Plant Science, Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Agronomy and Crop Science, Soil Science
29
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
Mediterranean riparian zones as hotspots of greenhouse gases: effects of vegetation, distance to the riverbank and wet periods Eduardo Velázquez, Luis Lassaletta, Carmen Galea, Antonio Vallejo, Juliana Hurtado, et al. Geoderma, 2026 The ability of riparian forests to reduce nutrient flows from crops to streams is well known. However, their role as sources and sinks of greenhouse gases (GHGs) has been less studied, particularly in Mediterranean environments. We assessed the changes in daily soil N 2 O and CH 4 fluxes between 2021 and 2023 in a riparian zone located in Central Spain. We also evaluated if cumulative fluxes of such GHGs depended on soil NO 3 − , NH 4 + and DOC contents, and water-filled pore space (WFPS). Their dependence to different vegetation types and distances to the riverbank, as well as on the existence of wet periods, which include occasional floods, was also analysed. Daily N 2 O and CH 4 fluxes were both low. Those of N 2 O were positive whereas those of CH 4 were mostly negative, but positive fluxes of this GHG were nevertheless observed in late autumn 2021 and in spring 2022. Cumulative fluxes were mainly driven by soil NH 4 + contents in the case of N 2 O and by WFPS in the case of CH 4 , and influenced by the distance from the riverbank in both cases. The relationships between cumulative fluxes of N 2 O and its major drivers were positively and significantly influenced by the wet periods. Our results indicate that our riparian zone acted as a net source of N 2 O and a net sink of CH 4 , but it became a net source of CH 4 in cold and wet periods, where anoxic conditions in which methanogenesis occurs are favoured. Soil N 2 O emissions mainly originate as a by-product of nitrification but also from incomplete denitrification after heavy rainfall events in warm months. Thus, we advocate for preventive strategies to reduce nitrogen flows from cropping systems to reduce soil N 2 O emissions in Mediterranean riparian zones.
Mealworm Frass as a Potential Organic Fertilizer in Synergy with PGP-Based Biostimulant for Lettuce Plants Teresa Fuertes-Mendizábal, Isabel Salcedo, Ximena Huérfano, Patrick Riga, José María Estavillo, David Ávila Blanco, Miren Karmele Duñabeitia Agronomy, 2023 This study explores the potential use of frass, the larval excrement residue obtained from mealworm rearing, as organic fertilizer for crops. Its high organic matter content means that its joint application with a biostimulant based on efficient microorganisms, favoring its mineralization, is of interest. An experiment with lettuce plants (Lactuca sativa L.) was conducted with two factors and six replicates under greenhouse conditions. The first factor was frass amendment at 0%, 1%, 2.5%, and 5% of the peat substrate, and the second factor was a Bacillus-based BS at two levels, with and without efficient microorganism application. The results reveal that frass shows great potential as an organic fertilizer, providing macronutrients and increasing lettuce aerial biomass, although its effect is mediated by the application rate. Rates of 2.5% or higher proved negative for lettuce plant growth, especially root development, probably due to an increased incidence of potentially pathogenic fungi. The negative effect of medium–high frass rates was counteracted by the addition of a PGP-based biostimulant, enhancing lettuce plant nutrient uptake, aerial biomass, and quality in terms of succulence, but also favoring microbial diversity in the rhizosphere, increasing the incidence of beneficial microorganisms, and decreasing potentially pathogenic fungi. This positive synergy observed between frass and the PGP-based biostimulant is of interest for the design of new organic fertilization strategies.
Dimethylpyrazole-based nitrification inhibitors have a dual role in N2O emissions mitigation in forage systems under Atlantic climate conditions Ximena Huérfano, José M. Estavillo, Fernando Torralbo, Izargi Vega-Mas, Carmen González-Murua, Teresa Fuertes-Mendizábal Science of the Total Environment, 2022 Nitrogen fertilization is the most important factor increasing nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from agriculture, which is a powerful greenhouse gas. These emissions are mainly produced by the soil microbial processes of nitrification and denitrification, and the application of nitrification inhibitors (NIs) together with an ammonium-based fertilizer has been proved as an efficient way to decrease them. In this work the NIs dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) and dimethylpyrazole succinic acid (DMPSA) were evaluated in a temperate grassland under environmental changing field conditions in terms of their efficiency reducing N2O emissions and their effect on the amount of nitrifying and denitrifying bacterial populations responsible of these emissions. The stimulation of nitrifying bacteria induced by the application of ammonium sulphate as fertilizer was efficiently avoided by the application of both DMPP and DMPSA whatever the soil water content. The denitrifying bacteria population capable of reducing N2O up to N2 was also enhanced by both NIs provided that sufficiently high soil water conditions and low nitrate content were occurring. Therefore, both NIs showed the capacity to promote the denitrification process up to N2 as a mechanism to mitigate N2O emissions. DMPSA proved to be a promising NI, since it showed a more significant effect than DMPP in decreasing N2O emissions and increasing ryegrass yield.
