• Energy Research
• 2. Zero hunger close
• CN close
• University of North Texas close

Quantification of the trade-offs among greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, yield, and farmers’ incomes is essential for proposing economic and environmental nitrogen (N) management strategies for optimizing agricultural production. A four-year (2017–2020) field experiment (including four treatments: basic N fertilizer treatment (BF), suitable utilization of fertilization (SU), emission reduction treatment (ER), and high fertilization (HF)) was conducted on maize (Zea mays L.) in the North China Plain. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method was used in this study to quantify the GHG emissions and farmers’ incomes during the whole maize production process. The total GHG emissions of BF, SU, ER, and HF treatments in the process of maize production are 10,755.2, 12,908.7, 11,950.1, and 14,274.5 kg CO2-eq ha−1, respectively, of which the direct emissions account for 84.8%, 76.8%, 74.9%, and 71.0%, respectively. Adding inhibitors significantly reduced direct GHG emissions, and the N2O and CO2 emissions from the maize fields in the ER treatment decreased by 30.0% and 7.9% compared to those in the SU treatment. Insignificant differences in yield were found between the SU and ER treatments, indicating that adding fertilizer inhibitors did not affect farmers’ incomes while reducing GHG emissions. The yield for SU, ER, and HF treatments all significantly increased by 12.9–24.0%, 10.0–20.7%, and 2.1–17.4% compared to BF, respectively. In comparison with BF, both SU and ER significantly promoted agricultural net profit (ANP) by 16.6% and 12.2%, with mean ANP values of 3101.0 USD ha−1 and 2980.0 USD ha−1, respectively. Due to the high agricultural inputs, the ANP values in the HF treatment were 11.2%, 16.6%, and 12.4% lower than those in the SU treatment in 2018–2020. In conclusion, the combination of N fertilizer and inhibitors proved to be an environmentally friendly, high-profit, and low-emissions production technology while sustaining or even increasing maize yields in the North China Plain, which was conducive to achieving agricultural sustainability.

Large numbers of plant cell-wall (CW)-related genes have been identified or predicted in several plant genomes such as Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa (rice), and Zea mays (maize), as results of intensive studies of these organisms in the past 2 decades. However, no such gene list has been identified in switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), a key bioenergy crop. Here, we present a computational study for prediction of CW genes in switchgrass using a two-step procedure: (i) homology mapping of all annotated CW genes in the fore-mentioned species to switchgrass, giving rise to a total of 991 genes, and (ii) candidate prediction of CW genes based on switchgrass genes co-expressed with the 991 genes under a large number of experimental conditions. Specifically, our co-expression analyses using the 991 genes as seeds led to the identification of 104 large clusters of co-expressed genes, each referred to as a co-expression module (CEM), covering 830 of the 991 genes plus 823 additional genes that are strongly co-expressed with some of the 104 CEMs. These 1653 genes represent our prediction of CW genes in switchgrass, 112 of which are homologous to predicted CW genes in Arabidopsis. Functional inference of these genes is conducted to derive the possible functional relations among these predicted CW genes. Overall, these data may offer a highly useful information source for cell-wall biologists of switchgrass as well as plants in general.

AbstractThe conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks to fermentable sugar for biofuel production is inefficient, and most strategies to enhance efficiency directly target lignin biosynthesis, with associated negative growth impacts. Here we demonstrate, for both laboratory- and field-grown plants, that expression of Pag-miR408 in poplar (Populus alba × P. glandulosa) significantly enhances saccharification, with no requirement for acid-pretreatment, while promoting plant growth. The overexpression plants show increased accessibility of cell walls to cellulase and scaffoldin cellulose-binding modules. Conversely, Pag-miR408 loss-of-function poplar shows decreased cell wall accessibility. Overexpression of Pag-miR408 targets three Pag-LACCASES, delays lignification, and modestly reduces lignin content, S/G ratio and degree of lignin polymerization. Meanwhile, the LACCASE loss of function mutants exhibit significantly increased growth and cell wall accessibility in xylem. Our study shows how Pag-miR408 regulates lignification and secondary growth, and suggest an effective approach towards enhancing biomass yield and saccharification efficiency in a major bioenergy crop.

Remnants of native tallgrass prairie experience elevated atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition in urban areas, with potential effects on species traits that are important for N cycling and species composition. We quantified bulk (primarily wet) inorganic N (NH4+-N + NO3--N) deposition at six sites along an urban development gradient (6–64% urban) in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area from April 2014 to October 2015. In addition, we conducted a phytometer experiment with two common native prairie bunchgrass species––one well studied (Schizachyrium scoparium) and one little studied (Nasella leucotricha)––to investigate ambient N deposition effects on plant biomass and tissue quality. Bulk inorganic N deposition ranged from 6.1–9.9 kg ha-1 yr-1, peaked in spring, and did not vary consistently with proportion of urban land within 10 km of the sites. Total (wet + dry) inorganic N deposition estimated using bulk deposition measured in this study and modeled dry deposition was 12.9–18.2 kg ha-1 yr-1. Although the two plant species studied differ in photosynthetic pathway, biomass, and tissue N, they exhibited a maximum 2-3-fold and 2-4-fold increase in total biomass and total plant N, respectively, with 1.6-fold higher bulk N deposition. In addition, our findings indicate that while native prairie grasses may exhibit a positive biomass response to increased N deposition up to ~18 kg ha-1 yr-1, total inorganic N deposition is well above the estimated critical load for herbaceous plant species richness in the tallgrass prairie of the Great Plains ecoregion and thus may negatively affect these plant communities.

