https://www.iaea.org/topics/land-and-water-management
http://www.fao.org/home/enVol. 45 No. 2 Jan 2023

Contents
To Our Readers

1

Technical Cooperation Projects

11

Staff

3

Forthcoming Events

14

Feature Articles

6

Past Events

14

Announcements

8

Coordinated Research Projects

15

Developments at the Soil and Water
Management and Crop Nutrition
Laboratory
20
Publications

37

Websites and Links

40

To Our Readers

Opening ceremony of the International Symposium on Managing Land and Water for Climate-Smart Agriculture, 25-29 July 2022.

Time passes quickly and we are already in 2023. Looking
back to 2022 especially the last six months, the highlight
was the International Symposium on ‘Managing Land andWater for Climate-Smart Agriculture’ which was
successfully held in July, at the Vienna International
Centre (VIC). A total of 294 scientists from more than 100
Member States, including technical staff andpolicymakers, and colleagues from the Food andAgriculture Organization (FAO), participated in-person
while another 737 participants attended the sessions
virtually. There were 113 oral papers and 161 poster papers

presented. These included two special sessions i.e., FAO’s
Global Soil Laboratory Network GLOSOLAN and
AquaCrop – Development and Way Forward. All sessions
were actively attended. The Symposium provided theopportunities for exchange of information and knowledge
to advance the understanding, collaboration andcapabilities to respond to the impact of climate change andrapidly changing global environment and established new
initiatives. I want to thank all of you for making the
symposium a success.
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Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Two Coordinated Research Projects (CRP) had their midterm evaluation in the past six months, i.e. CRP D12014
on ‘Enhancing Agricultural Resilience and Water Security
Using Cosmic-Ray Neutron Technology’ and CRP
D15019 on ‘Remediation of Radioactive ContaminatedAgricultural Land’. Both CRPs were approved forcontinuation. Some interesting work under D15019
looking at the ratio of plant 137Cs to exchangeable 137Cs
in soil to explain the variation in 137Cs transferability fromsoil to plant, is reported in this issue’s feature article. Morefindings from D15019 are reported in the Laboratory R&D
section.

Using a portable GRS, the field study showed that the
spatial activity of 40K concentrations has good correlation
with clay and silt content, and hence the potential to be
used for soil texture mapping. Further study is needed toensure this is thoroughly tested.
A new pledge of 250.000 Euro was also announced by the
Belgian Government to continue the R&D work in ourlaboratory, in close collaboration with the Plant Breedingand Genetics Laboratory, under the Peaceful Use Initiative(PUI) project on ‘Enhancing Climate Change Adaptation
and Disease Resilience in Banana-Coffee Cropping
Systems in East Africa’. This will allow to scale anddisseminate the developed isotope and related techniques
to make banana-coffee production more climate change
and disease resilient.

A new CRP on ‘Assessing the Fate, and Environmental
Impact of Plastics in Soil and Crop Ecosystems Using
Isotopic Techniques’ (D15021) was approved in
September and the new CRP will start in Q1-Q2 2023 for
five years. More information on the CRP and theapplication procedures are given in this newsletter.

We would like to congratulate Arsenio Toloza who
received an IAEA Merit Award in October, in recognitionof his excellent work and outstanding contribution to thedevelopment of isotope and nuclear techniques inagriculture water management, nuclear emergency
response and in mid-infrared spectroscopy for soil property
prediction.

We are pleased to announce that our submissions toestablish a Collaboration Centre with the Liebig Centre at
Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany, and a
Practical Arrangementwith the Mohammed VI
Polytechnic University (UM6P), Morocco, were both
approved. The establishment of the Collaboration Centre
with the Liebig Centre will allow collaboration in scientificand technical activities, assisting in building capacity (e.g.,
hosting fellows, analytical support, and hands-on training).
The UM6P is a non-profit private university that works
towards high level education, applied research andinnovation with a focus on Africa. The UM6P seeks mutual
collaboration in the areas of education, training andresearch and development through the peaceful use of
nuclear science and technology on climate smart andsustainable agriculture especially fertilizer management.

We welcome Karynne Abel,who joined the SWMCNL and
Plant Breeding and Genetics Laboratory in September, asTeam Assistant to both laboratories. We also welcome
intern Ayane Kan, who arrived in November from Japan.
Ayane will be working in SWMCNL on predicting
caesium uptake and dynamics through Mid-Infrared
Spectroscopy (MIRS).
We bid farewell to Mr Qu Liang, our Director who retiredin October after 17 years of service to the Joint FAO/IAEA
Centre. We wish Mr Liang well in his retirement and thankhim for his leadership to the Joint Centre. From
1 November until further notice, Mr Thanawat Tiensin,
who recently took up the position of Director of the Animal
Production and Health Division of FAO, Rome, will also
act as Officer in Charge of the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre,with Ms Dongxin Feng taking care of day-to-day mattersacting in the role of Director in Vienna.

From the Soil Water Management and Crop Nutrition
Laboratory (SWMCNL), interesting work on thedecomposition of the antibiotic Sulfamethoxazole (SMX)
in soil is currently being implemented. Using 13C-labeled
SMX, the preliminary study showed that SMX
decomposed faster with the addition of nitrogen, but thedecomposition is reduced with high soil water content. It
was also found that SMX strongly reduces theheterotrophic carbon respiration in soil.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all
our readers for their continuous support. Best wishes for agreat year ahead!

Further progress has been made in using proximal gammaray spectrometry (GRS) for soil texture determination.
Lee Heng
Head
Soil and Water Management andCrop Nutrition Section

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Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Staff
Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture
Name

Title

Email

Extension

Location

Thanawat TIENSIN

Director of the Animal
Production and Health
Division

Thanawat.Tiensin@fao.org (+39) 065 05 3371

Italy/FAO

D.Feng@iaea.org

ViennaOfficer in Charge of the Joint
FAO/IAEA Centre
Acting Director of the Joint
FAO/IAEA Centre

