A case for low atmospheric oxygen levels during Earth's middle history

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/148645/1/Planavsky_et_al_2018_ETLS-low_O2_in_the_Proterozoic.pd

Enhanced weathering in the US Corn Belt delivers carbon removal with agronomic benefits

Terrestrial enhanced weathering (EW) of silicate rocks, such as crushed basalt, on farmlands is a promising scalable atmospheric carbon dioxide removal (CDR) strategy that urgently requires performance assessment with commercial farming practices. We report findings from a large-scale replicated EW field trial across a typical maize-soybean rotation on an experimental farm in the heart of the United Sates Corn Belt over 4 y (2016 to 2020). We show an average combined loss of major cations (Ca2+ and Mg2+) from crushed basalt applied each fall over 4 y (50 t ha−1 y−1) gave a conservative time-integrated cumulative CDR potential of 10.5 ± 3.8 t CO2 ha−1. Maize and soybean yields increased significantly (P < 0.05) by 12 to 16% with EW following improved soil fertility, decreased soil acidification, and upregulation of root nutrient transport genes. Yield enhancements with EW were achieved with significantly (P < 0.05) increased key micro- and macronutrient concentrations (including potassium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and zinc), thus improving or maintaining crop nutritional status. We observed no significant increase in the content of trace metals in grains of maize or soybean or soil exchangeable pools relative to controls. Our findings suggest that widespread adoption of EW across farming sectors has the potential to contribute significantly to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goals while simultaneously improving food and soil security

Crop ontology: integration of standard variables

The Crop Ontology (CO, http://www.cropontology.org/) is a resource of the Integrated Breeding Platform (IBP, http://integratedbreeding.net/) providing breeders with crop specific terms for fieldbook edition and data annotation. Until Mai 2015, a plant phenotype was annotated with 3 CO identifiers for the trait, the method and the scale, respectively. Yet, breeders’ fieldbook and most phenotypic databases are designed to annotate a datapoint with only one identifier. To meet the need of providing one single identifier to an observation variable, the CO and IBP teams have worked on integrating the notion of variable into the CO. This has led to a thorough revision of the structure of the Trait Dictionary (TD) template. The TD template is a user-friendly xls file that is used to submit terms to CO which are then stored in the IBP Breeding Management System and other information systems (NextGen, Agtrials…). The most notable changes to the TD template are the addition of the term type “variable” and the decomposition of a trait into an entity and an attribute so as to formalize the trait definition and to foster the mapping with external ontologies (TO, PO, PATO, CHEBI, EO, PDO, GO…). Guidelines document how to post-compose variables. Along with the partners, the CO and IBP team have been working on formatting and curating the TD of pigeonpea (ICRISAT), cowpea (IITA), wheat (CIMMYT), groundnut (ICRISAT/USDA), yam (IITA), chickpea (ICRISAT), lentil (ICARDA), cassava (IITA), soybean (IITA/USDA), common bean (CIAT), rice (IRRI), pearl millet (ICRISAT), sorghum (CIRAD/ICRISAT), and maize (CIMMYT)