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Nano iron oxide closes the gap between climate regulation and food security trade-offs
Summary
This study found that applying nano iron oxide to rice paddies can reduce greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining crop yields. Agricultural management practices that reduce environmental footprint are relevant given that plastic mulches and agrochemicals also contribute to microplastic soil contamination.
Abstract Rice production poses one of the most important trade-offs between climate regulation and food security. Fertilization often results in higher yield, but also in more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Such a trade-off represents a major threat to our capacity to mitigate on-going climate change while supporting a continuously growing global population. Here, we conducted a four-year field experiment to evaluate the capacity of iron oxide nanoparticles (FeONPs) fertilization to close the gap between these important trade-offs. We found that FeONPs fertilization can help us mitigate climate change by reducing 40% methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions compared with controls, while supporting significant soil carbon sequestration. Moreover, FeONPs can help us to support food production by increasing the amount of nitrogen via reductions in ammonia volatilization and accumulation of N in nanoparticles. Together, our work revealed that next generation fertilization strategies can make a great contribution to food security while supporting climate change regulation.
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