ABSTRACT A pilot-scale system was established to examine the feasibility of in situ U(VI) immobilization at a highly contaminated aquifer (U.S. DOE Integrated Field Research Challenge site, Oak Ridge, TN). Ethanol was injected intermittently as an electron donor to stimulate microbial U(VI) reduction, and U(VI) concentrations fell to below the Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standard (0.03 mg liter −1 ). Microbial communities from three monitoring wells were examined during active U(VI) reduction and maintenance phases with GeoChip, a high-density, comprehensive functional gene array. The overall microbial community structure exhibited a considerable shift over the remediation phases examined. GeoChip-based analysis revealed that Fe(III)-reducing bacterial (FeRB), nitrate-reducing bacterial (NRB), and sulfate-reducing bacterial (SRB) functional populations reached their highest levels during the active U(VI) reduction phase (days 137 to 370), in which denitrification and Fe(III) and sulfate reduction occurred sequentially. A gradual decrease in these functional populations occurred when reduction reactions stabilized, suggesting that these functional populations could play an important role in both active U(VI) reduction and maintenance of the stability of reduced U(IV). These results suggest that addition of electron donors stimulated the microbial community to create biogeochemical conditions favorable to U(VI) reduction and prevent the reduced U(IV) from reoxidation and that functional FeRB, SRB, and NRB populations within this system played key roles in this process.

Global warming and dimming/brightening have significant implications for crop systems and exhibit regional variations. It is important to clarify the changes in regional thermal and solar radiation resources and estimate the impacts on potential crop production spatially and temporally. Based on daily observation data during 1961–2015 in the North China Plain (NCP), the impacts of climate change associated with climate warming and global dimming/brightening on potential light–temperature productivity (PTP) of summer maize were assessed in this study. Results show that the NCP experienced a continuous warming and dimming trend in maize growing season during the past 55 years, and both ATT10 and solar radiation had an abrupt change in the mid-1990s. The period of 2000–2015 was warmer and dimmer than any other previous decade. Assuming the maize growing season remains unchanged, climate warming would increase PTP of summer maize by 4.6% over the period of 1961–2015, which mainly occurred in the start grain filling–maturity stage. On the other hand, as negative contribution value of solar radiation to the PTP was found in each stage, dimming would offset the increase of PTP due to warming climate, and lead to a 15.6% reduction in PTP in the past 55 years. This study reveals that the changes in thermal and solar radiation have reduced the PTP of summer maize in the NCP. However, the actual maize yield could benefit more from climate warming because solar radiation is not a limiting factor for the current low production level.

The agronomic processes are complex in rice production. The mechanization efficiency is low in seeding, fertilization, and pesticide application, which is labor-intensive and time-consuming. Currently, many kinds of research focus on the single operation of UAVs on rice, but there is a paucity of comprehensive applications for the whole process of seeding, fertilization, and pesticide application. Based on the previous research synthetically, a multifunctional unmanned aerial vehicle (mUAV) was designed for rice planting management based on the intelligent operation platform, which realized three functions of seeding, fertilizer spreading, and pesticide application on the same flight platform. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were used for machine design. Field trials were used to measure operating parameters. Finally, a comparative experimental analysis of the whole process was conducted by comparing the cultivation patterns of mUAV seeding (T1) with mechanical rice direct seeder (T2), and mechanical rice transplanter (T3). The comprehensive benefit of different rice management processes was evaluated. The results showed that the downwash wind field of the mUAV fluctuated widely from 0 to 1.5 m, with the spreading height of 2.5 m, and the pesticide application height of 3 m, which meet the operational requirements. There was no significant difference in yield between T1, T2, and T3 test areas, while the differences in operational efficiency and input labor costs were large. In the sowing stage, T1 had obvious advantages since the working efficiency was 2.2 times higher than T2, and the labor cost was reduced by 68.5%. The advantages were more obvious compared to T3, the working efficiency was 4 times higher than in T3, and the labor cost was reduced by 82.5%. During the pesticide application, T1 still had an advantage, but it was not a significant increase in advantage relative to the seeding stage, in which operating efficiency increased by 1.3 times and labor costs were reduced by 25%. However, the fertilization of T1 was not advantageous due to load and other limitations. Compared to T2 and T3, operational efficiency was reduced by 80% and labor costs increased by 14.3%. It is hoped that this research will provide new equipment for rice cultivation patterns in different environments, while improving rice mechanization, reducing labor inputs, and lowering costs.