Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 3 — Observational / field trialPeer-reviewed

Unlocking bacterial potential to reduce farmland N2O emissions

Elisabeth Gautefall Hiis, Silas H. W. Vick, Lars Molstad, Kristine Røsdal, Kjell Rune Jonassen, Wilfried Winiwarter, Lars R. Bakken

Nature · 2024

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Summary

This field-based study develops and evaluates a biological mitigation technology for farmland N₂O emissions using the N₂O-respiring bacterium Cloacibacterium sp. CB-01, delivered via biogas production waste as a substrate vector. Field trials across different soil types demonstrated substantial N₂O reductions (50–95%), attributed primarily to bacterial persistence in soil rather than superior biokinetic parameters. Scaled to the European level, this approach could reduce anthropogenic N₂O emissions by 5–20%, offering a cost-effective option where conventional mitigation strategies are limited.

UK applicability

The findings are potentially applicable to UK farming systems, as field trials were conducted in European conditions and the technology uses waste substrates readily available in European biogas industries. However, soil-type-dependent effectiveness (50–95% variation) suggests UK-specific field validation would be needed to optimise performance across the range of soil conditions encountered in British agriculture.

Key measures

N₂O emission reductions (percentage decrease by soil type); bacterial cell density (approximately 6 × 10⁹ cells per millilitre); bacterial survival persistence in soil; biokinetic parameters of N₂O-respiring strains; potential national and European-level emission reductions

Outcomes reported

The study measured N₂O emission reductions following soil inoculation with Cloacibacterium sp. CB-01, a N₂O-respiring bacterium grown in biogas production waste. Field experiments demonstrated 50–95% reductions in N₂O emissions depending on soil type, with potential to reduce European anthropogenic N₂O emissions by 5–20% at scale.

Theme
Climate & resilience
Subject
Soil biology & microbiology
Study type
Research
Study design
Field trial
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
Europe
System type
Mixed farming
DOI
10.1038/s41586-024-07464-3
Catalogue ID
SNmp4zkpx0-fyn0me

Topic tags

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