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Breaking new ground for soil restoration: function and fate of core beneficial microbial consortium coated by pyrogenic carbon

Project description

Digging deep into soil degradation

Soil degradation is the result of numerous factors: from inappropriate farming practices and excessive mining activities for obtaining coal or fertilisers, to reduced resilience of soil microbial communities. Regardless of the cause, a solution is needed. The use of pyrogenic carbon may prove promising for carbon sequestration and soil restoration. The EU-funded FIREMAN project will make use of unique habitats for the selection of core microbial communities. Increasing the EU’s use of biowaste and soil functional inoculants for the circular economy, the project’s goal is to assess whether pyrogenic carbon (an important stable C consortium) could ensure the function of core microbial communities during their transplantations from donor to recipient soils.

Objective

One of the most challenging tasks in ecology is to reclaim landscapes being disturbed by anthropogenic activities. Many human endeavours have been put forth for improving microbial activities and their structures, soil organic carbon level and plant reestablishment after depleting the top earth. Global use of pyrogenic carbon shows promising prospect on C sequestration and soil restoration, but there is a noticeable delayed advancement in improving its benefits. In accordance to UN Climate Smart Agriculture and UN Sustainable Development Goals, this project will seek a novel strategy for soil restoration by using pyrogenic carbon and core microbial communities (CBMs), to gain multiple benefits including aspects of waste management, C sequestration and plant regeneration. The project will make use of unique habitats for CBMs selection at both a long-term natural successional post mining site and a well-recorded reclaimed meadow in Czech Republic, Central Europe. The main objective of this project is to assess if pyrogenic carbon could ensure the function of CBMs during their transplantations from donor to recipient soils: 1) disentangle the ‘refuge’ effect of pyrogenic carbon on CBMs from macro-fauna by isotopic analysis, and microbial oxidation effect on pore structures and hydrophobicity of pyrogenic carbon, and 2) clarify the compositions of CBMs and their functions to responsive plant species in undeveloped soils. The transfer of knowledge between the host institution and the candidate will pave a solid way for the researcher’s scientific career, and future collaborations between the researcher, the host and the secondment are foreseen. Altogether, this project will provide a promising potential to increase the competitiveness of EU in using bio-wastes and soil inoculants for circular economy by bridging in waste management and soil restoration.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) H2020-WF-2018-2020

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Coordinator

BIOLOGICKE CENTRUM AV CR VVI
Net EU contribution
€ 156 980,64
Address
BRANISOVSKA 1160/31
370 05 Ceske Budejovice
Czechia
Region
Česko Jihozápad Jihočeský kraj
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost
€ 156 980,64