Dongxin FENG

Programme Coordinator
Acting Director

21610

Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Subprogramme
Name

Title

Email

Extension

Location

Lee Kheng HENG

Section Head

L.Heng@iaea.org

26847

ViennaMohammad ZAMAN

Soil Scientist

M.Zaman@iaea.org

21645

ViennaEmil FULAJTAR

Soil Scientist

E.Fulajtar@iaea.org

21613

ViennaJoseph ADU-GYAMFI

Soil Fertility Specialist

J.Adu-Gyamfi@iaea.org

21693

ViennaMarlies ZACZEKTeam Assistant

M.Zaczek@iaea.org

21647

ViennaTamara WIMBERGERTeam Assistant

T.Wimberger@iaea.org

21646

ViennaGerd DERCON

Laboratory Head

G.Dercon@iaea.org

28277

Seibersdorf

Oleg MENIAILO

Soil Chemist

O.Meniailo@iaea.org

28677

Seibersdorf

Hami SAID AHMED

Soil Scientist

H.Said-Ahmed@iaea.org

28726

Seibersdorf

M.Heiling@iaea.org

28272

Seibersdorf

CH.Resch@iaea.org

28309

Seibersdorf

Senior Laboratory
Technician
Senior Laboratory
Technician

Maria HEILING
Christian RESCH
Georg WELTIN

Senior Laboratory
Technician

G.Weltin@iaea.org

28258

Seibersdorf

Arsenio TOLOZA

Laboratory Technician

A.Toloza@iaea.org

28203

Seibersdorf

Reinhard PUCHER

Laboratory Technician

R.Pucher@iaea.org

28258

Seibersdorf

Jason MITCHELL

Laboratory Attendant

J.Mitchell@iaea.org

27457

Seibersdorf

Karynne ABELTeam Assistantk.Abel@iaea.org

28750

Seibersdorf

Janice NAKAMYAInternJ.Nakamya@iaea.org-

Seibersdorf

Corinna EICHINGER

InternC.Eichinger@iaea.org

Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Section
Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture
Vienna International Centre, P.O. Box 100, A-1400 Vienna, Austria
Telephone: (+43 1) 2600+Extension; Fax (+43 1) 26007
Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Laboratory
FAO/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratories, A-2444 Seibersdorf, Austria
Telephone: (+43 1) 2600+Extension; Fax (+43 1) 26007

3

Seibersdorf

Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Subprogramme

L. K. Heng

M. ZamanE. Fulajtar

J. Adu-Gyamfi

M. Zaczek

T. Wimberger

G. Dercon

O. Menyailo

H. Said Ahmed

M. Heiling

C. Resch

G. Weltin

A. Toloza

R. Pucher

J. Mitchell

K. AbelJ. Nakamya

C. Eichinger

A. Kan4

Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Staff News
Karynne Abel (USA) joined the
SWMCNL and PBGL in September
2022 as Team Assistant to both labs.
Karynne studied philosophy andSpanish, some law, teaching English
as a second language, German, andsex education in the United States,
Spain and Austria, and she has
extensive administrative, paralegal and teachingexperience, having most recently worked in Publishing at
the IAEA. A Louisiana native and environmentalist,
Karynne loves the great outdoors, writing and traveling,and she’s happy to live in Vienna since 2010.

Arsenio Toloza (Philippines)
received an IAEA Merit Award in
October 2022 from Mr. Liang Qu,
recently retired Director of the Joint
FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear
Techniques
in
Food
and
Agriculture, in recognition of his
excellent work supporting the Soiland Water management and Crop
Nutrition Subprogramme. This award is to honour his
outstanding contribution to the development of isotope andnuclear techniques in the field of agriculture water
management, nuclear emergency response and midinfrared spectroscopy for soil property prediction.

Ayane Kan (Japan) joined the
SWMCN Laboratory in December
2022 as an intern. Ayane is a master's
student at the Graduate School of
Agriculture, Hokkaido University inJapan. She has been studying in thefield of plant nutrition, especiallyphosphorus and caesium uptake bywhite lupin. She will be working under
the CRP D1.50.19 project on predicting caesium uptake
and dynamics by MIRS. This opportunity of working withspecialists in soil mineralogy and modeling will enable her
to improve her experimental skills as well as data analysis
techniques.

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Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Feature Articles
The ratio of plant 137Cs to exchangeable 137Cs in soil is a crucial factor in
explaining the variation in 137Cs transferability from soil to plant
Takuro, S.1
1

Graduate School of Agriculure, Hokkaido University, Japan

In the scope of the Coordinated Research Project (CRP)
D15019 on “Remediation of Radioactive ContaminatedAgricultural Land”, collaborators from the Hokkaido
University, the National Agriculture and Food Research
Organization, and Kyoto Prefectural University in Japan
published their research findings on how to estimate plantradioactivity using soil exchangeable 137Cs in The Science
of
the
Total
Environment(https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159208), titled“The ratio of plant 137Cs to exchangeable 137Cs in soil isa crucial factor in explaining the variation in 137Cs
transferability from soil to plant”.

number of investigated bags decreased from 1.5% in 2011
to 0.0007% in 2012. However, based on a large survey ofthe relationship between Kex. and the TF of rice
(Yamamura et al., 2018), there was a clear difference
among soils. TF was found to be generally higher in
Hama-dori (located in the eastern region of Fukushima
prefecture, where most of the highly contaminated area islocated) than in Naka-dori (in the middle of Fukushima
prefecture).
In 2022, about 2.4% of Fukushima prefecture (ca. 334
km2) was identified as a Difficult-to-Return Zone (DRZ),
and most of the DRZ was in Hama-dori. The re-openingof this area is now in progress, and farmers are aiming togrow crops in soil with a relatively higher transfer factor
and higher radioactivity even after the decontamination.
Thus, more precise prediction of radioactive cesiumtransfer from soil to plant is needed.

To mitigate the radioactive cesium transfer from soil toplant after a nuclear accident, the use of transfer factors(TF: radioactivity of plant / radioactivity of soil) has been
widely accepted. However, in 2012 – one year after the
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP)
accident – the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries modified this approach. Only TF alone wasconsidered not to be enough to predict the radioactivity inthe plant. The same year, as exchangeable potassium(Kex.) level was found to play an important role inregulating TF (Kato et al., 2015), it was decided to apply
significant amounts of potassium fertilizer to thecontaminated agricultural fields. Its impact was positive,
and the ratio of the bags of brown rice exceeding thestandard limit (100 Bq kg-1) as compared to the total

To achieve this, the research team implemented anexperiment with soybean at two different fields, one inNaka-dori and another in Hama-dori. As expected, therelationship between Kex. and TF was different. At thesame Kex. level, TF was higher in Hama-dori soil (Fig. 1,left). To explain the difference between soils, the researchteam looked at the role of exchangeable 137Cs. By
introducing the concentration ratio of exchangeable 137Cs(CR-Ex137Cs) instead of TF, the difference among soils
was largely reduced (Fig. 1, right).

CR-Ex137Cs =

(

)

(

)

(1)

Figure 1. Relationship between exchangeable K and Transfer Factor (TF) of 137Cs and Concentration Ratio (CR) of exchangeable 137Cs between
two soils.

6Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

The importance of exchangeable 137Cs has been
mentioned repeatedly (e.g., Kondo et al., 2015; Yagasaki
et al., 2019); however, a clear explanation about its role
was not provided. From a physiological point of view, ion
uptake by plant roots is strictly regulated by the ionicbalance at the root surface, therefore the concentration
factor (CF) is a crucial factor to explain how 137Cs is taken
up by plant roots with the presence of K (Figure 2).

for plant uptake. Equation (1) on CR-137CsEx. mimics well
how soil releases 137Cs to the soil solution like K. We cantherefore, with confidence, explain plant 137Cs uptake byexchangeable 137Cs and state that the ratio of plant 137Cs
to exchangeable 137Cs is regulated by Kex., because both
fractions are representing the availability to supply bothions to the soil solution, where the CF acts principally.
References:

A disadvantage is that the measurement of soil solution
takes time. Especially under upland field conditions, it is
not an ideal method to analyze this fraction. Therefore, theresearch team uses 137Cs and K in the exchangeable
fraction of soil to explain the availability of each element

Kato et al. 2015 SSPN, 61, 179-190., Takata et al. 2015 Bull.
Natl. Inst. Agric. Sci. SeR., 34, 43-51., Yagasaki et al. 2019JJSSPN, 90, 123-130., Yamamura et al. 2018 JER, 195, 114–
125.

