil, the biopolymers Xanthan and Aginate had an increase in hydrophobicity of 94 and 81%, respectively, Chitosan had an increase of 34%, and the non-significant effect occurred for PAM. The soil respiration for 04% polymer mixed with 0.15 CSBEM in the Jacaguas soil increased for Xanthan, Alginate, and PAM by 167, 122, and 30 %, respectively, and for Chitosan decreased by 63%. A similar behavior happened for the fungi and bacteria soil necromass. We found that biochar mixed with Xanthan significantly improved soil health parameters. Furthermore, it presents a mechanistic pathway that could help explain biochar research results that still need to be fully explained.
Publications
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Dumas, J.A. 2023. Catedr�tico UPR mejora la salud del suelo agr�cola en tiempos de cambio clim�tico https://www.upr.edu/ac/catedratico-upr-mejora-la-salud-del-suelo-agricola-en-tiempos-de-cambio-climatico/
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Dumas, J.A. Salud de suelos: uso de biochar https://www.uprm.edu/desdelaeea/2023/06/08/salud-de-suelos-uso-de-biochar/
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Progress 02/15/22 to 02/14/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences during this reporting period were four graduate students, where we talk about the importance of Increasing the soil health and improve the soil health to increase water retention. We talk about a simple method for water collection from air and injection in keyline tunnels enriched with biochar and polymers to preserve the tunnel integrity and enhance water retention. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project provides the opportunity for training directly to one graduate student and indirectly three graduate student that currently works in the Agroenviromental Laboratory at Rio Piedras. Also, five undergraduate students will be exposed to the project and will have opportunities for training and professional development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Once the tensiometer in the last segment of the soil columns reaches -120 Kpa, the columns will be segmented, and the microbial parameters (i.e., beta-glucosidase activity, soil respiration, muramic acid, d-glucosamine content, microbial biomass, and fungal/bacteria ratio) will be measured. Also, the soil-water isotherms and the FTIR spectrum in each treatment will be evaluated. The air-water harvesting (AWH) condensers will be evaluated in the field (Juana Diaz-Agricultural Experiment Station) to determine water collection capacity, surface temperature, and IR sky emission. We will select and prepare the experimental field in the Juana Diaz-AES with Keyline tunnels. We will use soil chemical, physical, and biological parameters to evaluate the experimental plots. The parameters include soil acidity, electrical conductivity, soil biological activity (i.e., beta-glucosidase activity, soil respiration, muramic acid, d-glucosamine content, microbial biomass, and fungal/bacteria ratio), soil organic carbon (SOC), labile OC (LOC), active organic carbon, soil microbial biomass of nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus (MBN, MBC, and MBP), aggregate stability, soil matric potential, amino sugars biomarkers, and soil density to evaluate system health and resilience to climatic conditions. We plan to keep collecting information about the costs of manufacture and revenues for the economic study.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Soil degradation results from a lack of soil organic matter, which produces a reduced capacity of the soil to retain water and the lack of proper soil hydric conductivity, provoking soil erosion of agricultural lands during rainfall events. The soil cannot retain enough water during the rainy seasons, which reduces its capacity to maintain and increase soil microbiota and thus lowers its health conditions, which worsens during drought. Using stable carbon compounds, such as biochar, and microbial energy sources, such as organic polymers, improved microorganism proliferation, increasing soil carbon respiration. Biochar, a thermally stable compound, and polymers have the potential to improve and protect topsoil, promoting fertile soil layer growth. During the period covered in this report, we prepared Atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) to test three reflecting surfaces. The AWH surfaces are currently tested, and 45° angular condensers with 1.44m2 of the surface were prepared and installed in the Juana Diaz Agricultural Station at the southern dry coastal plain of Puerto Rico. During this period, we developed and validated the protocol for muramic acid and d-glucosamine analyses, both compounds related to the soil microbial community. Also, soil columns with biochar biochar-Xanthan and biochar-Chitosan were prepared, saturated, and monitored to evaluate the rate of water loss. The column will be segmented, and microbial parameters (i.e., beta-glucosidase activity, soil respiration, muramic acid, d-glucosamine content, microbial biomass, and fungal/bacteria ratio) will be measured. Also, the soil-water isotherms and the FTIR spectrum in each treatment will be evaluated.
