PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Secret behind Amazonian 'dark earth' could help speed up forest restoration across the globe

Adding Amazonian dark earth to soils boosts plant growth, shows study

Secret behind Amazonian 'dark earth' could help speed up forest restoration across the globe
2023-05-05
(Press-News.org) Between approximately 450 BCE and 950 CE, millions of Amerindian people living in today’s Amazonia transformed the originally poor soil through various processes. Over many human generations, soils were enriched with charcoal from their low-intensity fires for cooking and burning refuse, animal bones, broken pottery, compost, and manure. The result is Amazonian dark earth (ADE) or terra preta, exceptionally fertile because rich in nutrients and stable organic matter derived from charcoal, which gives it its black color.

Now, scientists from Brazil show that ADE could be a ‘secret weapon’ to boost reforestation – not only in the Amazon, where 18% or approximately 780,000 km2 has been lost since the 1970s – but around the world. The results are published in Frontiers in Soil Science.

“Here we show that the use of ADEs can enhance the growth of pasture and trees due  to their high levels of nutrients, as well as to the presence of beneficial bacteria and archaea in the soil microbial community,” said joint lead author Luís Felipe Zagatto, a graduate student at the Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture of São Paulo University, Brazil.

“This means that knowledge of the ‘ingredients’ that make ADEs so very fertile could be applied to help speed up ecological restoration projects.”

Mimicking reforestation in miniature

The researchers conducted controlled experiments to mimic the ecological succession and changes to the soil that happen when pasture in deforested areas is actively restored to forest. Their aim was to study how ADEs, or ultimately soils of which the microbiome has been artificially composed to imitate them, can boost this process.

Zagatto and colleagues sampled ADE from the Caldeirão Experimental Research Station in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, and as a control, agricultural soil from the Luiz de Queiróz Superior School of Agriculture in the state of São Paulo. They filled each of 36 four-liter pots with 3kg soil, inside a greenhouse with a mean temperature of 34ºC to anticipate global warming beyond current temperatures in Amazonia between 22 and 28ºC.

One-third of the pots received only control soil, another third a 4:1 mixture of control soil and ADE, and another third 100% ADE. To imitate pasture, they planted seeds of palisade grass (Urochloa brizantha), common forage for livestock in Brazil, in each pot and allowed its seedlings to grow for 60 days. They then cut the grass and let only its roots remain in the soil – virgin territory for reforestation in miniature. The researchers then replanted each of the three soils with tree seeds: either with the colonizing species Ambay pumpwood (Cecropia pachystachya), with Peltophorum dubium typical of secondary forests, or with cedro blanco (Cedrela fissilis), typical of climax forest.

The seeds were allowed to germinate, and the seedlings to grow for 90 days, after which the height, dry mass, and extension of the roots were measured. The scientists quantified changes in the soil’s pH, texture, and concentration of organic matter, potassium, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, sulfur, boron, copper, iron, and zinc over the course of the experiment. With molecular methods, they also measured changes in microbial diversity in the soil.

Rich in nutrients and beneficial microbes

At the start, ADEs showed greater amounts of nutrients than control soil: for example, 30 times more phosphorus and three to five times more of each of the other measured nutrients, except manganese. ADE also had a higher pH and contained more sand and silt, but less clay. After the experiment, soils contained less nutrients than at the start, reflecting take-up by the plants, but 100% ADE soils remained richer in these than control soils, while nutrient levels were intermediate in 20% ADE soils.

Throughout the experiment, 20% or 100% ADE soils supported a greater biodiversity of bacteria and archaea than control soils.

“Microbes transform chemical soil particles into nutrients that can be taken up by plants. Our data showed that ADE contains microorganisms that are better at this transformation of soils, thus providing more resources for plant development,” said joint lead author Anderson Santos de Freitas.

“For example, ADE soils contained more beneficial taxa of the bacterial families Paenibacillaceae, Planococcaceae, Micromonosporaceae, and Hyphomicroblaceae.”

Growth boosted

The results also showed that adding ADE to soil improved the growth and development of plants. For example, the dry mass of palisade grass was increased 3.4 times in 20% ADE, and 8.1 times in 100% ADE, compared to in control soil. Addition of ADE also boosted the growth of the three tree species: seedlings of cedro blanco and P. dubium were 2.1 and 5.2 times taller in 20% ADE, and 3.2 and 6.3 times taller in 100% ADE, compared to in control soils. Ambay pumpwood didn’t even grow in control soils or 20% ADE, but thrived in 100% ADE.

