Straw-based biochar and smart irrigation help maize thrive with less water and fertilizer

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University

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Contrasting residual effects of different biochar types on maize nitrogen uptake, biomass accumulation, water and nitrogen use efficiency under alternate partial root-zone drying irrigation

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Credit: Heng Wan, Mei Hong, Liang Fang, Yazen Al-Salman, Loes van Schaik, Zhenhua Wei, Fei Li, Violette Geissen & Fulai Liu

A new study has revealed that the lasting effects of biochar depend strongly on the material it is made from, with straw-derived biochar offering clear advantages for maize productivity under limited-water conditions. The research, published in Biochar, shows that combining wheat-straw biochar with an alternate partial root-zone drying irrigation system can boost crop yield and resource efficiency for at least two growing seasons after a single biochar application.

Biochar, a carbon-rich material produced by heating plant residues, has long been recognized for improving soil fertility and structure. Yet most studies have focused on its immediate effects. Researchers from Northwest A&F University in China and the University of Copenhagen set out to understand how different biochar types continue to influence soil and plant performance over time.

In greenhouse experiments conducted in 2021 and 2022, the team compared softwood and wheat-straw biochar applied once to maize plants grown under three irrigation strategies: full watering, deficit irrigation, and alternate partial root-zone drying, in which only half of the root system is watered at a time. This alternating approach helps plants adapt to periodic drying while maintaining productivity.

The findings revealed strong contrasts between the two biochar types. Under water-saving irrigation, wheat-straw biochar enhanced total maize biomass by up to 30 percent, increased water use efficiency by 27 percent, and improved nitrogen use efficiency by about 10 percent compared with untreated soil. These benefits were linked to greater microbial activity and higher soil nitrogen availability, which stimulated root growth and nutrient uptake even under stress.

In contrast, softwood biochar initially reduced microbial respiration and nitrogen availability, leading to smaller root systems and lower yields in the first year. However, these negative effects gradually declined in the following season as the soil microbial community adapted to the woody biochar’s more stable carbon structure.

The study also confirmed that alternate partial root-zone drying irrigation itself significantly improved nitrogen mineralization and water use, particularly when paired with straw-based biochar. By promoting cycles of drying and rewetting, this irrigation method stimulated soil microbes to release nutrients and supported deeper, more efficient root systems.

“Our results show that one-time applications of straw-derived biochar can deliver multi-year benefits when combined with precision irrigation,” said lead author Heng Wan. “This approach helps maintain soil fertility and crop productivity while reducing water and fertilizer use.”

The researchers suggest that integrating crop-residue biochar with water-saving irrigation could form part of sustainable soil-water-nutrient management strategies in dryland agriculture. The findings provide valuable guidance for farmers and policymakers seeking to enhance food security and resource efficiency in regions facing growing water scarcity.

 

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Journal Reference: Wan, H., Hong, M., Fang, L. et al. Contrasting residual effects of different biochar types on maize nitrogen uptake, biomass accumulation, water and nitrogen use efficiency under alternate partial root-zone drying irrigation. Biochar 7, 115 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42773-025-00518-3  

 

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About Biochar

Biochar is the first journal dedicated exclusively to biochar research, spanning agronomy, environmental science, and materials science. It publishes original studies on biochar production, processing, and applications—such as bioenergy, environmental remediation, soil enhancement, climate mitigation, water treatment, and sustainability analysis. The journal serves as an innovative and professional platform for global researchers to share advances in this rapidly expanding field. 

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Journal

Biochar

DOI

10.1007/s42773-025-00518-3 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Contrasting residual effects of different biochar types on maize nitrogen uptake, biomass accumulation, water and nitrogen use efficiency under alternate partial root-zone drying irrigation

Article Publication Date

30-Oct-2025

 

‘Broken’ genes a common factor in marsupial fur colour

The distinctive coloured fur of two of Australia's rarest marsupials could be caused by 'broken' pigment genes, new research from La Trobe University has found.

La Trobe University

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Dr Charles Feigin and a rare marsupial mole

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Credit: Dr Charles Feigin

The distinctive coloured fur of two of Australia's rarest marsupials could be caused by 'broken' pigment genes, new research from La Trobe University has found.

The elusive desert-dwelling marsupial mole and the black-coated morph of the endangered eastern quoll are two of a growing number of marsupials showing common colour oddities.

In many species, colour oddities like melanism and xanthism are considered chromatic disorders and are detrimental to an animal’s survival.

But in research published in Biology Letters, scientists discovered that for a growing number of marsupials, colour morphs are common or even universal across all members of their species.