Publications
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Progress 02/15/21 to 02/14/22
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences during this reporting period were 5 graduate students, with whom we talked about the importance of Increasing the soil health and improving the soil health to increase water retention. We talked about a simple method for water collection from tha air and injection in keyline tunnels enriched with biochar and polymers to preserve the tunnel integrity and enhance water retention. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project provides the opportunity for directly training one graduate student and indirectly training four graduate students that currently work in the Agroenviromental Laboratory at Rio Piedras. Also, five undergraduate students will be exposed to the project and will have opportunities for training and professional development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?During the lapse of this report, we gave two presentations, one to the former president of the University of Puerto Rico (Dr. Haddock) and the other to Senator Vargas Vidot from the Agriculture and Natural Resources Commission. The seminar was for the American Chemical Society chapter of Mayaguez (30 persons, students). The workshop's title was: "Chemistry in the Soil Health." What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Soil columns will be prepared with the mollisols Jacana. This soil series is common from the southern dry region of Puerto Rico. The soil columns will be prepared with similar bulk density inside a Keyline tunnel. Once prepared, the soil column will be stabilized by several wet and dry cycles, and injected with mixes of biochar-polymers to evaluate humidity losses with tensiometers, respiration rate (RR), and total, labile and active organic carbon. Also, the necromass formation will be evaluated using amino sugars biomarkers. The air water harvesting (AWH) condensers will be evaluated in the field (Juana Diaz-Agricultural Experiment Station) to determine water collection capacity, surface temperature and IR sky emission. We will select and prepare the experimental field in the Juana Diaz-AES. We will use soil chemical, physical, and biological parameters for evaluation. The parameters include soil acidity, electrical conductivity, soil enzymatic activity (DHA, and glucosidase activities)1, soil organic carbon (SOC), labile OC (LOC), active organic carbon, soil microbial biomass of nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus (MBN, MBC, and MBP), aggregate stability, soil humidity, matric potential, amino sugars biomarkers, and soil density to evaluate system health and resilience to climatic conditions. We plan to keep collecting information about the costs of manufacture and revenues for the economic study.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Inappropriate land management, unrestrained consumption of water resources, the poleward expansion of the tropics, and alterations in the water cycle associated with climate change have produced water depletion in important regions with very fertile soils. Under these circumstances, the topsoil protection is a difficult task on conventional farms because of the use of traditional plows that promote the loss of soil organic matter by oxidation. The Keyline system, a subsoil plow design, conserves topsoil and improves soil moisture by forming tunnels and channels, but it is limited during extended drought periods. Atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) is a non-traditional source of water for agroforestry ecosystems, especially in arid regions, regions under normal or abnormal drought conditions. In this project, we propose the use of AWH as a soil moisture source for Keyline systems. We proposed the use of AWH in tandem with Keyline-biochar-biopolymer tunnels, which will simultaneously be a soil moisture source and a sink for the soil heat. During the period covered in this report, we purchased materials and equipment needed for the project implementation. The AWH panels were prepared to test different reflecting surfaces. Polymer-biochar -soil mixtures were prepared in proportion 0.5%-biochar-1% and 0%-bichar-1% polymer (Chitosan, Xanthan, Alginate, and PAM) with the mollisols Jacana. We evaluated soil respiration rate (RR), water holding capacity(WHC), and water drop penetration time (WDPT) from the mixtures mentioned above. The FTIR-ATR spectra showed a significant increase in the band of 1000 cm-1, assigned to the stretching of the carbon-oxygen bond, for all mixes of polymers except for PAM, where we got a significant decrease, which denotes the soil surface covered by the polymers. The combinations with higher RR were Xanthan-biochar, Xanthan, Alginate-biochar, Alginate. The mix with the lowest WDPT was Xanthan-biochar, and the lower WHC was biochar-Chitosan Chitosan and Xanthan-biochar. The soil mixture with the lowest WHC had the highest RR (biochar-Xanthan), suggesting increased microbial activity. In the experiment mentioned above, we will assess the microbial necromass contribution to the soil organic matter pool through muramic acid and d-glucosamine evaluation. These amino sugars have been associated with bacterial and fungi necromass, respectively. The method developed will study the biochar-polymer behavior using soil columns and tensiometers. The material to perform this evaluation under controlled conditions was already purchased and will be delivered by the companies soon.
Publications
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