From crops to shops: how agriculture can use circadian clocks

Knowledge about environmental and biological rhythms can lead to more sustainable agriculture in a climate crisis and resource scarcity scenario. When rhythms are considered, more efficient and cost-effective management practices can be designed for food production. The circadian clock is used to anticipate daily and seasonal changes, organize the metabolism during the day, integrate internal and external signals, and optimize interaction with other organisms. Plants with a circadian clock in synchrony with the environment are more productive and use fewer resources. In medicine, chronotherapy is used to increase drug efficacy, reduce toxicity, and understand the health effects of circadian clock disruption. Here, I show evidence of why circadian biology can be helpful in agriculture. However, as evidence is scattered among many areas, they frequently lack field testing, integrate poorly with other rhythms, or suffer inconsistent results. These problems can be mitigated if researchers of different areas start collaborating under a new study area-circadian agriculture.

Sward composition and soil moisture conditions affect nitrous oxide emissions and soil nitrogen dynamics following urea-nitrogen application

Increased emissions of N₂O, a potent greenhouse gas (GHG), from agricultural soils is a major concern for the sustainability of grassland agriculture. Emissions of N₂O are closely associated with the rates and forms of N fertilisers applied as well as prevailing weather and soil conditions. Evidence suggests that multispecies swards require less fertiliser N input, and may cycle N differently, thus reducing N loss to the environment. This study used a restricted simplex-centroid experimental design to investigate N₂O emissions and soil N cycling following application of urea-N (40 kg N ha^-1) to eight experimental swards (7.8 m²) with differing proportions of three plant functional groups (grass, legume, herb) represented by perennial ryegrass (PRG, Lolium perenne), white clover (WC, Trifolium repens) and ribwort plantain (PLAN, Plantago lanceolata), respectively. Swards were maintained under two contrasting soil moisture conditions to examine the balance between nitrification and denitrification. Two N₂O peaks coincided with fertiliser application and heavy rainfall events; 13.4 and 17.7 g N₂O-N ha^-1 day^-1 (ambient soil moisture) and 39.8 and 86.9 g N₂O-N ha^-1 day^-1 (wet soil moisture). Overall, cumulative N₂O emissions post-fertiliser application were higher under wet soil conditions. Increasing legume (WC) proportions from 0% to 60% in multispecies swards resulted in model predicted N₂O emissions increasing from 22.3 to 96.2 g N₂O-N ha^-1 (ambient soil conditions) and from 59.0 to 219.3 g N₂O-N ha^-1 (wet soil conditions), after a uniform N application rate. Soil N dynamics support denitrification as the dominant source of N₂O especially under wet soil conditions. Significant interactions of PRG or WC with PLAN on soil mineral N concentrations indicated that multispecies swards containing PLAN potentially inhibit nitrification and could be a useful mitigation strategy for N loss to the environment from grassland agriculture.

Effect of foliar application of plant growth regulators on nitrous oxide (N2O) emission and grain yield in wheat

Agricultural soils are the major source of global nitrous oxide (N₂O) emission, and more than two thirds of N₂O emission originate from soil. Recent studies have identified that green plants contribute to transport of N₂O to the atmosphere. We investigated the effects of foliar application of plant growth regulators (PGRs) and growth stimulating chemicals on N₂O emission and wheat grain yield for 2 years. The PGRs' abscisic acid (ABA) and cytozyme (20 mg L^-1), kinetin (10 and 20 mg L^-1) and wet tea extract (1:20 w/w) along with distilled water as control were sprayed on wheat canopy at the tillering and panicle initiation stages. Our results showed that cytozyme and tea extract enhanced the plant dry biomass over control. Kinetin (10 and 20 mg L^-1) and cytozyme increased the plant photosynthetic rate and photosynthate partitioning towards the developing grain. ABA (20 mg L^-1) and kinetin (10 and 20 mg L^-1) reduced the N₂O emission over control primarily through regulation of leaf growth, stomatal density and xylem vessel size. Leaf area, stomatal density and xylem vessel size were found to be associated with N₂O transport and emission. We concluded that use of ABA and kinetin can reduce N₂O emissions without any impact on wheat grain yield.

