Community of Innovators: Understanding the Soil
A community of innovators leading the way towards a sustainable, food-secure future
In the fourth part of our 'Community of Innovators' blog series this week, we're looking at how Warwick researchers are advancing environmental monitoring and our understanding of soil biology in the context of a changing climate.
The global importance of environmental monitoring and its contributions to our understanding of the soil
Growers are seeking environmentally sustainable and cost-effective ways to manage their crops and to build farm resilience against flooding, drought, pests and disease. Part of this involves understanding the impacts of different farm practices on the environment.
Many agricultural practices lead to releases of various greenhouse gases which each have complex effects within the atmosphere. Being able to record and understand these fundamental biogeochemical processes with precision is being translated into more accurate and predictive climate models, and into research which develops farm management methods that can reduce agricultural pollution - with consequences for soil, air and water quality as well as levels of global heating. Researchers at Warwick are advancing the technologies and insights which inform environmental management considerations globally and at the field level.
and her team study reactive nitrogen gases which have a relatively low abundance in the atmosphere, but in terms of global warming they're of critical significance. Working with Warwick's School of Engineering, they have developed novel field measurement chambers that capture gases that react with UV. This allows data collection linking agricultural soil properties and practices to the identification of different gas types and the qualities released. Findings from this research feed into mathematical models which help the team to assess the effects of different nitrogen additions to the soil (e.g. fertilisers and plant material). This informs which practices work most effectively in different soil situations to balance crop health and yields whilst mitigating against harmful environmental outcomes.
At a different level of gas analysis, the School of Engineering has also been working with Prof. Gary Bending and his team to develop low-cost field sensors that can continuously monitor greenhouse gases within soils. The small size and affordability of these sensors offer promise for landscape-wide monitoring over long periods of time.
Prof. BendingLink opens in a new window and Prof. Miriam GiffordLink opens in a new window both lead research into the role and functionality of complex microbial communities in different ecosystems. There are many difficulties in trying to capture the complex diversity of the soil environment. Their work focuses on field sites where cropping history is well-understood, to help build an understanding of plant-microbe symbioses - with a special focus on nitrogen-fixing root nodules. Better understanding the timing and efficiency of these symbiotic relationships will help to inform crop rotation strategies, with potential to reduce grower reliance on synthetic nitrogen inputs whilst rebuilding the health and resilience of agricultural soils.
Dr Jacqueline StroudLink opens in a new window, a soil scientist who is evolving the pioneering field of soil acoustics is helping growers by developing methods for monitoring soil biology more effectively and efficiently than conventional tests. Her research focuses on earthworms, which gives growers an insight into the life, activity and health of their soil in response to different practices and conditions.
The world-leading environmental research carried out at Warwick is wide-ranging and is strengthened through cross-departmental and industry collaborations, building a foundational understanding of the connections between plants, microbes, soils, climate and anthropogenic activity.