PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (June 21, 2023) — Nature has a solid process for managing the carbon dioxide (CO2) it creates. Plants, soils, animals, volcanos, and other geological formations emit it through their natural metabolic processes. It then gets used for photosynthesis and keeping the planet at a livable temperature before naturally occurring “carbon sinks” in the forests and oceans absorb the excess.
But no such process exists for the ~36.6 billion tons of carbon created every year through anthropogenic or human-caused activity. Decades of fossil fuel combustion, deforestation, poor industrial greenhouse gas (GHG) management processes, and exploitative agricultural practices have left a heaping amount of GHGs, including CO2 in the atmosphere, which nature cannot manage on its own.
Too much to be taken in by the previously described carbon cycle, the overconcentration of this specific GHG has become one of the main drivers of extreme weather events, ocean acidification, soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, and the overall ecological imbalance associated with anthropogenic climate change. And since humans created this excess of carbon, humans will have to create a new carbon cycle to manage it.
That is the underlying goal of the latest research project led by Ram Ray, Ph.D., P.E., associate professor in the Department of Agriculture, Nutrition and Human Ecology at Prairie View A&M University. The National Institute of Food & Agriculture in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) awarded Dr. Ray a $499,919 grant to serve as principal investigator (PI) on a collaborative research project between PVAMU and Texas A&M University (TAMU) to study sorghum rhizomes and develop new agricultural practices that could increase capacity to capture and sequester carbon – aiding in the construction of much-needed environmental infrastructure that can help reduce global warming.
“We may not be able to do anything about natural climate change,” Dr. Ray said. “But we can still do something about anthropogenic climate change.”
Ram Ray, Ph.D., P.E.
Scientists have already developed several artificial sequestration processes that serve as supplements to Earth’s natural carbon sinks, such as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies that contain CO2 emissions from power plants and industrial sectors, and Direct Air Capture (DAC) methods that use chemical processes to yank the gas from ambient air. Though those methods are considered effective and have the potential to play pivotal roles in a global carbon sequestration strategy, tackling the current levels of overconcentration – and preventing new emissions – requires a comprehensive, all-encompassing approach that addresses the problem at every level, stage, and source of emission.
That includes Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) programs that work by leveraging plant biomass to simultaneously capture and store CO2 while generating energy. Titled “Quantifying Carbon Sequestration Potential of Sorghum Cultivars,” Dr. Ray’s project adds to these efforts by using field experiments and modeling to investigate the carbon sequestration potential of annual and perennial sorghum cultivars – a major cereal crop grown through selective breeding.
“Through the generous grant to study sorghum rhizomes and develop innovative agricultural practices, PVAMU embarks on a transformative journey towards sustainable farming and carbon sequestration. This opportunity will not only bolster our commitment to environmental stewardship but also empower our students to become future leaders in the field.” PVAMU Vice President of Research and Innovation Magesh Rajan, Ph.D., P.E., MBA said.
Sorghum piqued he and his colleagues’ interest because of their rhizomes, or underground stems, which have demonstrated a capacity to sequester and store a significant amount of carbon underground for extended periods of time. Due to the unique nature and characteristics of the rhizomes in sorghum and other major cereal crops, they hypothesize that annual and perennial sorghum cultivars grown from rhizomes have tremendous potential for carbon sequestration. The team plans to investigate that potential while developing an integrated and efficient method for determining potential carbon sequestration capacity by rhizome.
Their methodology and findings could help facilitate more sophisticated and more sustainable breeding programs for other root and tuber crops, such as potato and cassava, helping to transform large swaths of the agricultural landscape and changing the trajectory of the fight against anthropogenic climate change.
Though the sorghum rhizome research is a collaborative effort with TAMU, an interdisciplinary team of researchers from PVAMU will lead the way. Co-PIs from PVAMU’s Cooperative Agricultural Research Center (CARC) in the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences include Selamawit Woldesenbet, DVM, research specialist and manager of CARC Core Laboratories; Ripendra Awal, Ph.D., associate professor; Ali Fares, Ph.D., endowed professor of water security and water-energy-food nexus; and Tesfamichael Kebrom, Ph.D., research scientist for both CARC and the Center for Computational Systems Biology.
Co-PIs from TAMU’s Department of Soil and Crop Sciences include Dirk B. Hays, Ph.D., professor and chair of molecular and environmental plant sciences, and Russell Jessup, Ph.D., associate professor with a specialty in perennial grass breeding.
The team will be enriched and supported by a post-doctoral fellow and two undergraduate students.
“The PVAMU students will have a tremendous opportunity to work on this project for the next three years and beyond, gaining experience and knowledge on carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate change,” Dr. Ray said. “Since this project is based on experimental activities, students and young researchers will have great hands-on learning opportunities.”
By Jada Smith