Algae biofertilisers promote sustainable food production and a circular nutrient economy – An integrated empirical-modelling study

Rupawalla, Zeenat; Robinson, Nicole; Schmidt, Susanne; Li, Sijie; Carruthers, Selina; Buisset, Elodie; Roles, John; Hankamer, Ben; Wolf, Juliane

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148913

Cited by 24 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 82 publications

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“…The results suggest that the experimental period (five weeks) was not long enough for releasing and transforming all the N accumulated in microalgae biomass into plant-available forms, confirming the slow release nature of the microalgae fertilizer. Indeed, the mineralization rate of microalgal biomass under the study conditions seems to be lower than that obtained by Rupawalla et al (2021). Mulbry et al (2005) observed that 41% of total algal N was plant-available after 63 days, which seems to fit better with the results from the present study.…”

Section: Leaf Nutrients Contentsupporting

confidence: 80%

“…Considering the amount of N in leaves (IF: 19.3 mg N/g plant; IF + MF: 19.1 mg N/g plant; MF: 15.5 mg N/g plant), in the microalgae treatment it was only 20% lower than in the positive control (IF) which indicates that part of the microalgae N was mineralized. Rupawalla et al (2021) reported that P was rapidly released during the first days, being 18% higher in the algae treatment in respect to the synthetic fertilizer during the first five days. However, the algae treatment only released 25% of the total P after 28 days.…”

Section: Leaf Nutrients Contentmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…This biomass could potentially provide a total N of 9.6 and 19.2 g N/m 2 in the IF + MF and MF treatments, respectively (Table 1). It was assumed that approximately 60% of algal N would be released into the soil, according to Rupawalla et al (2021).Thereafter, basil seedlings were transplanted to individual pots. For the IF treatment, a modified Hoagland's solution (Hoagland and Arnon, 1950) was applied once a week at a dose of 100 mL/pot.…”

Section: Agronomic Assaymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Can microalgae grown in wastewater reduce the use of inorganic fertilizers?

Álvarez-González

Uggetti

Serrano

et al. 2022

Journal of Environmental Management

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Section: Leaf Nutrients Contentsupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: Leaf Nutrients Contentmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Agronomic Assaymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Can microalgae grown in wastewater reduce the use of inorganic fertilizers?

Álvarez-González

Uggetti

Serrano

et al. 2022

Journal of Environmental Management

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“…Sustainable agriculture through the application of algae is often confined to cyanobacteria and seaweeds. − Despite the significant ecological role of microalgae including soil health improvement, their application in agriculture has been ignored . In fact, only a few studies have indicated the potential of microalgae as biofertilizers in soil microcosm experiments. ,− Only a few studies have discussed the microbial community structure and function in soils associated with various acidification units . Very recently, Nilsson et al reported that acid conditions are an important barrier in plant–rhizobia interaction, and it disturbs the establishment of efficient rhizobia used as biofertilizers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Algalization of Acid Soils with Desmodesmus sp. MAS1 and Heterochlorella sp. MAS3 Enriches Bacteria of Ecological Importance

Abinandan

Shanthakumar

Panneerselvan

et al. 2022

ACS Agric. Sci. Technol.

