soil Archives

Phytocleaning our planet

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Life on Earth has multiple forms. Humans make up only 0.01% of Earth’s total biomass, while plants total a whopping 82.4%. Yet the value of plants is often neglected. Humans have thrived on this planet because of the other life that Earth protects. Advances in human civilisation, such as industrialisation, have polluted the planet, thereby affecting all living organisms. Efforts […]

Vignette on a vital vitamin for vegans

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Vitamins are organic (carbon- and hydrogen-based) molecules that are essential nutrients for humans. There are 13 different vitamins, of which the B vitamin group has eight, and they all function as co-factors (non-protein components) for various cellular enzymes. Vitamin B12 is a unique molecule that is not made in animals or plants, but it is vital for cell metabolism and […]

Exploring the transfer of antibiotic resistance genes within poultry litter

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Antibiotic resistance is a major threat to human and animal health. Bacteria containing antibiotic resistance genes are found in poultry litter, usually from commercial chicken production. Since poultry litter is often used as a soil fertiliser, there is a risk that this antibiotic resistance could be transferred into the soil. Professor John Maurer at Virginia Tech University, USA, has shown […]

Transdisciplinary field science based on Land-Surface Management (LSM)

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Through transdisciplinary field science, and land-surface management, saki, Kawakiat, Kato, Tsuji, and Sisva are developing methods to restore terrestrial land systems, applying three key technologies such as AeroHydro culture in peat/wetland, Z-tillage culture in arable land, and HydroCycle culture in dry/semi-arid land

Land-Surface Management (LSM) technology, which is based on transdisciplinary field science, offers a solution for ‘Earth Regeneration’. The general principle behind LSM technology aims to control and manage three basic elements of our land surface – water, oxygen, and nutrients – even in different eco-types such wetland or dryland. On a global scale, there are large areas of inferior soil […]

The ultimate veg patch: Can phytotechnology save cultivated peatlands?

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Intact, water-logged peatlands are a stable store of the world’s carbon, but if drained they can become near perfect (organic) soils for growing high-cost vegetables. It was thought that you couldn’t cultivate a peatland without ruining it and releasing its carbon into the atmosphere. Dr Jacynthe Dessureault-Rompré, with her team at Laval University in Québec, Canada, has been investigating whether […]

Soil and groundwater contamination: An old and new issue needs to be solved

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Industrial and agricultural waste contaminate the soil and groundwater.

Dr Ming Zhang is an innovation coordinator at Geological Survey of Japan, AIST. Alongside his research group, he is advocating the importance of using interdisciplinary tools for sustainable remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater. Their research has shown that cost-effective and environment-friendly technologies such as the use of microorganisms to degrade organic contaminants and the use of minerals to immobilise […]

Rice husk biochar with beneficial microbes: A promising agricultural inoculant and soil ameliorant

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Rice husk biochar has traditionally been used in Japan as a soil ameliorant.

The research of Shohei Ebe and Takashi Ano from Kindai University into the relationship between a microbe and rice husk biochar (RHB) suggests the latter is an activator of beneficial microbes that can be used to combat phytopathogenic microorganisms. Having isolated a novel lipopeptide producing Bacillus sp. that benefits from RHB presence in the soil, these are promising insights into […]