In black morph eastern quolls, a missing stretch of DNA disables the Agouti Signalling Protein (ASIP) gene, which normally leads to the production of light yellow-to-red pigment called pheomelanin.

Remarkably, a nearly identical stretch of DNA was recently found to be missing in the Tasmanian devil, a close sister species to the quolls that also has blackish brown background coat. By comparing sequences around these DNA deletions, the researchers showed that both quolls and devils have lost their ASIP genes independently, a phenomenon called convergent evolution.

In parallel, the team examined the enigmatic and rarely-seen marsupial mole, a ‘sand swimming’ mammal native to Australia's deep deserts using their recently-released genome assembly.

Marsupial moles are rare among mammals for have a ‘xanthic’ coat - a light-yellow colour caused by the absence of dark eumelanin. In this species, a gene called the Melanocortin 1 Receptor (MC1R), responsible for driving eumelanin deposition, has a mutation that cuts it short and prevents it from functioning.

ASIP and MC1R are known to be critical genes controlling fur colour in mammals, and together function like a molecular ‘switch’ between eumelanin and pheomelanin production.

Study lead Dr Charles Feigin said normally, MC1R is periodically shut off by ASIP, leading to alternating dark and dark bands within individual hair shafts, creating the common grey-to-brown coats seen in most mammals. When either side of the switch breaks, this balance collapses, leading to only one pigment being produced.

“While the exact evolutionary consequences of coat colour variation in marsupials remain to be discovered, ‘broken genes’ seem to be an important player in how they come about,” he said.

The full paper can be read here: Loss-of-function mutations in ASIP and MC1R are associated with coat colour variation in marsupials

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0302

Dr Feigin is available for interview.

Media contact

Charisse Ede

c.ede@latrobe.edu.au, 0404 030 698

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Journal

Biology Letters

DOI

10.1098/rsbl.2025.0302 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Loss-of-function mutations in ASIP and MC1R are associated with coat colour variation in marsupials

Article Publication Date

22-Oct-2025

 

Turning waste into clean water: Magnetic carbon materials remove toxic pollutants from wastewater

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University

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Sustainable carbon materials for magnetic adsorbent-based pentachlorophenol removal from wastewater

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Credit: Tunnisha Dasgupta, Himadri Rajput, Pubudi Perera, Xiaohong Sun & Quan (Sophia) He

As global water resources face increasing pressure from industrial and agricultural activities, scientists are looking for innovative ways to clean and reuse wastewater sustainably. Researchers from Dalhousie University have now developed a simple and eco-friendly method to turn agricultural and forestry waste into powerful magnetic materials that can effectively remove toxic chemicals from water.

The study, published in Sustainable Carbon Materials, introduces magnetic carbon adsorbents made from two common waste products: flax shives and eucalyptus sawdust. These materials were converted into “hydrochar” through a process called hydrothermal carbonization, which transforms biomass into carbon-rich solids under heat and pressure. By adding iron during the process, the researchers created magnetic hydrochars that can be easily separated from treated water using a magnet, eliminating the need for costly filtration.

The new materials demonstrated outstanding performance in removing pentachlorophenol (PCP), a persistent and highly toxic pollutant commonly found in industrial and agricultural wastewater. Under optimal conditions, the flax-based hydrochar removed up to 95 percent of PCP, while the eucalyptus-based version achieved nearly 89 percent removal. Both materials maintained high efficiency through six reuse cycles, showing excellent stability and minimal loss of performance. Importantly, no iron leakage was detected, confirming that the materials are safe and environmentally friendly.

“Our goal was to develop a sustainable, low-cost, and reusable solution for treating wastewater contaminated with harmful chemicals,” said lead author Tunnisha Dasgupta, a researcher at Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Agriculture. “By using agricultural and forestry residues, we are not only cleaning water but also giving new value to waste materials.”

The study highlights how simple modifications—such as incorporating iron during carbonization—can dramatically enhance the surface area, porosity, and adsorption capacity of bio-based materials. The resulting magnetic properties make them easy to collect and reuse, reducing both cost and environmental impact.

Senior author Dr. Quan (Sophia) He explained that the innovation represents a step forward for circular economy practices in water treatment. “This work shows how we can turn organic waste into advanced materials that protect our environment,” she said. “The magnetic hydrochars are scalable, efficient, and align with global goals for sustainable water management.”

By combining waste valorization with effective pollutant removal, the research provides a promising pathway toward greener wastewater treatment technologies that can benefit both industry and the environment.