Compost and pgp-based biostimulant as alternative to peat and npk fertilization in chestnut (Castanea sativa mill.) nursery production Teresa Fuertes-Mendizábal, Ximena Huérfano, Unai Ortega, Carmen González-Murua, José María Estavillo, Isabel Salcedo, Miren K. Duñabeitia Forests, 2021 In forest nurseries, intensive use of non-renewable substrates such as peat and high application rates of chemical synthesis fertilizers lead to environmental problems and high susceptibility to biotic and abiotic stresses. This work aims to seek more sustainable crop management to help mitigate these problems, combining the substitution of peat by compost and the use of growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPs) as a fertilization tool. For this purpose, a trial was carried out to test the effectiveness of an agricultural waste compost and a biostimulant based on PGP microorganisms in the production of Castanea sativa plants in a forest nursery. This trial assessed the growth of plants, with both inputs separately and combined, and then studied the tolerance of chestnut seedlings to water deficit. The results showed that partial substitution of peat by compost is possible, but not complete, as the high levels of conductivity and pH generated by a high proportion of compost negatively affected plant growth. It was also noted that the application of the biostimulant enables the complete substitution of mineral fertilization. Moreover, at the end of the nursery phase, chestnut seedlings treated with the biostimulant showed the same or even better quality than chestnut seedlings obtained with conventional fertilization, also resulting in greater resistance to water deficit, based on the increase in root volume and the improvement of the physiological status. Changes observed in both quantity and composition of microbiota associated with chestnut rhizosphere after inoculation with PGPs were related to the improvement observed. In relation to water deficit resistance, a positive synergy was also observed with the combination of both inputs, since plants with full substitution of peat by compost combined with PGP-based fertilization showed the greatest drought resistance.
Response of wheat storage proteins and breadmaking quality to dimethylpyrazole-based nitrification inhibitors under different nitrogen fertilization splitting strategies Ximena Huérfano, José-María Estavillo, Miren K. Duñabeitia, María-Begoña González-Moro, Carmen González-Murua, Teresa Fuertes-Mendizábal Plants, 2021 Improving fertilizer nitrogen (N) use efficiency is essential to increase crop productivity and avoid environmental damage. This study was conducted during four crop cycles of winter wheat under humid Mediterranean conditions (Araba, northern Spain). The effects of N-fertilization splitting and the application of the nitrification inhibitors (NIs) 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) and 2-(3,4-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl) succinic acid isomeric mixture (DMPSA) as strategies to improve grain quality were examined. The hypothesis of this study was to test if the partial ammonium nutrition and the reduction of fertilizer losses presumably induced by the application of NIs can modify the grain gliadin and glutenin protein contents and the breadmaking quality (dough rheological properties). Among both NIs assayed, only DMPP showed a slight effect of decreasing the omega gliadin fraction, following splitting either two or three times, although this effect was dependent on the year and was not reflected in terms of dough extensibility. The slight decreases observed in grain quality in terms of dough strength and glutenin content induced by DMPP suggest that DMPSA is more promising in terms of maintaining grain quality. Nonetheless, these poor effects exerted by NI application on grain quality parameters did not lead to changes in the quality parameters defining the flour aptitudes for breadmaking.
Feedstock choice, pyrolysis temperature and type influence biochar characteristics: a comprehensive meta-data analysis review James A. Ippolito, Liqiang Cui, Claudia Kammann, Nicole Wrage-Mönnig, Jose M. Estavillo, Teresa Fuertes-Mendizabal, Maria Luz Cayuela, Gilbert Sigua, Jeff Novak, Kurt Spokas, Nils Borchard Biochar, 2020 Various studies have established that feedstock choice, pyrolysis temperature, and pyrolysis type influence final biochar physicochemical characteristics. However, overarching analyses of pre-biochar creation choices and correlations to biochar characteristics are severely lacking. Thus, the objective of this work was to help researchers, biochar-stakeholders, and practitioners make more well-informed choices in terms of how these three major parameters influence the final biochar product. Utilizing approximately 5400 peer-reviewed journal articles and over 50,800 individual data points, herein we elucidate the selections that influence final biochar physical and chemical properties, total nutrient content, and perhaps more importantly tools one can use to predict biochar’s nutrient availability. Based on the large dataset collected, it appears that pyrolysis type (fast or slow) plays a minor role in biochar physico- (inorganic) chemical characteristics; few differences were evident between production styles. Pyrolysis temperature, however, affects biochar’s longevity, with pyrolysis temperatures > 500 °C generally leading to longer-term (i.e., > 1000 years) half-lives. Greater pyrolysis temperatures also led to biochars containing greater overall C and specific surface area (SSA), which could promote soil physico-chemical improvements. However, based on the collected data, it appears that feedstock selection has the largest influence on biochar properties. Specific surface area is greatest in wood-based biochars, which in combination with pyrolysis temperature could likely promote greater changes in soil physical characteristics over other feedstock-based biochars. Crop- and other grass-based biochars appear to have cation exchange capacities greater than other biochars, which in combination with pyrolysis temperature could potentially lead to longer-term changes in soil nutrient retention. The collected data also suggest that one can reasonably predict the availability of various biochar nutrients (e.g., N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, and Cu) based on feedstock choice and total nutrient content. Results can be used to create designer biochars to help solve environmental issues and supply a variety of plant-available nutrients for crop growth.