Elevated N2O emission by the rice roots: based on the abundances of narG and bacterial amoA genes

Rice fields are an important source of nitrous oxide (N₂O), where rice plants could act as a key factor controlling N₂O fluxes during the flooding-drying process; however, the microbial driving mechanisms are unclear. In this study, specially designed equipment was used to grow rice plants and collect emitted N₂O from the root-growing zone (zone A), root-free zones (zones B, C, and D) independently, at tillering and booting stages under flooding and drying conditions. Soil samples from the four zones were also taken separately. Nitrifying and denitrifying community abundances were detected using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The N₂O emission increased significantly along with drying, but the N₂O emission capabilities varied among the four zones under drying, while zone B possessed the highest N₂O fluxes that were 2.7~4.5 times higher than those from zones C and D. However, zone A showed N₂O consumption potential. Notably, zone B also harbored the highest numbers of narG-containing denitrifiers and amoA-containing nitrifiers under drying at both tillering and booting stages. This study demonstrates that drying caused significant increase in N₂O emission from rhizosphere soil, in which the higher abundance of AOB would help to produce more nitrate and significantly higher narG-containing microbes would drive more N₂O production and emission.

Microbial community dynamics in soil aggregates shape biogeochemical gas fluxes from soil profiles - upscaling an aggregate biophysical model

Microbial communities inhabiting soil aggregates dynamically adjust their activity and composition in response to variations in hydration and other external conditions. These rapid dynamics shape signatures of biogeochemical activity and gas fluxes emitted from soil profiles. Recent mechanistic models of microbial processes in unsaturated aggregate-like pore networks revealed a highly dynamic interplay between oxic and anoxic microsites jointly shaped by hydration conditions and by aerobic and anaerobic microbial community abundance and self-organization. The spatial extent of anoxic niches (hotspots) flicker in time (hot moments) and support substantial anaerobic microbial activity even in aerated soil profiles. We employed an individual-based model for microbial community life in soil aggregate assemblies represented by 3D angular pore networks. Model aggregates of different sizes were subjected to variable water, carbon and oxygen contents that varied with soil depth as boundary conditions. The study integrates microbial activity within aggregates of different sizes and soil depth to obtain estimates of biogeochemical fluxes from the soil profile. The results quantify impacts of dynamic shifts in microbial community composition on CO2 and N2 O production rates in soil profiles in good agreement with experimental data. Aggregate size distribution and the shape of resource profiles in a soil determine how hydration dynamics shape denitrification and carbon utilization rates. Results from the mechanistic model for microbial activity in aggregates of different sizes were used to derive parameters for analytical representation of soil biogeochemical processes across large scales of practical interest for hydrological and climate models.

Nitrous oxide emission from wetland soil following single and seasonal split application of cattle manure to field tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum, Mill var. Heinz) and rape (Brassica napus, L. var. Giant) crops

An understanding of the contribution of manure applications to global atmospheric N₂O loading is needed to evaluate agriculture’s contribution to the global warming process. Two field experiments were carried out at Dufuya wetland (19°17′S; 29°21′E, 1260 m above sea level) to determine the effects of single and split manure applications on emissions of N₂O from soil during the growing seasons of two rape and two tomato crops. Two field experiments were established. In the first experiment the manure was applied in three levels of 0, 15, and 30 Mg ha⁻¹ as a single application just before planting of the first tomato crop. In the second experiment the 15 and 30 Mg ha⁻¹ manure application rates were divided into four split applications of 3.75 and 7.5 Mg ha⁻¹ respectively, for each of the four cropping events. Single applications of 15 and 30 Mg ha⁻¹ manure once in four cropping events had higher emissions of N₂O than those recorded on plots that received split applications of 3.75 and 7.5 Mg ha⁻¹ manure at least up to the second test crop. Thereafter N₂O emissions on plots subjected to split applications of manure were higher or equal to those recorded in plots that received single basal applications of 30 Mg ha⁻¹ applied a week before planting the first crop. Seasonal split applications of manure to wetland vegetable crops can reduce emissions of N₂O at least up to the second seasonal split application.

