https://doi.org/10.4081/jae.2022.1391

3D-printed biological habitats for the protection and persistence of Rhizobia species in compacted soils

Vol. 53 No. 4 (2022)
Published: 20 July 2022
Microbial refugia, Rhizobium, soil compaction, soil microorganisms, 3D-printing.
Abstract Views: 1052
PDF: 293
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

Seth Laurenson
seth.laurenson@agresearch.co.nz
AgResearch, Lincoln Science Centre, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Laura Villamizar
AgResearch, Lincoln Science Centre, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Remy Lasseur
AgResearch, Lincoln Science Centre, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Rhys Fitzgerald
AgResearch, Lincoln Science Centre, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Shengjing Shi
AgResearch, Lincoln Science Centre, Christchurch, New Zealand.

Microorganisms in soils are responsible for many ecosystem services. However, in degraded soils, microbial abundance and function are limited, compromising several biologically facilitated processes. Inoculating soils with desirable microbes can help to re-instate or initiate a viable functioning microbial community. However, establishment success is reliant on the survival of the microorganism in an adverse environment. In this proof-of-concept study, artificial microbial refugia have been developed using resin and light-emitting diode array (LED) 3D printing technology. We assessed whether the artificial refugia, termed a Rhiome, would support better microbial growth in degraded soils. Soil compaction, a form of soil degradation, and Rhizobium, an important microorganism for global agriculture, were selected as the use case application for this assessment. Different materials, together with resin, were assessed for their suitability as a 3D printing material and for supporting rhizobial growth. The best result was found in materials constructed with a combination of polylactic acid (PLA) resin, yeast extract, and mannitol. In a soil compaction experiment with inoculation of rhizobia, the addition of Rhiome significantly increased bacterium survival in the compacted soil to a level similar to, or higher than, the rhizobial loading in non-compacted soils. In addition, augmentation of the resin with yeast extract and mannitol increased Rhizobium growth significantly compared with the Rhiome constructed only with resin. These results indicate that the Rhiome was highly beneficial for instigating and maintaining significant rhizobia survival and growth in compacted soils. Further work, including near-to-field assessments, is required to assess Rhiome performance in various applications and to refine material properties relative to important context-specific performance metrics such as degradation rate. We propose the Rhiome concept as a promising asset in the toolbox for soil ecological restoration as a means of improving soil resiliency.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC
Barrios E. 2007. Soil biota, ecosystem services and land productivity. Ecol. Econ. 64:269-85.
Canbolat M.Y., Barik K., Çakmakçi R., Şahin F. 2006. Effects of mineral and biofertilizers on barley growth on compacted soil. Acta Agric. Scand. Sect. B Soil Plant Sci. 56:324-32.
Dal Ferro N., Morari F. 2015. From real soils to 3D-printed soils: reproduction of complex pore network at the real size in a silty-loam soil. In ‘Soil Science Society of America’.
de Jong S.J., Arias E.R., Rijkers D.T.S., van Nostrum C.F., Kettenes-van den Bosch J.J., Hennink W.E. 2001. New insights into the hydrolytic degradation of poly(lactic acid): participation of the alcohol terminus. Polymer 42:2795-802.
Gianinazzi S., Gollotte A., Binet M.N., van Tuinen D., Redecker D., Wipf D. 2010. Agroecology: the key role of arbuscular mycorrhizas in ecosystem services. Mycorrhiza 20:519-30.
Głąb T. (2014). Effect of soil compaction and N fertilization on soil pore characteristics and physical quality of sandy loam soil under red clover/grass sward. Soil Till. Res. 144:8-19.
Hall D.C., Palmer P., Ji H.-F., Ehrlich G.D., Król J.E. 2021. Bacterial biofilm growth on 3D-printed materials. Front. Microbiol. 12.
Irisarri P., Cardozo G., Tartaglia C., Reyno R., Gutiérrez P., Lattanzi F.A., Rebuffo M., Monza J. 2019. Selection of competitive and efficient rhizobia strains for white clover. Front. Microbiol. 10.
Jambhulkar P.P., Sharma P., Yadav R. 2016. Delivery systems for introduction of microbial inoculants in the field. In: D. Singh, H. Singh and R. Prabha (Eds.), Microbial inoculants in sustainable agricultural productivity. Springer, New Delhi, pp. 199-218.
Kaminsky R.A., Wakelin S.A., Highton M.P., Samad M.S., Morales S.E. (2021). Resolving broad patterns of prokaryotic community structure in New Zealand pasture soils. New Zeal. J. Agric. Res. 64:143-61.
Lamandé M., Schjønning P., Dal Ferro N., Morari F. 2021. Soil pore system evaluated from gas measurements and CT images: A conceptual study using artificial, natural and 3D‐printed soil cores. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 72:769-81.