Figure 2. Comparison of three equations of transfer of 137Cs to the soil (soil solution) to the plant. CF: Concentration factor, CR:
Concentration ratio, and TF: Transfer factor

7

Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Announcements
New CRP
Assessing the Fate, and Environmental Impact of Plastics in Soil and Crop
Ecosystems Using Isotopic Techniques (D1.50.21)
Adu-Gyamfi, J.1 and Meniailo, O.1
1

Soil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition (SWMCN) Section and Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniquesin Food and Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna, Austria

The Soil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition Section
has launched a new five-year (2023-2028) CoordinatedResearch Project (CRP), titled ‘Assessing the Fate, andEnvironmental Impact of Plastics in Soil and Crop
Ecosystems Using Isotopic Techniques (D15021). This
CRP’s first Research Coordination Meeting is expected totake place in early Q2 2023, in Vienna, Austria or virtually.

Background
Plastics (P) are widely used by people, and its production
has increased from 1.7 million metric tons in 1950 to 359
million metric tons in 2018. Despite the remarkable
benefits of plastics to society, there are increasing concerns
associated with the vast amount of plastic entering ourenvironment, where it is degraded to microplastics (MP),particles less than 5 mm in diameter. Most of plastics
produced each year ends up in the environment and the soil
acts as a log-term sink for these plastic debris before someof them finding its way to the aquatic ecosystem.
According to a recent report by the United Nations’ Foodand Agriculture Organization, the earth’s soil may be moresaturated with plastic pollution than oceans and an
estimated 80% of plastics found in the marine
environments are first disposed on land. There is therefore
an urgent need for better understanding of the turnover,fate, latest methodology development for sampling andanalysis, its environmental impact on soil and crop ecosystems of P and microplastics MP. This CRP aims toassess the fate, dynamics, and impact of microplastics inagricultural soils and ecosystem services using compoundspecific stable isotopes (CSSI) and stable isotope Raman
micro-spectroscopy (SIRM). The project also aims toassess the rate and identify the environmental drivers of
microplastics degradation. The need for this project ispressing because more than 30% of the world’s plastic
waste is disposed inappropriately, with most of it
ultimately ending up in soil. FAO and UNEP consider soil
pollution with microplastics an emerging environmental
issue with serious consequences for soil carbon turnoverand greenhouse gas fluxes. Isotopic methods, proposed in
the project, can determine the final products of
microplastics decomposition in soil and the environmental
conditions optimal for reducing microplastics debris in
soil.
The CRP will also provide tools andrecommendations that will benefit and help Member
States’ microplastics policies and management strategies
and contribute to FAO’s Action plan on plastics inagriculture.

Figure 1. Positive and negative impacts of plastics andmicroplastics

8

Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Figure 2. Schematic presentation of stable isotope Raman micro-spectroscopy (SIRM) to trace carbon frommicroplastics into microbial biomass
elucidating the fate of plastics and microplastics inagricultural soils

CRP Overall Objectives:(1) To develop guidance for improving the understandingof the fate and impacts of plastics and microplastics inagricultural soils based on nuclear and related techniques

1.2 To apply the isotopic approaches, in combination withexisting methodologies, for assessing the fate and impactof plastics and microplastics in agricultural soils under
different environmental conditions(2) To establish network and coordinating inter-laboratory
studies of analytical techniques and data interpretation to
support CRP network in developing common strategies toeffectively mitigate the plastic pollution of agriculturalsoils and crops

1.3 To provide knowledge and guidance for informed
decisions that help minimize the possible negative impactsof plastics and microplastics on soil health and ecosystemservices

Specific Research Objectives:

Further information including submitting an application
related to this CRP,
can be found here
https://www.iaea.org/projects/crp/d15021.

1.1 To develop, evaluate and standardize integrative
isotopic and standard approaches for identifying and

9

Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

International Symposium on
Managing Land and Water for Climate-Smart Agriculture, 25-29 July 2022:
Outcome and Overall Summary

The FAO/IAEA International Symposium on Managing
Land and Water for Climate-Smart Agriculture was
successfully
held
from
25-29
July
2022
https://www.iaea.org/events/swmcn2022,in
IAEA
Headquarters in Vienna, Austria. It was a hybrid event,with a total of 106 Member States participated in this
symposium in-person, consisting of 294 scientists,
technical staff and policymakers, including colleagues
from FAO. A total of 737 participants could not make it to
Vienna and attended the sessions virtually. Tremendous
support was provided by the team members from the
SWMCN Section and Laboratory, as well as from the
IAEA Conference Services Section to ensure the event was
running smoothly. There were 113 oral papers and 161
poster papers presented at the Symposium.

The Symposium comprised 7 Sessions, covering the topics
on: plant nutrition and nutrient cycling, soil conservationand land management, agricultural water management,
tracing agricultural and industrial pollutants, this includes
agricultural
pollutants,
antimicrobial
resistance,
agricultural plastics and nuclear emergency andremediation. Other sessions were on greenhouse gas
emissions, advances of nuclear-based instrumental andanalytical techniques, as well as on nuclear techniques
digital technology, GIS, machine learning and modelling.
Two special sessions on FAO’s Global Soil Laboratory
Network (GLOSOLAN) and FAO’s AquaCrop –Development and Way Forward were also included on topof the seven sessions. All sessions attracted significant
interest from the audience.

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Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Technical Cooperation Projects
Country/Region

TC Project

Description

Afghanistan

AFG5008

Strengthening Climate Smart Agricultural Practices for Wheat, Fruits andVegetable Crops

M. Zaman

Algeria

ALG5031

Using Nuclear Techniques to Characterize the Potentials of Soils andVegetation for the Rehabilitation of Regions Affected by Desertification

M. ZamanAzerbaijan

AZB5003

Determining of Radioactive Substances in the Environment with a Focus on
Water and Soil

O. Meniailo

Azerbaijan

AZB5004

Strengthening Best Soil, Nutrient, and Water Agricultural Practices for Cotton
Production

M. Zaman

Bangladesh

BGD5033

Using Nuclear Techniques in Assessing River Bank Erosion

E. Fulajtar

BelizeBZE5012Use of Nuclear and Isotopic Techniques for Optimizing Soil-Water-Nutrient
Management in Rainfed Agriculture Systems

J. Adu-Gyamfi

Bolivia

BOL0009

Strengthening National Capacities for the Development of Nuclear Technology
Applications in Bolivia

M. Zaman

Bolivia

BOL5024

Strengthened National Capacities for the Identification of the Origin andTransport of Pesticides Compounds in Agricultural Watersheds

J. Adu-Gyamfi

Botswana

BOT5024

Improving Selected Legumes and Cereals against Biotic and Abiotic Stresses
for Enhanced Food Production and Security