Plant morphophysiological and anatomical factors associated with nitrous oxide flux from wheat (Triticum aestivum)

Experiments were conducted to study the dynamics of nitrous oxide (N₂O) emission from wheat varieties viz., Sonalika, HUW 468, HUW 234 and DBW 14 grown in alluvial soils of North Bank Plain Agroclimatic Zone of Assam, India. Attempts were made to find out the relationship of N₂O emission with plant morphophysiological, anatomical and soil properties. N₂O fluxes from wheat varieties ranged from 40 μg N₂O-N m⁻² h⁻¹ to 295 μg N₂O-N m⁻² h⁻¹. Soil organic carbon and soil temperature have shown significant relationship with N₂O flux. The rate of leaf transpiration recorded from the wheat varieties at different growth stages exhibited a positive correlation with N₂O emission suggesting that movement of N₂O along with the transpirational water flow may be an important mechanism of N₂O transport and emission through wheat plants. Anatomical investigation by scanning electron microscope revealed that N₂O emission has relationship with stomatal frequency of leaf and leaf sheaths. Variety HUW 234 with the highest stomatal frequency of leaf and leaf sheath also recorded higher seasonal N₂O emission compared to other varieties. Seasonal N₂O emission (E(sif)) of the varieties ranged from 3.25 to 3.81 kg N₂O-N ha⁻¹. Significant variations in E(sif) values were recorded within the varieties.

Effects of temperature and fertilizer on activity and community structure of soil ammonia oxidizers

We investigated the effect of temperature on the activity of soil ammonia oxidizers caused by changes in the availability of ammonium and in the microbial community structure. Both short (5 days) and long (6.5, 16 and 20 weeks) incubation of an agricultural soil resulted in a decrease in ammonium concentration that was more pronounced at temperatures between 10 and 25 degrees C than at either 4 degrees C or 30-37 degrees C. Consistently, potential nitrification was higher between 10 and 25 degrees C than at either 4 degrees C or 37 degrees C. However, as long as ammonium was not limiting, release rates of N2O increased monotonously between 4 and 37 degrees C after short-term temperature adaptation, with nitrification accounting for about 35-50% of the N2O production between 4 and 25 degrees C. In order to see whether temperature may also affect the community structure of ammonia oxidizers, we studied moist soil during long incubation at low and high concentrations of commercial fertilizer. The soil was also incubated in buffered (pH 7) slurry amended with urea. Communities of ammonia oxidizers were assayed by denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of the amoA gene coding for the alpha subunit of ammonia monooxygenase. We found that a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system using a non-degenerated reverse primer (amoAR1) gave the best results. Community shifts occurred in all soil treatments after 16 weeks of incubation. The community shifts were obviously influenced by the different fertilizer treatments, indicating that ammonium was a selective factor for different ammonia oxidizer populations. Temperature was also a selective factor, in particular as community shifts were also observed in the soil slurries, in which ammonium concentrations and pH were better controlled. Cloning and sequencing of selected DGGE bands indicated that amoA sequences belonging to Nitrosospira cluster 1 were dominant at low temperatures (4-10 degrees C), but were absent after long incubation at low fertilizer treatment. Sequences of Nitrosospira cluster 9 could only be detected at low ammonium concentrations, whereas those of Nitrosospira cluster 3 were found at most ammonium concentrations and temperatures, although individual clones of this cluster exhibited trends with temperature. Obviously, ammonia oxidizers are able to adapt to soil conditions by changes in the community structure if sufficient time (several weeks) is available.

