Let the dust settle: Impact of enhanced rock weathering on soil biological, physical, and geochemical fertility
Détails
Etat: Public
Version: Final published version
Licence: CC BY 4.0
ID Serval
serval:BIB_9889D90E85A8
Type
Article: article d'un périodique ou d'un magazine.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Titre
Let the dust settle: Impact of enhanced rock weathering on soil biological, physical, and geochemical fertility
Périodique
Science of The Total Environment
ISSN
0048-9697
ISSN-L
0048-9697
Statut éditorial
Publié
Date de publication
01/12/2024
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
954
Numéro
1762978
Langue
anglais
Résumé
Terrestrial enhanced rock weathering (ERW) is a promising carbon dioxide removal technology that consists in applying ground silicate rock such as basalt on agricultural soils. On top of carbon sequestration, ERW has the potential to raise the soil pH and release nutrients, thereby improving soil fertility. Despite these possible co-benefits, concerns such as heavy metal pollution or soil structure damage have also been raised. To our knowledge, these contrasted potential effects of ERW on soil fertility have not yet been simultaneously investigated. This field trial aimed at assessing the impact of ERW on biological, physical, and chemical soil properties in a temperate agricultural context. To do so, three vineyard fields in Switzerland were selected for their distinct geochemical properties and were amended with basaltic rock powder at a dose of 20 tons per hectare (2 kg.m <sup>-2</sup> ). On each field, basaltic rock powder was either applied one year before the sampling campaign, one month before the sampling campaign, or not applied (control) for a total of 27 plots with 9 repetitions of each level. Overall, basaltic rock powder addition had a predominantly positive to neutral effect on soil fertility. Most soil properties showed no significant change either 1 month or 1 year post application. Nevertheless, our study highlighted a significant increase in earthworm abundance (+71 % on average), soil respiration (+50 %) and extractable sodium concentration (+23 %) as early as 1 month post application. The higher soil respiration raises the question of CO <sub>2</sub> losses from organic matter mineralization that could limit ERW's efficiency. The increase in sodium raises concerns about a sodification risk potentially damaging soil fertility. These elements now require further investigation before enhanced rock weathering can be considered a viable and secure carbon dioxide removal technology.
Mots-clé
Enhanced weathering, Carbon dioxide removal, Negative emission technology, Carbon sequestration, Soil health, Climate change
Pubmed
Open Access
Oui
Création de la notice
25/09/2024 10:16
Dernière modification de la notice
10/01/2025 7:04