J. Adu-Gyamfi
and PBG

Bulgaria

BUL5018

Improving Crop Water Productivity and Nutritional Quality of Orchards

J. Adu-Gyamfi

Burkina Faso

BKF5024

Improving Food Crops through Mutation Breeding and Best Soil and Nutrient
Management to Ensure Food Security

J. Adu-Gyamfi
and PBG

BurundiBDI5005

Enhancing Productivity of Staple Crops Using Nuclear-derived Technologies

M. Zaman and
PBG

Cambodia

KAM5008

Introducing a Digital Soil Information System and Remote Sensing for
Sustainable Land Use Management

L. Heng

Central African
Republic

CAF5014

Strengthening Capacity for Enhancing Cassava Production and Quality throughBest Soil Nutrient Management Practices

M. Zaman

Chad

CHD5009

Developing Sustainable Water Resources Management through the Use of
Nuclear Isotopic Techniques in Drip Irrigation Systems

L. Heng

Colombia

COL5026

Enhancing Crop Productivity of Creole Potato Using Nuclear and Related
Techniques

M. Zaman and
PBG

Congo Rep. of

PRC5003

Protecting Water and Fertility in Agricultural Soils

J. Adu-Gyamfi

Costa Rica

COS5035

Building Capacity for the Development of Climate-Smart Agriculture in Rice
Farming

M. ZamanCosta Rica

COS7006

Strengthening National Capacities to Identify Sources of Contamination that
Affect Highly Vulnerable Aquifers Using Isotopic and Conventional
Techniques

J. Adu-Gyamfi
and IHCuba

CUB5024

Strengthening National Capacities for the Adaptation or Mitigation of the
Negative Impacts of Climate Change and the Sustainable Management of Landand Water, Through the Integrated Use of Nuclear Techniques

E. Fulajtar

Egypt

EGY5027

Strengthening Capacities for Combating Soil Erosion and Restoring Soil
Fertility to Support Sustainable Soil and Water Management Practices andRehabilitation of Degraded Soils for Enhanced Production and Food Security

E. Fulajtar

Gabon

GAB5004

Improving Soil Fertility Management for Enhanced Maize, Soybean and
Groundnut Production

J. Adu-Gyamfi

Ghana

GHA5039

Mainstreaming Nuclear Based Climate Smart Agriculture Technologies into
Sustainable Production

L. Heng and
PBG

Haiti

HAI5008

Strengthening National Capacities for Enhanced Agricultural Crop Productivity

J. Adu-Gyamfi,
E. Fulajtar

11Technical
Officer(s)Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Honduras

HON5011

Implementation of Soil, Water and Nutrient Management for Sustainable
Coffee Production in Honduras using Nuclear Technologies

E. Fulajtar

Interregional
project

INT5156

Building Capacity and Generating Evidence for Climate Change Impacts on
Soil, Sediments and Water Resources in Mountainous Regions

G. Dercon

Iran

IRA5015

Enhancing Capacity of National Producers to Achieve Higher Levels of SelfSufficiency in Key Staple Crops

L. Heng, FEP
and PBG

Iraq

IRQ5022Developing Climate-Smart Irrigation and Nutrient Management Practices to
Maximize Water Productivity and Nutrient Use Efficiency at Farm Scale Level
Using Nuclear Techniques and Advanced Technology

M. ZamanLao PDR

LAO5006

Enhancing Crop Production with Climate Smart Agricultural Practices andImproved Crop Varieties

M. Zaman and
PBG

Lesotho

LES5012

Improving Productivity of Potato and Sorghum through Mutation Breeding andBest Soil, Nutrient and Water Management Practices

M. Zaman and
PBG

Madagascar

MAG5026

Enhancing Rice and Maize Productivity through the Use of Improved Lines andAgricultural Practices to Ensure Food Security and Increase Rural Livelihoods

J. Adu-Gyamfi
and PBG

Malaysia

MAL5032

Strengthening National Capacity in Improving the Production of Rice andFodder Crops and Authenticity of Local Honey Using Nuclear and Related
Technologies

E. Fulajtar, PBG
and APH

Mali

MLI5031

Improving Rice Productivity through Mutation Breeding and Better Soil,
Nutrient and Water Management Practices

M. Zaman and
PBG

Namibia

NAM5020

Enhancing Staple Crop Yields, Quality, and Drought Tolerance throughBroadening Genetic Variation and Better Soil and Water Management
Technologies

J. Adu-Gyamfi
and PBG

Nicaragua

NIC2002

Strengthening of National Capacities in Energy Planning and Geothermal
Resource Assessments through the Application of Isotopic Analytical Methods

E. Fulajtar

Pakistan

PAK5053

Strengthening and Enhancing National Capabilities for the Development of
Climate Smart Crops, Improvement in Animal Productivity and Managementof Soil, Water, and Nutrient Resources Using Nuclear and Related Techniques

L. Heng with
PBG and SIT

Palestine(T.T.U.T.J.)

PAL5011

Enhancing Food Security via Nuclear Based Approaches

E. Fulajtar

Panama

PAN5002

Strengthening the Operation of the Panama Canal through Erosion and
Sediment Transport Analysis using Nucleonic Control System Applications,Radiotracers and FRN and CSSI methodologies

E. Fulajtar

Panama

PAN5028

Improving the Quality of Organic Cocoa Production by Monitoring Heavy
Metal Concentration in Soils and Evaluating Crop Water Use Efficiency

J. Adu-Gyamfi

Panama

PAN5029

Strengthening National Capacities to Combat Land Degradation and Improve
Soil Productivity Through the Use of Isotope Techniques

E. Fulajtar

Peru

PER5033

Application of Nuclear Techniques for Assessing Soil Erosion and
Sedimentation in Mountain Agricultural Catchments

E. Fulajtar

Peru

PER5035

Improving Pasture Production Through Best Soil Nutrient Management toPromote Sustainable Livestock Production in the Highland Region

M. Zaman

Qatar

QAT5008

Developing Best Soil, Nutrient, Water and Plant Practices for Increased
Production of Forages under Saline Conditions and Vegetables under
Glasshouse Using Nuclear and Related Techniques

M. ZamanRegional project
AfricaRAF0056

Enhancing Nuclear Science and Technology Capacity Building throughTechnical Cooperation Among Developing Countries

E. Fulajtar

Regional project
AfricaRAF5081

Enhancing Productivity and Climate Resilience in Cassava-Based Systems
through Improved Nutrient, Water and Soil Management (AFRA)

M. Zaman and G.
DerconRegional project
AfricaRAF5086

Promoting Sustainable Agriculture under Changing Climatic Conditions Using
Nuclear Technology (AFRA) 2022-2023

H. Said Ahmedand L. Heng

Regional project
AfricaRAF5090

Supporting Climate Change Adaptation for Communities Through Integrated
Soil–Cropping–Livestock Production Systems (AFRA)

M. Zaman and
APH

Regional project
Asia

RAS5089

Enhancing the Sustainability of Date Palm Production in States Parties throughClimate-Smart Irrigation, Nutrient and Best Management Practices (ARASIA)

H. Said Ahmed

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Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Regional Project
Asia

RAS5091

Assessing and Mitigating Agro-Contaminants to Improve Water Quality andSoil Productivity in Catchments Using Integrated Isotopic Approaches