The researchers concluded that ADE can boost plant growth. “Our data point to a mixture of soil nutrients and adapted microorganisms [in ADE] to improve the establishment of plant trees in restoration,” they wrote.

Senior author Dr Siu Mui Tsai, a professor at the same institute, cautioned: “ADE has taken thousands of years to accumulate and would take an equal time to regenerate in nature if used. Our recommendations aren’t to utilize ADE itself, but rather to copy its characteristics, particularly its microorganisms, for use in future ecological restoration projects.”

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Secret behind Amazonian 'dark earth' could help speed up forest restoration across the globe Secret behind Amazonian 'dark earth' could help speed up forest restoration across the globe 2 Secret behind Amazonian 'dark earth' could help speed up forest restoration across the globe 3

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Altruism can make job seekers afraid to negotiate salary

2023-05-05
AUSTIN, Texas — Job seekers looking to land a role with an altruistic organization may feel too guilty to ask for higher pay, according to a new study from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. Both for-profit and nonprofit organizations increasingly employ what has been termed “social impact framing” that emphasizes that their work has welfare benefits for society. Although companies might have entirely noble intentions when using social impact framing, a recent study by Texas McCombs Assistant Professor of Management ...

How diet quality affects the gut microbiota to promote health

How diet quality affects the gut microbiota to promote health
2023-05-05
URBANA, Ill. – We know that eating a healthy diet affects body weight, cholesterol levels, and heart health. A new study from the University of Illinois focuses on another component: the role of diet in supporting a healthy gastrointestinal microbiota. The researchers conclude that following the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) promotes a gut microbiota composition that may support overall health. “Currently, there is no definition of a ‘healthy’ microbiome. Understanding how diet may influence the structure of the gut microbiota is important so we can make recommendations on dietary approaches,” says ...

EIC Center at Jefferson Lab announces six Research Fellowship Awards

EIC Center at Jefferson Lab announces six Research Fellowship Awards
2023-05-05
NEWPORT NEWS, VA – The Electron-Ion Collider Center at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (EIC Center at Jefferson Lab) has announced the winners of six new research fellowships. Over the next year, the fellows will work to advance the science program and further the research of the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). The EIC is a unique physics research facility dedicated to answering fundamental questions about nature’s building blocks. The EIC is slated to be built at Brookhaven Lab in partnership with Jefferson Lab and scientists worldwide. The ...

The Texas Heart Institute and The University of Texas at Austin awarded a National Institutes of Health grant to develop injectable hydrogel electrodes to prevent ventricular arrhythmias

The Texas Heart Institute and The University of Texas at Austin awarded a National Institutes of Health grant to develop injectable hydrogel electrodes to prevent ventricular arrhythmias
2023-05-05
The Texas Heart Institute and The University of Texas at Austin received a four-year, $2.37 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to develop a novel method of managing ventricular arrhythmias, which cause sudden cardiac death. The research initiative is the brainchild of Dr. Elizabeth Cosgriff-Hernandez, Professor of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, an expert in biomaterial scaffold engineering for tissue repair and regeneration and electrophysiology medical device pioneer and clinician ...

Majority of NHS Trusts do not offer training to prevent sexual harassment, study finds

2023-05-05
Failure to implement active bystander training could thwart NHS attempts to tackle sexual harassment, say researchers at the University of Cambridge. An analysis of data from Freedom of Information (FOI) requests found that fewer than one in five NHS Trusts in England provided active bystander training to address workplace harassment, sexual harassment and other forms of unacceptable behaviour like bullying and racism. It found of those that did – the majority of which were in London – most did not deliver content specific to sexual misconduct and ...

Only one NHS Trust offers standalone training on sexual harassment intervention, study shows

2023-05-05
Only one NHS Trust offers its staff training focused on how to intervene when they witness sexual harassment at work, according to new research published in JRSM Open. Dr Sarah Steele of the University of Cambridge and Jesus College, Cambridge, and Dr Ava Robertson, received responses from 199 NHS Trusts to their Freedom of Information request. Of those, 35 Trusts offer their staff Active Bystander Training (ABT) but only one of these has a specific module on sexual harassment. While welcomed by the researchers, they note that even that one module is optional for staff and outsourced to a private provider. No staff have yet completed the module. Of the 163 Trusts ...

Mobile phone calls linked with increased risk of high blood pressure

2023-05-05
Sophia Antipolis, 5 May 2023:  Talking on a mobile for 30 minutes or more per week is linked with a 12% increased risk of high blood pressure compared with less than 30 minutes, according to research published today in European Heart Journal – Digital Health, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 “It’s the number of minutes people spend talking on a mobile that matter for heart health, with more minutes meaning greater risk,” said study author Professor Xianhui Qin of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China. “Years of use or employing a hands-free set-up had ...

