TY - JOUR
T1 - Effective carbon sequestration in Italian agricultural soils by in situ polymerization of soil organic matter under biomimetic photocatalysis
AU - Piccolo, Alessandro
AU - Spaccini, Riccardo
AU - Cozzolino, Vincenza
AU - Nuzzo, Assunta
AU - Drosos, Marios
AU - Zavattaro, Laura
AU - Grignani, Carlo
AU - Puglisi, Edoardo
AU - Trevisan, Marco
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Facing an exploding population growth with consequent increase of agriculture intensification, new chemical technologies are being sought to limit organic matter losses and reduce land degradation. Here, we report that an effective organic carbon sequestration in different cropped soils of Italy is obtained by an in situ photo-oxidative coupling among soil humic molecules, when catalyzed under solar irradiation by a water-soluble biomimetic iron-porphyrin catalyst amended to field soils. A 3-year long field study showed that the catalyst-assisted in situ photochemical polymerization of humic matter enabled a yearly sequestration of soil organic carbon that ranged from 2.2 to 3.9 t ha-1y-1, despite the periodical soil disturbance due to a conventional tillage management. This significant stabilization of organic matter was observed not only in bulk soils but also in water-stable aggregates, whose loss of organic carbon during separation was limited in catalyst-treated soils. Although crop yields were the same in treated and control soils, measurements of phospholipids fatty acids and soil enzyme activities indicated that the catalyzed in situ photo-oxidative coupling of humic molecules did not alter the structure and activity of microbial communities and the biological functions of soils. This innovative and ecologically safe catalytic technology may be developed as a useful soil management practice to stabilize organic matter in situ in arable soils, while concomitantly ensuring soil functions and sustainability of crop production.
AB - Facing an exploding population growth with consequent increase of agriculture intensification, new chemical technologies are being sought to limit organic matter losses and reduce land degradation. Here, we report that an effective organic carbon sequestration in different cropped soils of Italy is obtained by an in situ photo-oxidative coupling among soil humic molecules, when catalyzed under solar irradiation by a water-soluble biomimetic iron-porphyrin catalyst amended to field soils. A 3-year long field study showed that the catalyst-assisted in situ photochemical polymerization of humic matter enabled a yearly sequestration of soil organic carbon that ranged from 2.2 to 3.9 t ha-1y-1, despite the periodical soil disturbance due to a conventional tillage management. This significant stabilization of organic matter was observed not only in bulk soils but also in water-stable aggregates, whose loss of organic carbon during separation was limited in catalyst-treated soils. Although crop yields were the same in treated and control soils, measurements of phospholipids fatty acids and soil enzyme activities indicated that the catalyzed in situ photo-oxidative coupling of humic molecules did not alter the structure and activity of microbial communities and the biological functions of soils. This innovative and ecologically safe catalytic technology may be developed as a useful soil management practice to stabilize organic matter in situ in arable soils, while concomitantly ensuring soil functions and sustainability of crop production.
KW - 2300
KW - Biomimetic photocatalysis
KW - Development3304 Education
KW - Environmental Chemistry
KW - Intensified agriculture
KW - Iron-porphyrin
KW - Soil Science
KW - Soil organic matter
KW - Sustainable soil carbon sequestration
KW - 2300
KW - Biomimetic photocatalysis
KW - Development3304 Education
KW - Environmental Chemistry
KW - Intensified agriculture
KW - Iron-porphyrin
KW - Soil Science
KW - Soil organic matter
KW - Sustainable soil carbon sequestration
UR - https://publicatt.unicatt.it/handle/10807/118931
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85040736864&origin=inward
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85040736864&origin=inward
U2 - 10.1002/ldr.2877
DO - 10.1002/ldr.2877
M3 - Article
SN - 1085-3278
VL - 29
SP - 485
EP - 494
JO - Land Degradation and Development
JF - Land Degradation and Development
IS - 3
ER -