J. Adu-Gyamfi

Regional project
Asia

RAS5093Strengthening Climate Smart Rice Production towards Sustainability andRegional Food Security through Nuclear and Modern Techniques

M. Zaman and L.
Heng

Regional project
Asia

RAS5094

Promoting Sustainable Agricultural and Food Productivity in the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations Region

M. Zaman with
PBG and FEP

Regional project
Asia and Pacific

RAS5099

Developing Climate Smart Crop Production including Improvement andEnhancement of Crop Productivity, Soil and Irrigation Management, and Food
Safety Using Nuclear Techniques (ARASIA)

M. Zaman with
PBG and FEP

Regional project
EuropeRER5028

Improving Efficiency in Water and Soil Management

E. Fulajtar

Regional project
Latin America

RLA5077

Enhancing Livelihood through Improving Water Use Efficiency Associatedwith Adaptation Strategies and Climate Change Mitigation in Agriculture(ARCAL CLVIII)

L. Heng

Regional project
Latin America

RLA5084

Developing Human Resources and Building Capacity of Member States in the
Application of Nuclear Technology to Agriculture

J. Adu-Gyamfi,
PBG and FEP

Regional Project
Latin America

RLA5089

Evaluating the Impact of Heavy Metals and Other Pollutants on Soils
Contaminated by Anthropogenic Activities and Natural Origin (ARCAL
CLXXVII)

J. Adu-Gyamfi

RwandaRWA5001

Improving Cassava Resilience to Drought and Waterlogging Stress throughMutation Breeding and Nutrient, Soil and Water Management Techniques

M. Zaman and
PBG

Saint Vincent &the Grenadines

SVT0001

Building National Capacity in Nuclear Technology Applications

J. Adu-Gyamfi,
NAHU and
NAPC

Senegal

SEN5041

Strengthening Climate Smart Agricultural Practices Using Nuclear and Isotopic
Techniques on Salt Affected Soils

M. Zaman

Seychelles

SEY5013Developing and Promoting Best Nutrient and Water Management Practices toEnhance Food Security and Environmental Sustainability

L. Heng

Sierra Leone

SIL5021

Improving Productivity of Rice and Cassava to Contribute to Food Security

M. Zaman and
PBG

Slovenia

SLO5005

Strengthening Agricultural Land Use and Management to Reduce Emerging
Contaminants and Improve Water Quality

J. Adu-Gyamfi

Sri Lanka

SRL5051

Introducing Climate Smart Agricultural Practices to Mitigate Greenhouse Gas
EmissionsM. Zaman

Sudan

SUD5041

Enhancing Productivity and Quality of High Value Crops through Improved
Varieties and Best Soil, Nutrient and Water Management Practices

M. Zaman and
PBG

Thailand

THA5057

Enhancing Capabilities for the Application of Isotopic Techniques forEnhanced Water Resource Management

E. Fulajtar

Togo

TOG5004

Improving the Productivity of Crops and Agricultural Practices throughRadiation Induced Mutation Techniques

E. Fulajtar

Zimbabwe

ZIM5026

Improving Soil Quality for Optimizing Selected Cereal and Legume
Productivity in Smallholder Farms

J. Adu-Gyamfi

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Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Forthcoming Events
FAO/IAEA Events

NON-FAO/IAEA EventsFirst Research Coordination Meeting of CRP D15021‘Assessing the Fate, and Environmental Impact of
Plastics in Soil and Crop Ecosystems Using Isotopic
Techniques, Q2 2023 in Vienna, Austria or virtual.

European Geosciences Union (EGU), 23–28 April 2023,
Vienna, Austria and online: https://www.egu23.eu/

Project Officers: J. Adu-Gyamfi and O.Meniailo
Final Research Coordination Meeting of CRP D15018‘Multiple Isotope Fingerprints to Identify Sources andTransport of Agro-Contaminants, October 2023,
Vienna, Austria.
Project Officer: J. Adu-Gyamfi

Past Events
FAO/IAEA Events
for better use of this advanced nuclear technology for
agricultural water management.

Regional Training Course on the Use of CosmicRay Neutron Sensor (CRNS) for Area-Wide Soil
Moisture Monitoring (RAF5086: ‘Promoting
Sustainable Agriculture under Changing Climatic
Conditions Using Nuclear Technology), 18-22 July
2022 (Seibersdorf)
Technical officer: H. Said
Fifteen Member States from Africa participated in theregional training course on the use of Cosmic-Ray Neutron
Sensor (CRNS) technology for area-wide soil moisturemonitoring, under the new regional project RAF5086 on‘Promoting Sustainable Agriculture under Changing
Climatic Conditions Using Nuclear Technology (AFRA)’.
This regional training course, held at the SWMCN
laboratory in Seibersdorf, consisted of lectures andpractical exercises on the installation and calibration of the
CRNS, data processing and designing field experiments

Participants of RAF5086 Regional Training Course

14

Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Coordinated Research Projects
Project
NumberOngoing CRPs

Project Officer

D12014

Enhancing Agricultural Resilience and Water Security Using Cosmic-Ray
Neutron Technology

E. Fulajtar and
H. Said Ahmed

D15018Multiple Isotope Fingerprints to Identify Sources and Transport of AgroContaminants

J. Adu-Gyamfi
and L. Heng

D15019Remediation of Radioactive Contaminated Agricultural Land

G. Dercon and L.
Heng

D15020Developing Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices for Mitigation of M. Zaman and L.
Greenhouse Gases
Heng

D15021

Assessing the Fate, and Environmental lmpact of Plastics in Soil and J. Adu-Gyamfi
Crop Ecosystems Using lsotopic Techniquesand O. Meniailo

D15022

Isotopic Techniques to Assess the Fate of Antimicrobials and Implications J. Adu-Gyamfi
for Antimicrobial Resistance in Agricultural Systems
and L. Heng

Enhancing Agricultural Resilience and Water Security
using Cosmic-Ray Neutron Sensor (D12014)(3) establishing specific cooperation activities between the
project partners. In autumn 2019 the installations of CRNS
and their calibration began at selected study sites of project
partners and the stationary soil moisture measurements
began. The project started about half year before theproblems with traveling emerged in spring 2020 due to
COVID-19. At that time all partners had establishedalready some CRNS monitoring sites and the first soil
moisture time series were collected.

Project Officers: E. Fulajtar and H. Said Ahmed
This CRP (2019 to 2024) is aimed on testing the potentialof using a cosmic ray neutron sensor (CRNS) and gamma
ray sensor (GRS) for agriculture and environment
protection, especially on irrigation scheduling andmanagement of extreme weather events. CRNS provides
soil moisture data at a large scale and in real time, which
has a great value for land and water management.

In winter 2019 and spring 2020 the first results of the CRP
were published in international scientific journals and asoral presentations and posters at the online EGU General
Assembly (4-8 May 2020 in Vienna). These publications
presented interpretations of soil water content datasetscollected by the SWMCN Laboratory team at a stationary
monitoring station in Petzenkirchen, Austria.