Diurnal fluxes and the isotopomer ratios of N(2)O in a temperate grassland following urine amendment

There is an urgent need to provide an accurate, up-to-date estimate of N(2)O fluxes in order that national policies can be developed to reduce emissions of N(2)O from soils. There are only limited data on temporal and diurnal patterns of N(2)O fluxes to the atmosphere, mainly due to constraints in the measurement techniques. In this paper we present the first terrestrial source values of N(2)O isotopomers and have measured and quantified the temporal and diurnal variability in N(2)O fluxes following urine addition to a grassland system in the UK. The experiment was carried out over a 2-week period on an artificially drained grassland system at the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER), North Wyke, UK. Duplicate samples of urine, each of 2 L, were collected from dairy cows and applied to chambers (of area 0.16 m(2)). The N(2)O diurnal fluxes from urine and control (no urine) plots were measured by an automatic closed chamber technique. The isotopomers of N(2)O were obtained by analysing the gas samples collected during a peak emission phase. Soil and meteorological data were also collected. The results showed strong diurnal variations in N(2)O fluxes with minimum fluxes generally occurring between 7:00 and 14:00 hrs. The total cumulative flux of N(2)O for the whole experimental period was higher by a factor of >2 compared with estimates based on the daytime (between 10.00-16.00 hrs) measurements only. Therefore, measurements of N(2)O fluxes based on daily single exposure and expressed on a 24-h basis could impose a considerable bias and inaccuracy to the emission estimates, depending on when it was taken. The measured site preference values (difference between the centre (delta(15)Nalpha) and the end (delta(15)Nbeta) N atom of the N(2)O molecule) for soil-emitted N(2)O measured during our study were always lower than the tropospheric value. This work confirms that the enhanced tropospheric N(2)O site preference value could be the result of the back injection from the stratosphere. The intramolecular isotope ratios of nitrogen (delta(15)N) and oxygen (delta(18)O) and the site preference of the emitted N(2)O indicated that there was a shift of processes during the measurement period.

Effects of dung and urine amendments on the isotopic content of N(2)O released from grasslands

The temporal and diurnal changes in nitrous oxide (N(2)O) fluxes were measured between 29(th) September and 2(nd) November 1999 from urine and dung patches from cattle deposited on grazed grassland. The delta(15)N and delta(18)O values of the N(2)O emitted from soil from both treatments were examined on four occasions during this period. The diurnal fluxes of N(2)O were measured by a chamber technique that provides hourly measurement of N(2)O fluxes. The (15)N and (18)O analysis of N(2)O were determined by isotope ratio mass spectrometry. N(2)O fluxes from the excreta patches were large, with peak emissions up to 1893 ng N m(-2) s(-1) occurring after heavy precipitation, measured one month after the treatment applications. Emissions from the urine patches were significantly greater than from the dung. The results showed that excretal patches are an important source of atmospheric N(2)O. The flux pattern showed a strong diurnal variation with maximum fluxes generally occurring in late afternoon or early morning, and generally not in phase with the soil temperature changes. The isotopic content of (15)N and (18)O in the N(2)O showed a similar trend to that of the N(2)O flux. The (15)N and (18)O values of the N(2)O emitted from the soil indicated that denitrification was the major process involved. After heavy precipitation on the 6(th) October, the larger delta(15)N and delta(18)O values suggested a consumption of the N(2)O by total denitrification.

Global N2O cycles--terrestrial emissions, atmospheric accumulation and biospheric effects

Tropospheric nitrous oxide concentration has increased by 0.2-0.4% per year over the period 1975 to 1982, amounting to net addition to the atmosphere of 2.8-5.6 Tg N2O-N per year. This perturbation, if continued into the future, will affect stratospheric chemical cycles, and the thermal balance of the Earth. In turn it will have direct and indirect global effects on the biosphere. Though the budget and cycles of N2O on Earth are not yet fully resolved, accumulating information and recent modelling efforts enable a more complete evaluation and better definition of gaps in our knowledge.