Recycling and upgrading of bone meal for environmental friendly crop production and nutrition (2005-2008)

Sixth Framework programme Priority 5 – Food Quality and Safety
This project is co-funded by the European Commission within the 6^th Framework Programme of RTD.

PROTECTOR CONSORTIUM
The University of Reading
Department of Soil Science

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Team Leader: Dr. Steve Robinson
http://www.reading.ac.uk

The Department of Soil Science is 5-rated in a research field that is little represented elsewhere in British universities. The Department has 12 academic and academically related staff of which 9 are centrally funded. There are about fifty postgraduate students in the Department. The research is concerned with the role of soils in environmental functionality. The work is carried out from molecular studies to global impact studies. Field research, laboratory experiments and modelling techniques are utilised to develop a thorough understanding of the earth system.

Currently active areas of research include: Application of geostatistical analysis to issues of micro-precision agricultural practice and human health issues; Biogeochemistry and fate of agricultural nutrients in the soil and water environments; Use of x-ray tomography to investigate dynamics of root growth in soils and interactions between roots and pests; Novel techniques for the study of diversity and activity of soil microorganism; The nature and function of natural soil systems in relation to their conservation value.

Phosphate has always been a key concern of the Department in relation to soil fertility and crop production. Since his arrival in the department in 1996, Dr Robinson has obtained NERC, Defra (UK government) and EU funding to establish his own research theme on phosphorus biogeochemistry with wider implications for environmental quality and sustainable farming systems. The current  PROTECTOR project builds upon this theme, as well as on Dr Robinson’s PhD thesis (Factors influencing the dissolution of phosphate rock) which yielded five publications in internationally recognised scientific journals.

Dr Geoff Warren has worked on the projects "Residual value of phosphate fertilizer in tropical soils", in collaboration with ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), Hyderabad, and "Maintenance of Soil Fertility and Organic Matter" in collaboration with Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, funded by the UK Overseas Development Administration (now DFID) and the Rockefeller Foundation. He will supply (i) laboratory skills with a wide range of methods (eg: flow-injection analysis, AA and ICP spectrometry, scintillation counting) including the use of the isotope ³²P, (ii) design and execution of field, glasshouse and soil incubation experiments to assess soil dynamics of P, nutrients and contaminants, and (iii) statistical experience in the interpretation of results using computing and statistical methods.

The work of the Soil-Plant-Microbe Interactions Team in Soil Science, led by Dr Martin Wood (Reader in Soil Microbiology), is focused on the development and application of novel techniques for studying biologically mediated processes in soil, with a particular emphasis on microbial processes. The main aims of the team are to improve our understanding of the biological mechanisms involved in the the cycling of nutrients and degradation of organic constituents by soil microorganisms, and to relate these mechanisms to the chemical and physical environment in soil at scales ranging from the microscopic to the whole plant to the field-scale. Recent developments include the application of GC-FAME and mass spectrometry to determine the influence of organic and inorganic amendments (including P fertilisers, manures and sewage sludges) on microbial populations and functioning. In summary, the Department is adequately staffed and equipped to supervise technical personnel involved in a wide range of microbiological techniques, including GC-FAME.

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The PROTECTOR project is co-funded by the European Commission within the 6^th Framework Programme of RTD. Thematic Priority 5- Food Quality and Safety.
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