The objectives of the CRP are to: (1) Advance thecapabilities of CRNS for Best Management Practices(BMP) in irrigated and rainfed agriculture; (2) Integrate
CRNS, GRS, remote sensing and hydrological modellingfor improving agricultural water management and its
resilience; and (3) Develop approaches using CRNS and
GRS for long-term soil moisture monitoring inagroecosystems. The final output of the CRP will be a setof methods and guidelines applicable in irrigation
scheduling, flood prediction and drought management.

In spring and summer 2020 the field work limitations
emerged due to travel restrictions, lockdowns and homeoffice. Soil moisture monitoring was interrupted at somesites. Also the installation of CRNS and GRS at some sites
were delayed. Nevertheless, in late summer and autumn themeasuerements and installations of new sites continued
and the major activities were successfully implemented
and already in its first year the CRP brought significant
scientific achievements:

This CRP was approved in March 2019. It involves elevenpartners: with five research contract holders (two from
Brazil, two from China and one from Mexico), two
research agreement holders (Denmark and UK) and four
technical contract holders (Italy, Netherlands, Spain and
USA).



The first Research Coordination Meeting was held on
26-30 August 2019, at the IAEA in Vienna, Austria. The
major results of this meeting were: (1) reviewing the stateof the art research on the use of CRNS and GRS for soil
moisture assessment; (2) developing a detailed individual
work plan and updating the overall workplan of the CRP;



Proposing algorithm for filtering the noise andsmoothening the signal of neutron counts;
Developing approach for estimation of rainfall fromsoil water content data obtained by CRNS;
Testing the procedure for estimating rooting depth
soil moisture distribution from CRNS data.

These results were published in three research papers ininternational scientific journals and two oral presentations
15

Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

presented at the 6th International COSMOS Workshop on
8-10 October in Heidelberg, Germany.

an integrative isotope approach for identifying andapportioning sources of contaminants in agro-ecosystems,(2) apply the combined approach to different agroecosystems to control contaminants. During last two years,
the CRP proposes to focus on the third specific objective“to provide guidelines and decision trees for adapting andapplying the toolbox” and furthermore to develop
appropriate remediation strategies to reduce theenvironmental risk.

The Second Research Coordination Meeting was held
virtually from 7 - 11 June 2021. Main achievement of thismeeting was initiating the preparation of themethodological guideline. The time during the lockdowns
and home office periods was exploited very efficienty forwriting a number of publications and also preparing inputs
for the major guideline which will be major output of the
project. The draft manuscript is almost ready now and it
will be submitted in winter 2022/23.

The third RCM was held virtually on 18-20 May 2022.
Some of the main issues discussed were:In autumn 2021 the work on testing GRS for soil moisturemanagement began and the achievement is on the testingof the newly constructed CRNS (FINAPP Probe) incomparison with traditionally used CRNS (Hydroinnova).
The most important methodological achievements
presented in this guideline are: neutron signal noise
filtering, CRSPy tool (neutrone counts processing using
Python language), agriculture soil moisture products (roothzone depth estimation and precipitation estimation) andapproach using CRNS for remote sensing soil moistureproducts (SENTINEL, ASCAT) validation. Apart fromthat the results were presented at 2021 IEEE International
Workshop: Metrology for Agriculture and Forestry, 3-5
November 2021 or 2022?.

(1) A collaboration with the Mekong River Commission(MRC) on monitoring the source and transport ofagro-contaminants along the Mekong transboundary
river in the following countries: Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia and Viet Nam. The CRP plans to performa sampling campaign along the MRC established 48
sites on the Mekong River for isotope analyses. A
similar collaboration between IAEA and the Joint
Danube survey in Europe to apply stable isotopes tomonitor nitrate from tributaries to the mainstem of thetransboundary Danube River was successfully
achievedandpublished(https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-062245.pdf).

In autumn 2022 the mid term evaluation of CRP was
successfully done and the first major output of CRP wascompleted. It is a manuscript of guidelines for CRNS dataprocessing and developing added value products. The
manuscript will be submitted to Springer in early 2023.

(2) A Publication “Tracing the Sources and Fate ofContaminants in Agroecosystems: Applications ofMulti Stable Isotopes and Related Technologies” thatwill serve as a toolbox that provides guidelines anddecision trees, planned for Q3 2023.

Multiple Isotope Fingerprints to Identify Sources andTransport of Agro-Contaminants (D15018)

The achievements from the CRP to-date include:(1) A publication in Springer on ‘Oxygen Isotopes ofInorganic Phosphate in Environmental Samples:
Purification
andAnalysis’(https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/97
8-3-030-97497-8) containing protocols for source
identification and apportion of phosphate P to
distinguish between P from agriculture and sewerage
disposal causing eutrophication.

Project Officers: J. Adu-Gyamfi and L. Heng
This five-year CRP (2018-2022) aims to develop protocols
and methodologies for using multiple stable isotope tracers
to monitor soil, water and nutrient pollutants fromagriculture, establish proof-of-concept for an integrated
suite of analytical stable isotope tools, and create
guidelines to adapt the new toolkit to a variety ofagricultural management situations. Nuclear techniques
are used to achieve the objectives including a combined
stable isotope (δ18O, δ2H, δ13C, δ15N, δ13C-DIC, δ15N-NO3,
δ18O-NO3, δ18Op, δ34S) techniques and compound specificstable isotope (CSSI)-based monitoring approach forevaluating in-situ degradation, transport, transformation,and fate of pesticides.

(2) A special issue on Agro-contaminants sources,
transformation, and transport in agroecosystems(2021) was published in Agriculture, Ecosystems &Environment
Journal(Elsevier)https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/agricultureecosystems-and-environment/specialissue/101RHMH9Z15.
(3) The CSIA (δ13C and δ15N) for assessing the fate ofpesticides successfully tested in the field. A new
passive sampler for detecting pesticide isotope
signature developed and tested in India.

The second RCM of this CRP was held virtually from 1–4
March 2021. The mid-term review for the project was
submitted on 8 September 2021 and was approved by the
CCRA with a further extension of the CRP till 31
December 2023 (at no additional cost) to enable theparticipants complete the work on the respective research
projects. The CRP achieved two of the three specificobjectives namely to (1) develop, evaluate and standardize(4) δ34S(SO4) and δ18O(SO4) for partitioning different
sources of pollutants from household waste and from16

Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

mining areas in the catchment tested [Nambeelup
Brook, W. Australia].

environments such as arid, tropical and monsoonal
climates, and (2) to customize the remedial options inagriculture to these under-explored agro-ecologicalenvironments and to adapt and develop innovative decision
support systems for optimizing remediation of agriculturallands affected by nuclear accidents, based on machinelearning and operations research techniques. Elevencountries participate in this CRP: eight research contract
holders from Belarus, Chile, Morocco, P. R. China (three
institutions), Russia, Ukraine; two technical contract
holders from France and Macedonia; and six agreement
holders from Belgium (two institutions), Japan (three
institutions) and India. The CRP D15019 was developed asa follow up to CRP D15015. It was formulated based onrecommendations from a consultants’ meeting held at the
IAEA, Vienna, 20–22 February 2019. Expert consultantsfrom Belgium, Japan, Ukraine and Russia noted that theimportance of optimization of remediation based onmonitoring and prediction of the fate of radiocaesium andradiostrontium in agriculture is essential for returning theaffected territories to normal environmental conditions.
The First RCM was held on 21–24 October 2019. During
this meeting the objectives and experimental plans of thenational research projects were discussed and adjusted to
be in line with the objectives and work plan of the CRP.
Common guidelines for implementing the national project
activities and collaboration networks were established. The
second RCM was held online on 4-8 October 2021, which
was combined with the NARO-FAO/IAEA International
Joint Symposium on “Remediation of Radioactive
Contamination in Agriculture: Next Steps and Way
Forward” (4 October 2021). This meeting showed thesignificant progress in all fields of the project and based onthese advances individual and project work plans wererevised and adjusted where needed.

