Open Access
Overview of the use of biochar from main cereals to stimulate plant growth
(Carnegie Institution por Science, 2022) Martínez Gómez, Ángela; Poveda Arias, Jorge; Escobar, Carolina; Institute for Multidisciplinary Research in Applied Biology - IMAB
The total global food demand is expected to increase up to 50% between 2010 and 2050; hence, there is a clear need to increase plant productivity with little or no damage to the environment. In this respect, biochar is a carbon-rich material derived from the pyrolysis of organic matter at high temperatures with a limited oxygen supply, with different physicochemical characteristics that depend on the feedstock and pyrolysis conditions. When used as a soil amendment, it has shown many positive environmental effects such as carbon sequestration, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and soil improvement. Biochar application has also shown huge benefits when applied to agri-systems, among them, the improvement of plant growth either in optimal conditions or under abiotic or biotic stress. Several mechanisms, such as enhancing the soil microbial diversity and thus increasing soil nutrient-cycling functions, improving soil physicochemical properties, stimulating the microbial colonization, or increasing soil P, K, or N content, have been described to exert these positive effects on plant growth, either alone or in combination with other resources. In addition, it can also improve the plant antioxidant defenses, an evident advantage for plant growth under stress conditions. Although agricultural residues are generated from a wide variety of crops, cereals account for more than half of the world¿s harvested area. Yet, in this review, we will focus on biochar obtained from residues of the most common and relevant cereal crops in terms of global production (rice, wheat, maize, and barley) and in their use as recycled residues to stimulate plant growth. The harvesting and processing of these crops generate a vast number and variety of residues that could be locally recycled into valuable products such as biochar, reducing the waste management problem and accomplishing the circular economy premise. However, very scarce literature focused on the use of biochar from a crop to improve its own growth is available. Herein, we present an overview of the literature focused on this topic, compiling most of the studies and discussing the urgent need to deepen into the molecular mechanisms and pathways involved in the beneficial effects of biochar on plant productivity.
Open Access
Beneficial effects of microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs) in plants
(Elsevier, 2021) Poveda Arias, Jorge; Institute for Multidisciplinary Research in Applied Biology - IMAB
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are chemical compounds whose saturation vapor pressures are greater than 102 kPa at 25 °C. Both plants and microorganisms produce VOCs that allow them to communicate intra- and inter-specifically. By emitting VOCs, plants defend themselves against herbivores and pathogens, warn their neighbors of the attack, compete with other plants, and/or feed microbial populations. Microorganisms emit VOCs to communicate or attack each other. Microbial VOCs (MVOCs) can be of great benefit to plants and their use in agriculture thanks to their ability to inhibit the growth and development of plant pathogens, induce the activation of plant defenses, or promote plant growth and development. In recent years, advances in understanding the importance of microbial volatilome have placed MVOCs as important biotechnological resources in plant production systems.
Open Access
The use of freshwater macrophytes as a resource in sustainable agriculture
(Elsevier, 2022) Poveda Arias, Jorge; Institute for Multidisciplinary Research in Applied Biology - IMAB; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
Freshwater macrophytes include different groups of plants that are capable of growing in or very close to aquatic environments (spermatophytes, pteridophytes and bryophytes). These plants play a fundamental role in their ecosystems, regulating biogeochemical cycles, hydrology and sediment dynamic. Currently, many exotic freshwater macrophytes are being anthropogenically introduced into new ecosystems, posing a serious problem as a consequence of their massive and uncontrolled growth. Despite this, these plants can have different uses, such as biomarkers, phytoremediators, producers of metabolites of interest, or biomass formers for the production of feed, biofuels, pellets or ceramics. In this sense, the use of freshwater macrophytes in vivo, as fresh tissues, dry matter, compost, vermicompost, anaerobic digestate, liquid extracts or biochar has reported important benefits in different crops, promoting plant growth, increasing yield, reducing use of chemical fertilizers or reducing the diseases incidence. These benefits are the consequence of different mechanisms of action of the use of macrophytes as an agricultural resource, such as the contribution of nutrients, the improvement of the microbiota and soil structure, the elimination of heavy metals and pollutants, or the presence of antimicrobial compounds in their tissues. This review proposes the use of the biomass of these macrophytes, whose uncontrolled growth is an environmental problem, as an agricultural resource with important agricultural, environmental and economic benefits. A total of 118 published papers were analyzed and discussed.

Poveda Arias, Jorge

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