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Acid soils are the degraded (nutrient-poor) soils that generally lack microbial abundance required to promote plant growth. An insight into the microbial diversity in highly acidic soils is crucial from both ecological and environmental standpoints. Previously, we showed that inoculation of acid soils with acid-tolerant microalgae (algalization) significantly improved soil physicochemical and biological characteristics. In the present novel study involving a laboratory microcosm, high-throughput 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing analysis was performed to investigate the bacterial diversity in acid soils algalized with Desmodesmus sp. MAS1 and Heterochlorella sp. MAS3 after 90 days of incubation. Our results on pooled DNA demonstrate that algalization of two acid soils (soil A and B) significantly increased several bacterial genera, and this observation is consistent with Shannon and Chao1 diversity indices. Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria were the most prevalent phyla enriched in all of the algalized treatments. Interestingly, nonalgalized acid soils favored only Firmicutes and Actinobacteria, but algalization significantly enriched Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Actinobacteria. Canonical correspondence analysis revealed a positive effect of pH in soil A and both pH and organic carbon in soil B on enrichment. Furthermore, soil bacteria of ecological significance that belong to rhizobacteria and diazotrophs, such as Acetobacter, Azospirillum, Bradyrhizobium, Gluconacetobacter, Nitrobacter, Burkholderia, Comamonas, Herbaspirillum, Enterobacter, Nitrosococcus, Brevibacillus, Enterococcus, Frankia, and Anabaena, were greatly enriched in algalized treatments. Thus, we demonstrate here for the first time that algalization of acid soils significantly improves soil health through enrichment of bacteria that are largely implicated in promoting soil health and plant growth.

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“…Across field and greenhouse studies, CBF has shown the ability to promote SOC accumulation, increase nutrient availability, and increase soil N retention while maintaining crop productivity comparable to a urea fertilizer (Alvarez, Weyers, Goemann, et al, 2021; Alvarez, Weyers, Johnson, et al, 2021; Castro et al, 2017; Goemann et al, 2021). Moreover, the production of algal biofertilizers has a significantly lower carbon cost in comparison to urea (Rupawalla et al, 2021; Shi et al, 2020). In addition to C costs from production processes, field application trials are critical to assess the contribution of soil GHG emissions to the entire cradle‐to‐field life cycle assessment of C and the CO 2 ‐equivalence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate mitigation potential and soil microbial response of cyanobacteria‐fertilized bioenergy crops in a cool semi‐arid cropland

et al. 2022

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Bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS) systems can serve as decarbonization pathways for climate mitigation. Perennial grasses are a promising second‐generation lignocellulosic bioenergy feedstock for BECCS expansion, but optimizing their sustainability, productivity, and climate mitigation potential requires an evaluation of how nitrogen (N) fertilizer strategies interact with greenhouse gas (GHG) and soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics. Furthermore, crop and fertilizer choice can affect the soil microbiome which is critical to soil organic matter turnover, nutrient cycling, and sustaining crop productivity but these feedbacks are poorly understood due to the paucity of data from certain agroecosystems. Here, we examine the climate mitigation potential and soil microbiome response to establishing two functionally different perennial grasses, switchgrass (Panicum virgatum, C4) and tall wheatgrass (Thinopyrum ponticum, C3), in a cool semi‐arid agroecosystem under two fertilizer applications, a novel cyanobacterial biofertilizer (CBF) and urea. We find that in contrast to the C4 grass, the C3 grass achieved 98% greater productivity and had a higher N use efficiency when fertilized. For both crops, the CBF produced the same biomass enhancement as urea. Non‐CO2 GHG fluxes across all treatments were low and we observed a 3‐year net loss of SOC under the C4 crop and a net gain under the C3 crop at a 0–30 cm soil depth regardless of fertilization. Finally, we detected crop‐specific changes in the soil microbiome, including an increased relative abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi under the C3, and potentially pathogenic fungi in the C4 grass. Taken together, these findings highlight the potential of CBF‐fertilized C3 crops as a second‐generation bioenergy feedstock in semi‐arid regions as a part of a climate mitigation strategy.

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Algae biofertilisers promote sustainable food production and a circular nutrient economy – An integrated empirical-modelling study

Cited by 24 publications

References 82 publications

Can microalgae grown in wastewater reduce the use of inorganic fertilizers?

Can microalgae grown in wastewater reduce the use of inorganic fertilizers?

Algalization of Acid Soils with Desmodesmus sp. MAS1 and Heterochlorella sp. MAS3 Enriches Bacteria of Ecological Importance

Climate mitigation potential and soil microbial response of cyanobacteria‐fertilized bioenergy crops in a cool semi‐arid cropland

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