(5) Combined use of (δ18O and δ2H) and FRN-based
sedimentary geochronology was used to assess thecontribution of sediment source apportion to pollution[UK, Tanzania, China and Chile].
(6) A success story from Viet Nam “Nuclear Techniquesand Improved Resource Management Help Reduce
Pollution
in
Viet
Nam’s
Nhue
River
(https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/nucleartechniques-and-improved-resource-managementhelp-reduce-pollution-in-viet-nams-nhue-river) and 2
journal articles were published.
(7) A publication on field validation and applications of
the protocols in specific countries----Case Studies isplanned for October 2023.
The Final RCM is planned for October 2023 in Vienna,
Austria.
RemediationofRadioactive
Agricultural Land (D15019)

ContaminatedProject Officers: G. Dercon and L. Heng
Innovative monitoring and prediction techniques present aunique solution to enhancing the readiness and capabilities
of societies for optimizing the remediation of agriculturalareas affected by large scale nuclear accidents. In this CRP,
new field, laboratory and machine-learning modelling
tools will be developed, tested and validated for predicting
and monitoring the fate of radionuclide uptake by crops
and related dynamics at the landscape level, with theemphasis on those under-explored environments andrelated main crop categories. Laboratory, greenhouse andfield-based research using stable caesium and strontium
isotopes in combination with integrated time and spacedependent modelling and machine learning will be used to
predict radiocaesium and radiostrontium crop uptake andmovement in the case of a large-scale nuclear accident
affecting food and agriculture. Operation research will beapplied to guide the use of remediation techniques atlandscape level (i.e. selection, optimization andprioritization). Protocols will be developed and adapted forinnovative spatio-temporal decision support systems for
remediation of agricultural land, based on machinelearning and operations research integrated with
Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques. The
overall objective is to enhance readiness and capabilities ofsocieties for optimizing remediation of agricultural areas
affected by large scale nuclear accidents throughinnovative monitoring, decision making and prediction
techniques. The specific objectives are (1) to combine
experimental studies with field monitoring and modellingto understand and predict the role of environmental
conditions on radiocaesium and radiostrontium transfer inthe food chains and their dynamics at landscape level inparticular for (1) under-explored agro-ecologicalSince the beginning of the CRP a series of laboratory
experiments has been carried on improving remediation ofradioactive contamination in farmland. The CRP teamaims to develop new isotope techniques to better
understand the dynamics of radiocaesium andradiostrontium in the soil. Significant steps have now been
made for stable isotope techniques that allow stablecaesium and stable strontium to mimic the behaviour of
their radioisotope equivalents. Further progress has also
been achieved in the application of advanced mathematical
approaches for improving the prediction of soil properties
based on Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy and enhancing thedecision making for the optimization of remediation ofradioactively contaminated agricultural soils. Decisionsupport tools are being developed to improve strategies for
remediation of radioactive contamination in agriculture. In
June 2022, mid-term progress of the CRP was reviewed,
and first CRP results were presented at the FAO/IAEA
International Symposium on Managing Land and Water
for Climate-Smart Agriculture held in July 2022. The final
RCM is planned for 2024.
17

Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Developing Climate Smart Agricultural practices forcarbon sequestration and mitigation of greenhousegases (D15020)

urease, and nitrification inhibitors on NH3 emissions froma rice paddy field and these results were published in arefereed scientific journal.

Project Officers: M. Zaman and L. Heng

Assessing the Fate, and Environmental Impact of
Plastics in Soil and Crop Ecosystems Using Isotopic
Techniques (D15021)

Climate Change due to continued increased anthropogenic
emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) is a global threat tofood security. Direct and indirect GHG emissions fromagriculture, forestry and other land-uses changes
contribute approximately 25% of the global anthropogenic
GHG emissions. Data by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) clearly show that anthropogenic
emissions of the three major GHGs including carbon
dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O)
have increased significantly since the industrial revolution
and as a result, the Earth’s average surface air temperature
has increased about 1.2°C. This warming of the Earth has
led to extreme weather events such as frequent heat waves,droughts, floods, and uneven distribution of rainfall, rising
sea levels and melting of glaciers. The GHGs with thelargest global warming potential are N2O and CH4, which
predominantly originate from agriculture. Based on the
outputs of the previous CRP (D15016), climate-smart
agricultural practices are a promising tool to enhance crop
production with lower environmental footprints. However,more quantitative data on the effect of soil processes (e.g.
carbon- and nitrogen-dynamics) on emissions of GHGs in
relation to land-use changes are urgently needed. This new
CRP as phase-2 was started with the objective to develop
and validate climate-smart agricultural practices, based on
isotopic and related techniques, to increase soil carbon (C)sequestration, mitigate GHG emissions (N2O, CH4, CO2)
and limit gaseous losses of ammonia (NH3) and dinitrogen(N2) from agricultural ecosystems, with the aim to enhance
agricultural productivity and sustainability. After the 1st
RCM in 8-12 February 2021, all CRP participants havestarted establishing field trials to develop and validate
climate-smart agricultural practices, to increase soil C
sequestration, mitigate emissions of GHG and NH3 fromagricultural ecosystems, to enhance agricultural
productivity and sustainability. The Technical Universityof Madrid developed and validated a novel field method ofammonia volatilisation which is capable of measuring
ammonia emission at field scale (one hectare). They also
developed a robust method of C budgeting tool for
estimating C footprint of cropping systems and shared thisknowledge via on-line training with CRP CSIs from
Argentina, Brazil, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, andViet Nam. Field results from Brazil indicated that mixed
planting of legumes with pasture had a positive effect on
pasture production, quality of animal feed, gain of live
weight of animals, BNF, low emission of ammonia andN2O and C storage. Bangladesh for the first time
identified microbial process of N2O production using 15N
tracing technique and published the results in a refereed
scientific journal. Field studies from China provided
important insights into the effects of applying biochar,