Assessing the evolution of wheat grain traits during the last 166 years using archived samples Sinda Ben Mariem, Angie L. Gámez, Luis Larraya, Teresa Fuertes-Mendizabal, Nuria Cañameras, José L. Araus, Steve P. McGrath, Malcolm J. Hawkesford, Carmen Gonzalez Murua, Myriam Gaudeul, Leopoldo Medina, Alan Paton, Luigi Cattivelli, Andreas Fangmeier, James Bunce, Sabine Tausz-Posch, Andy J. Macdonald, Iker Aranjuelo Scientific Reports, 2020 The current study focuses on yield and nutritional quality changes of wheat grain over the last 166 years. It is based on wheat grain quality analyses carried out on samples collected between 1850 and 2016. Samples were obtained from the Broadbalk Continuous Wheat Experiment (UK) and from herbaria from 16 different countries around the world. Our study showed that, together with an increase in carbohydrate content, an impoverishment of mineral composition and protein content occurred. The imbalance in carbohydrate/protein content was specially marked after the 1960’s, coinciding with strong increases in ambient [CO2] and temperature and the introduction of progressively shorter straw varieties. The implications of altered crop physiology are discussed.
The scarcity and distribution of rainfall drove the performance (i.e., mitigation of N oxide emissions, crop yield and quality) of calcium ammonium nitrate management in a wheat crop under rainfed semiarid conditions Guillermo Guardia, Carmen González-Murua, Teresa Fuertes-Mendizábal, Antonio Vallejo Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, 2020 Selection and management of synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizers, including nitrification inhibitors, are considered an effective strategy to mitigate N oxide emissions, but depends strongly on soil characteristics and climatic conditions. We evaluated the effect of the use of a nitrification inhibitor (2-(3,4-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl) succinic acid isomeric mixture (DMPSA)) or splitting calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) on the N oxides and CH4 emissions, yield, N use efficiency (NUE) and bread-making quality in a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) crop. During a typical rainfall cropping season, neither splitting CAN nor using DMPSA reduced significantly the area-scaled or yield-scaled emissions in comparison to a single application of CAN without inhibitors. This could be explained by the low emissions in CAN amended plots. Conversely, in the subsequent extremely dry cropping season, higher N oxide peaks occurred after soil rewetting and the effectiveness of DMPSA was significant in these conditions (e.g. 83% mitigation for NO). No improvement in the NUE, yield or bread-making quality was achieved with a split application or DMPSA added to the fertilizer. Under the conditions of the study, splitting CAN should not be recommended from a yield-scaled emissions viewpoint, while the use of DMPSA may be encouraged due to large variability in the amount and distribution of rainfall.
Relationship between tillage management and DMPSA nitrification inhibitor efficiency Mario Corrochano-Monsalve, Ximena Huérfano, Sergio Menéndez, Fernando Torralbo, Teresa Fuertes-Mendizábal, José-María Estavillo, Carmen González-Murua Science of the Total Environment, 2020 Agricultural sustainability is compromised by nitrogen (N) losses caused by soil microbial activity. Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) produced as consequence of nitrification and denitrification processes in soils. Nitrification inhibitors (NI) as 3,4-dimethylpyrazole-succinic acid (DMPSA) are useful tools to reduce these N losses from fertilization. The objective of this work was to test the efficiency of DMPSA in two different tillage management systems, conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT), in a winter wheat crop under Humid Mediterranean conditions. N fertilizer was applied as ammonium sulphate (AS) with or without DMPSA in a single or split application, including an unfertilized treatment. GHG fluxes (N2O, CO2 and CH4) were measured by the closed chamber method. amoA and nosZI genes were quantified by qPCR as indicators of nitrifying and denitrifying populations. Nitrification was inhibited by DMPSA in both CT and NT, while the higher water filled pore space (WFPS) in NT promoted a better efficiency of DMPSA in this system. This higher efficiency might be due to a greater N2O reduction to N2 as result of the nosZI gene induction. Consequently, DMPSA was able to reduce N2O emissions down to the unfertilized levels in NT. Provided that NT reduced CO2 emissions and maintained crop yield compared to CT, the application DMPSA under NT management is a promising strategy to increase agro-systems sustainability under Humid Mediterranean conditions.
Biochar research activities and their relation to development and environmental quality. A meta-analysis Khalid Mehmood, Elizabeth Chávez Garcia, Michael Schirrmann, Brenton Ladd, Claudia Kammann, Nicole Wrage-Mönnig, Christina Siebe, Jose M. Estavillo, Teresa Fuertes-Mendizabal, Mariluz Cayuela, Gilbert Sigua, Kurt Spokas, Annette L. Cowie, Jeff Novak, James A. Ippolito, Nils Borchard Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 2017
Ammonium as sole N source improves grain quality in wheat Teresa Fuertes‐Mendizábal, Jon González‐Torralba, Luis M Arregui, Carmen González‐Murua, M Begoña González‐Moro, José M Estavillo Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 2013