AI training: A backward cat pic is still a cat pic

2023-05-05
Genes make up only a small fraction of the human genome. Between them are wide sequences of DNA that direct cells when, where, and how much each gene should be used. These biological instruction manuals are known as regulatory motifs. If that sounds complex, well, it is. The instructions for gene regulation are written in a complicated code, and scientists have turned to artificial intelligence to crack it. To learn the rules of DNA regulation, they’re using deep neural networks (DNNs), which excel at finding patterns in large datasets. DNNs are at the core of popular ...

Archaeologists map hidden NT landscape where first Australians lived more than 60,000 years ago

Archaeologists map hidden NT landscape where first Australians lived more than 60,000 years ago
2023-05-05
Scientists at Flinders University have used sub-surface imaging and aerial surveys to see through floodplains in the Red Lily Lagoon area of West Arnhem Land in Northern Australia. These ground-breaking methods showed how this important landscape in the Northern Territory was altered as sea levels rose about 8,000 years ago. Their discovery shows that the ocean had reached this, now inland region, which has important implications for understanding the archaeological record of Madjedbebe—the oldest archaeological site in Australia. The findings also provide a new way to understand ...

A special omega-3 fatty acid lipid will change how we look at the developing and ageing brain, Duke-NUS researchers find

A special omega-3 fatty acid lipid will change how we look at the developing and ageing brain, Duke-NUS researchers find
2023-05-05
SINGAPORE, 5 May 2023 – Scientists from Singapore have demonstrated the critical role played by a special transporter protein in regulating the brain cells that ensure nerves are protected by coverings called myelin sheaths. The findings, reported by researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School and the National University of Singapore in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, could help to reduce the damaging impacts of ageing on the brain. An insulating membrane encasing nerves, myelin sheaths facilitate the quick and effective conduction of electrical signals throughout the body’s nervous system. When the myelin sheath gets damaged, nerves may lose their ability ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Giant rats could soon fight illegal wildlife trade by sniffing out elephant tusk and rhino horn

Spin current observations from organic semiconductor side

Alcohol consumption among non-human animals may not be as rare as previously thought, say ecologists

Survey: Dangerous gap in knowledge about pancreatic cancer among adults under age 50

Women entering menopause later in life at greater risk for asthma

Sinuses prevented prehistoric croc relatives from deep diving

Spirited away: Key protein aids transport within plant cells

Britain’s brass bands older than we thought and invented by soldiers from the Napoleonic Wars, new study reveals

The Lancet: Health threats of climate change reach record-breaking levels, as experts call for trillions of dollars spent on fossil fuels to be redirected towards protecting people’s health, lives and

‘Weekend warrior’ exercise pattern may equal more frequent sessions for lowering cognitive decline risk

Physical activity of any intensity linked to lower risk of death after dementia diagnosis

Brain changes seen in lifetime cannabis users may not be causal

For the love of suckers: Volunteers contribute to research on key freshwater fishes

Bill and Mary Anne Dingus commit $1M to fund Human Impacts on the Earth Fund at Rice

Most patients can continue GLP-1 anti-obesity drugs before surgery

Computational tool developed to predict immunotherapy outcomes for patients with metastatic breast cancer

Cerebral embolic protection by geographic region

12 new Oriental weevil species discovered using advanced imaging tools

Ultrasound can be used as search and rescue tool for the brain

Department of Defense funds study of gene therapy for muscular degeneration

People’s exposure to toxic chemicals declined in the U.S. following listing under California law

Trauma, homelessness afflict gender affirming care patients at higher rates

New $5 million DoE award supports KU startup’s green hydrogen energy research

A navigation system for microswimmers

Study finds early TAVR can be beneficial for patients with asymptomatic severe aortic stenosis

Implantable microparticles can deliver two cancer therapies at once

Early intervention in patients with asymptomatic severe aortic stenosis and myocardial fibrosis falls short of expected benefits

The surprising reason a classical computer beat a quantum computer at its own game

Researchers Aim To Get Leg Up on Bone Repair with 3D-Printed Femur

Transforming patient care: study finds bedside interdisciplinary rounds boost satisfaction for patients and providers

[Press-News.org] Secret behind Amazonian 'dark earth' could help speed up forest restoration across the globe
Adding Amazonian dark earth to soils boosts plant growth, shows study