 

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Journal reference: Dasgupta T, Rajput H, Perera P, Sun X, He Q. 2025. Sustainable carbon materials for magnetic adsorbent-based pentachlorophenol removal from wastewater. Sustainable Carbon Materials 1: e003  https://www.maxapress.com/article/doi/10.48130/scm-0025-0003   

 

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About Sustainable Carbon Materials:

Sustainable Carbon Materials is a multidisciplinary platform for communicating advances in fundamental and applied research on carbon-based materials. It is dedicated to serving as an innovative, efficient and professional platform for researchers in the field of carbon materials around the world to deliver findings from this rapidly expanding field of science. It is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal that publishes review, original research, invited review, rapid report, perspective, commentary and correspondence papers.

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DOI

10.48130/scm-0025-0003 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Sustainable carbon materials for magnetic adsorbent-based pentachlorophenol removal from wastewater

Article Publication Date

27-Oct-2025

 

World Health Organization’s priorities shaped by its reliance on grants from donor organisations such as the Gates Foundation

Over half of Gates Foundation grants to WHO have targeted polio and vaccination; but key WHO priorities like non-communicable diseases and strengthening health systems remain underfunded

BMJ Group

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The World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) priorities are being skewed by its increasing reliance on donations from organisations such as the Gates Foundation (previously known as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), which must be spent on specific health challenges favoured by the donors, suggests a study published in the journal BMJ Global Health.

Between 2000 and 2024, more than half of the US $5.5 billion donated by the Gates Foundation to WHO was directed toward vaccine-related projects and polio, while relatively little funding was spent on other issues considered to be important by WHO.

The Gates Foundation has become the WHO’s second biggest source of funding in recent years contributing 9.5% of WHO’s revenues between 2010 and 2023. Its largest funder was the United States, but earlier this year the US announced it would withdraw from WHO from January 2026. Germany and the UK were third and fourth largest WHO funders, respectively.

Although it is widely assumed that the Gates Foundation’s financial power allows it to exert influence over WHO’s work programme, little research has been undertaken to track exactly how its grants are spent.

To address this, the authors extracted data from the Gates Foundation website on all its grants to WHO between 2000 and 2024 to determine the number and value of grants, and the diseases, health issues and activities they funded.

Between 2000 and 2024, the Gates Foundation made 640 grants worth US $5.5 billion to WHO. In total 6.4% of all grants made by the Gates Foundation during this period went to WHO.

More than 80% of the Gates Foundation’s grants to WHO (US $4.5 billion) were targeted at infectious diseases and almost 60% (US $3.2 billion) were spent on polio. More than half of the Foundation’s money (US $2.9 billion) was used to fund vaccine programmes and related projects.

Relatively little funding from the Gates Foundation was directed towards non-communicable diseases, strengthening health systems, and broader determinants of health, despite their importance to WHO strategy and global health more generally.

Just US $11.8 million (0.2%) was spent on water and sanitation and US $37.4 million (0.7%) on health systems strengthening. Less than 1% of the Foundation’s funding went towards non-communicable diseases, despite them being responsible for 74% of global deaths with 77% of these deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries.

WHO’s budget comes from two sources – assessed contributions from member states, calculated according to a country’s wealth and population, plus voluntary contributions or extra-budgetary funding from member states and non-state organisations. Around nine-tenths income comes from voluntary or extra-budgetary funding, and almost all of this money is ‘earmarked’, i.e. given on the condition that it funds activities and projects defined by the donor.

The way WHO is funded limits its ability to fulfil its strategic goals, the authors say. 

“Assessed contributions from member states are nowhere near the level needed to fund its strategic priorities, so WHO must rely on earmarked voluntary contributions from donors,” they say. “Consequently, activities and areas that donors favour receive more resources than are required while those they are not interested in do not get enough.”

And the situation could worsen if the United States – WHO’s largest donor – carries through with its threat, announced in January 2025, to withdraw from WHO.

While it is easy to blame major donors like the Gates Foundation for undermining WHO’s independence by pursuing its agenda through WHO, the authors say: “We should not, however, lose sight of the fact that it is the member states’ failure to increase assessed contributions in line with WHO’s needs over the last four decades that has created a situation in which the organisation is forced to rely on voluntary contributions from donors.”

They add: “WHO has asked for more flexible and sustainable funding, warning that without fundamental changes to the way it is financed, it will be unable to achieve its strategic aims. If the member states continue to ignore these exhortations, then WHO will remain vulnerable to the influence of external donors and will struggle to address the full spectrum of contemporary global health challenges.”

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Journal

BMJ Global Health

DOI

10.1136/bmjgh-2024-015343 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Who’s leading WHO? A quantitative analysis of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s grants to WHO, 2000-2024

Article Publication Date

28-Oct-2025