A scientist from West Virginia University believes that the search for sustainable bio-energy and solutions to climate change may be indiscernible
Edward Brzostek, Associate Professor of Biology, and his students at WVU’s Eberly College of Arts and Sciences are building mathematical models to predict how bioenergy crops will increase and store soil carbon, thanks to a renewed five-year funding from the US Department of Energy.
Brzostek believes the models could produce a “win-win” situation by increasing soil carbon while simultaneously stimulating long-term bioenergy from biological sources. Corn ethanol and perennial grasses are two instances of this.
Soil bacteria, according to Brzostek’s concept, govern how plants store and release carbon in the future. Existing models do not take this into consideration.
Our model can predict whether a bioenergy crop is going to be a net carbon benefit or actually result in carbon losses.
Edward Brzostek, Associate Professor, Biology, West Virginia University
Variables include whether or not living roots increase or decrease carbon in the soil, as well as how the processes alter depending on depth and feedstock.
Natural climate solutions like regenerative agriculture can help mitigate the effects of climate change. Brzostek’s purpose is to devise the best plan for expanding biofuel sources while also cleaning up the environment.
We don’t need any new technology to do this. It’s one of the few ways that you can get carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. The holy grail of bioenergy crops is to make products or fuel while also storing more carbon in the ecosystem. If you can grow a biofuel that enhances soil carbon, that’s a win-win.
Edward Brzostek, Associate Professor, Biology, West Virginia University
Carbon is naturally captured and stored by plants through photosynthesis. When a plant dies, the leaf litter and dead root debris remain in the soil.
The decomposing material is then destroyed by a variety of organisms, the vast majority of which being bacteria and fungi. When they die, their metabolites, including carbon, remain in the soil.
Carbon is naturally captured and stored by plants through photosynthesis. When a plant dies, the leaf litter and dead root debris remain in the soil.
The decomposing material is then destroyed by a variety of organisms, the vast majority of which being bacteria and fungi. When they die, their metabolites, including carbon, remain in the soil.
It’s like a microbial funnel. And a lot of the questions that we’re asking about soil carbon storage, agricultural management, and predicting soil carbon into the future are germane to any ecosystem. They’re fundamental questions in ecology that are important to understanding whether our ecosystems can keep the carbon they have and potentially take up more.
Edward Brzostek, Associate Professor, Biology, West Virginia University
The researchers are also looking into how plants may aid themselves.
Brzostek says, “There’s this growing idea that plants can engineer their soil environment by doing things with their roots. They can leak carbon out of their roots that feed the microbes. That makes the microbes happy. They break down soil carbon and then they give the plant nitrogen in return, which it needs to grow.”
According to studies, miscanthus roots may collect nitrogen from leaf litter without causing carbon loss.
Microbes are essential to the process. Fortunately, they can be found anywhere.
Brzostek adds, “When you walk out in the forest in West Virginia, the microbes are eating everything. If they weren’t, you’d be drowning in leaf litter.”
His research is being carried out through the Centre of Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Innovation, which was established in 2017 by the US Department of Energy.
CABBI, established at the University of Illinois, brings together 20 partner institutions, universities, and national laboratories to do research on bioenergy crops-derived sustainable bioproducts.
Decarbonizing the economy is difficult. Wind, solar, and nuclear power are examples of renewable energy sources; nevertheless, some industries, such as aviation, cannot be decarbonized.
Brzostek concludes, “Bioenergy can play a part in the new bioeconomy. We talk about bioenergy refineries and plants that could produce energy from some bioenergy crop. They’d capture the carbon dioxide and pump it underground. It could lead to a new green industry across much of the rain-fed United States, where you can grow these things.”
WVU students and postdoctoral researchers Joanna Ridgeway, Zoe Pagliaro, Dominick Cifelli, Jessica Burke, Noah Wauls, and Stephanie Juice aided Brzostek.
Source: https://www.wvu.edu/