Laurenson S., Houlbrooke D.J. (2014). Assessing the agronomic benefit of noninversion tillage for improving soil structure following winter grazing of cattle and sheep. Soil Use Manage. 30:595-602.
Laurenson S., Turner J.A., Rendel J.M., Houlbrooke D.J., Stevens D.R. 2015. Economic benefits of mechanical soil aeration to alleviate soil compaction on a dairy farm. New Zeal. J. Agricult. Res. 58:354-8.
Lei H., Chen Z., Kang X. 2020. Examination of particle shape on the shear behaviours of granules using 3D printed soil. Eur. J. Environ. Civil Engine. 1-20.
Longepierre M., Widmer F., Keller T., Weisskopf P., Colombi T., Six J., Hartmann M. 2021. Limited resilience of the soil microbiome to mechanical compaction within four growing seasons of agricultural management. ISME Communications 1:44.
Lowther W.L., Kerr G.A. 2011. White clover seed inoculation and coating in New Zealand. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grasslands Association 73:93-102.
Mengual C., Schoebitz M., Azcón R., Roldán A. 2014. Microbial inoculants and organic amendment improves plant establishment and soil rehabilitation under semiarid conditions. J. Environ. Manage. 134:1-7.
Menneer J.C., Ledgard S., McLay C., Silvester W. 2005. Animal treading during wet soil conditions reduces N2 fixation in mixed clover-grass pasture. Plant Soil 275:317-25.
Nawaz M.F., Bourrié G., Trolard F. 2013. Soil compaction impact and modelling. A review. Agron. Sustain. Develop. 33:291-309.
Otten W., Pajor R., Schmidt S., Baveye P.C., Hague R., Falconer R.E. 2012. Combining X-ray CT and 3D printing technology to produce microcosms with replicable, complex pore geometries. Soil Biol. Biochem. 51:53-5.
Pengthamkeerati P., Motavalli P.P., Kremer R.J. 2011. Soil microbial activity and functional diversity changed by compaction, poultry litter and cropping in a claypan soil. Appl. Soil Ecol. 48:71-80.
Rashid M.I., Mujawar L.H., Shahzad T., Almeelbi T., Ismail I.M.I., Oves M. 2016. Bacteria and fungi can contribute to nutrients bioavailability and aggregate formation in degraded soils. Microbiol. Res. 183:26-41.
Rutten P.J., Steel H., Hood G.A., Ramachandran V.K., McMurtry L., Geddes B., Papachristodoulou A., Poole P.S. (2021). Multiple sensors provide spatiotemporal oxygen regulation of gene expression in a Rhizobium-legume symbiosis. PLoS Genet. 17:e1009099.
Schimel J., Schaeffer S. 2012. Microbial control over carbon cycling in soil. Front. Microbiol. 3.
Schnurr-Putz S., Guggenberger G., Kusell K. 2006. Compaction of forest soil by logging machinery favours occurrence of prokaryotes. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 58:503-16.
Schreefel L., Schulte R.P.O., de Boer I.J.M., Schrijver A.P., van Zanten H.H.E. 2020. Regenerative agriculture - the soil is the base. Global Food Secur. 26:100404.
Shi S., Marshall S., Schon N., Dignam B., Bell N., O’Callaghan M. 2021. Insights into the soil microbiome and prospects for its manipulation for improved pasture resilience. Resilient Pastur. Grassl. Res. Pract. Ser. 17:231-45.
Siczek A., Lipiec J., Wielbo J., Szarlip P., Kidaj D. 2013. Pea growth and symbiotic activity response to Nod factors (lipo-chitooligosaccharides) and soil compaction. Appl. Soil Ecol. 72:181-6.
Singh J.S. 2014. Cyanobacteria: a vital bio-agent in eco-restoration of degraded lands and sustainable agriculture. Climate Change Environ. Sustain. 2:133-7.
Sparling G.P., Schipper L.A. 2002. Soil quality at a national scale in New Zealand. J. Environ. Qual. 31:1848-57.
Tan X., Chang S.X. 2007. Soil compaction and forest litter amendment affect carbon and net nitrogen mineralization in a boreal forest soil. Soil Till. Res. 93:77-86.
Tang J., Mo Y., Zhang J., Zhang R. 2011. Influence of biological aggregating agents associated with microbial population on soil aggregate stability. Appl. Soil Ecol. 47:153-9.
Thomashow L.S., Kwak Y.S., Weller D.M. 2019. Root-associated microbes in sustainable agriculture: models, metabolites and mechanisms. Pest Manage. Sci. 75.
Tsuji H., Nakahara, K. 2002. Poly(L-lactide). IX. Hydrolysis in acid media. J. Appl. Polymer Sci. 86:186-94.
Walsh M.E., Ostrinskaya A., Sorensen M.T., Kong D.S., Carr P.A. 2016. 3D-printable materials for microbial liquid culture. 3D Print. Additive Manufact. 3:113-8.
Weisskopf P., Reiser R., Rek J., Oberholzer H.R. 2010. Effect of different compaction impacts and varying subsequent management practices on soil structure, air regime and microbiological parameters. Soil Till. Res. 65-74.

How to Cite

Laurenson, S. (2022) “3D-printed biological habitats for the protection and persistence of <em>Rhizobia</em> species in compacted soils”, Journal of Agricultural Engineering, 53(4). doi: 10.4081/jae.2022.1391.
Copyright (c) 2022 the Author(s) Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.


Similar Articles

<< < 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.