TY - JOUR
T1 - The potential for glacial flour to impact soil fertility, crop yield and nutrition in mountain regions
AU - Tingey, Sarah
AU - Wadham, Jemma L.
AU - Telling, Jonathan
AU - Flynn, Shannon
AU - Hawkings, Jonathan R.
AU - Palinkas, Sabina Strmic
AU - Mun, Yulia
AU - Yates, Christopher A.
AU - Lamarche-Gagnon, Guillaume
AU - Burford, Rory
AU - Ramanathan, Al L.
AU - Hetherington, Alistair
AU - Dodd, Antony N.
AU - Liu, Xuan
AU - Sgouridis, Fotis
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s)
PY - 2025/1/17
Y1 - 2025/1/17
N2 - Novel sustainable agricultural strategies that enhance soil nutrients and human nutrition are crucial for meeting global food production needs. Here, we evaluate the potential of “glacial flour,” a naturally crushed rock produced by glaciers known to be rich in nutrients (P, K, and micronutrients) needed for plant growth. Our proof-of-concept study, investigated soybean (Glycine max. var. Black jet) growth, yield, and nutrient content with soil supplementation from glacial flour sourced from Himalayan glaciers (meta-sediment gneiss bedrock) and Icelandic glaciers (basaltic bedrock). Glacial flour treatment enhanced crop yields by 85% (Himalayan) and 135% (Icelandic), compared to controls. Additionally, glacial flour fortified crops with beneficial micronutrients zinc and selenium. However, the application of Himalayan flour led to arsenic bioaccumulation in the crop, underscoring the importance of catchment geology. This study supports using glacial flour as a soil remediation strategy for sustainable agriculture but emphasizes the need to consider potential toxicity risks.
AB - Novel sustainable agricultural strategies that enhance soil nutrients and human nutrition are crucial for meeting global food production needs. Here, we evaluate the potential of “glacial flour,” a naturally crushed rock produced by glaciers known to be rich in nutrients (P, K, and micronutrients) needed for plant growth. Our proof-of-concept study, investigated soybean (Glycine max. var. Black jet) growth, yield, and nutrient content with soil supplementation from glacial flour sourced from Himalayan glaciers (meta-sediment gneiss bedrock) and Icelandic glaciers (basaltic bedrock). Glacial flour treatment enhanced crop yields by 85% (Himalayan) and 135% (Icelandic), compared to controls. Additionally, glacial flour fortified crops with beneficial micronutrients zinc and selenium. However, the application of Himalayan flour led to arsenic bioaccumulation in the crop, underscoring the importance of catchment geology. This study supports using glacial flour as a soil remediation strategy for sustainable agriculture but emphasizes the need to consider potential toxicity risks.
KW - glacial landscapes
KW - glacial processes
KW - soil chemistry
KW - soil ecology
KW - Soil science
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85212226749&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.isci.2024.111476
DO - 10.1016/j.isci.2024.111476
M3 - Article (Academic Journal)
C2 - 39807165
AN - SCOPUS:85212226749
SN - 2589-0042
VL - 28
JO - iScience
JF - iScience
IS - 1
M1 - 111476
ER -