Project Officers: J. Adu-Gyamfi and O.Meniailo
Plastic use has increased from 1.7 million in 1950 to 359
million metric tons in 2018. However, despite its benefits
to society, most plastics end up on land and in the soil
(long-term sink), degrading into microplastics (diameter <5mm) before entering the marine environment. Soil plastic
pollution is especially acute in many parts of the world andthe earth’s soil is more saturated with plastic andmicroplastic than oceans. and 80% of them found in themarine environments are first disposed on land. This fiveyear CRP (2023-2028) has the overall objectives to (1)develop guidance for improving the understanding of thefate and impacts of plastics and microplastics inagricultural soils based on nuclear and related techniques,and (2) establish network and coordinating inter-laboratory
studies of analytical techniques to support CRP network indeveloping common strategies to effectively mitigate theplastic pollution of agricultural soils and crops. The
specific objectives are to (1) develop, evaluate, andstandardize integrative isotopic and standard approaches
for identifying and elucidating the fate of plastics andmicroplastics in agricultural soils, (2) apply the isotopic
approaches, in combination with existing methodologies,
for assessing the fate and impact of plastics andmicroplastics in agricultural soils under different
environmental conditions, and (3) provide knowledge andguidance for informed decisions that help minimize thepossible negative impacts of plastics and microplastics on
soil health and ecosystem services.
The CRP was approved in September 2022. The request
for submission of proposals (technical, research andagreement) are in progress. A draft technical document on
the “Role of nuclear and related techniques on the fate,degradation, and impacts of plastics and microplastics on
soil ecosystem and environment” is also in progress. The
first research coordination meeting (RCM) is planned forQ2 2023 in Vienna, Austria or virtually.
Isotopic Techniques to Assess the Fate of
Antimicrobials and Implications for Antimicrobial
Resistance in Agricultural Systems (D15022)
Project Officers: J. Adu-Gyamfi and L. Heng
This five-year CRP (2021-2026) has the overall objective
to develop guidance for improving the understanding of thefate, dynamics and persistence of AM and AMR in
agricultural systems based on nuclear and related
techniques and support MS to develop common strategies
to mitigate the spread of AM in agricultural systems. The
specific objectives are (1 ) to develop, evaluate and18

Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

standardize integrative isotopic and conventional
approaches for tracing the sources and persistence of AM
and AMR in agricultural systems, (2) to apply a
combinationofapproachesofisotopicandbioanalytical/molecular biological methods to different
agricultural systems for assessing the fate and dynamics ofAM and implications for AMR, and (3) to provide
knowledge and guidance for informed decisions that help
mitigate the spread of AM and AMR in agricultural
systems. Nine member states are participating in this CRP
including four research contract holders from Brazil,
China, South Africa, and Viet Nam, three agreement
holders from China, Norway, and USA, and two technicalcontract holders from Germany and Australia.

Germany (Technical University of Munich). For effective
implementation of the workplans, four working groups(WGs) were established. These are (1) WG1 on synthesisof sulfamethoxazole (SMX) labelled compound that will
be used in the glasshouse and field experiments, (2) WG2
to develop sampling and analytical (SMX) protocols to be
distributed to the partners, (3) WG3 to develop glasshouseand field experimental designs, and (4) WG4 to develop
sampling and analytical protocols related tomicrobiology/microbial resistance genes. The coordinatorsof all the 4 WGs made their presentations to elucidate theirimplementation plans. There were discussions with theparticipant from FAO on possibilities for collaboration on
FAO’s Strategy and initiative in AMR. A submission“Novel isotopic Fingerprinting to Assess and Mitigate the
Persistence and Transport of Antibiotics and Implications
on Antimicrobial Resistance” was published in Nuclear
Technology Review 2022.

The first research coordination meeting (RCM) was held
virtually on 11–13 May 2022. The purpose of the meeting
was to discuss workplans and activities with meeting
participants and to develop an overall workplan to realize
the project objectives. Eleven participants including thenine research contract, agreement, and technical contract
holders, one participant from FAO and one observer from19

Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Developments at the Soil and Water
Management and Crop Nutrition Laboratory
Proximal gamma-ray spectrometry for soil texture determination
Said Ahmed, H.1, Toloza, A.1, Rab, G.2, Brunner, T.2, Dercon, G.1., Heng, L.K.3, Fulajtar, E.3, Strauss, P.2
1

Soil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food andAgriculture, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Seibersdorf, Austria
2Institute for Land and Water Management Research, Federal Agency for Water Management, Petzenkirchen, Austria3The
University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
3
Soil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition Section, Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture,
Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria

Under climate change and increasing agricultural demand,soil resources are under severe pressure. Soils are essential
for the proper functioning of agricultural ecosystems.
Therefore, special attention should be given to soil
management to ensure sufficient and sustainable foodproduction.
Soil texture mapping with a traditional soil sampling
approach is labor-intensive and expensive (including soil
sampling and laboratory analyses). Having a proximal
sensing technique to accurately map soil texture would bea big step forward, in particular at a sufficiently detailed
spatial scale for soil management purposes.
For the development of such proximal sensing techniques,
the SWMCN Laboratory uses the Hydrological Open-Air
Laboratory (HOAL) in Petzenkirchen (Lower Austria) toevaluates the suitability of the Gamma-Ray Sensor (GRS)
to determine the texture of the topsoil.

Figure 2. Soil sampling and natural gamma-radiation (40K, 238U,
and 232Th) measurement using mobile Gamma-ray sensor. model
MS 350 in Petzenkirchen, Austria.

A Medusa MS-350 portable GRS (Figure 1) was used tomeasure the spatial activity concentrations (Bq/kg) of 40K(potassium), 238U (uranium), and 232Th (thorium) over 20
points across the fields. These activity concentrations werethen characterized against soil texture parameters ofinterest such as silt, clay, and sand. In total 200 soil samples(10 soil samples for each of the 20 points) were taken in thePetzenkirchen experimental fields for soil texture
determination, in combination with 40K, 238U, and 232Th
natural gamma-radiation measurements using mobile
Gamma Ray Spectrometry (Figure 2).
As shown in Figure 3, the best correlation could beobserved between 40K radionuclide concentrations and clay
(R2 = 0.51) and silt (R2 = 0.46), respectively. Thus, spatial
monitoring of 40K with mobile GRS can be used for spatial
determination of clay and silt. However, correlations withother radionuclides concentrations such as 238U and 232Th
were weak with R2 coefficients less than 0.16.
These results demonstrate the potential of monitoring 40K
concentrations by a portable gamma sensor for soil texture
mapping in agricultural land. Further studies are required
to verify the applicability of this model to different soil
types to enable the use of this nuclear technology for soil
texture determination with high spatial resolution.

Figure 1. Medusa MS-350 portable GRS

20

Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Figure 3. Correlation between the activity concentrations (Bq/kg) of 40K, 238U, 232Th and soil texture (silt, clay and sand)Decomposition of antibiotic Sulfamethoxazole in soil is accelerated by nitrogen addition
and reduced by soil moisture content
Menyailo, O. 1, Eichinger, C. 1, Deroo, H. 1, Dercon, G. 1
1

Soil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Center of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture,
Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria

The use of antibiotics in livestock farming and theapplication of manure (Binh et al., 2008) or sludge as soil
fertilizer (Krzemiński et al., 2020) are some of the main
drivers making agricultural soils a significant source ofAntimicrobial Resistance (AMR) (FAO and IAEA, 2019).
The amount of time that antibiotics reside in soil iscritically important for AMR appearance (Ouyang et al,,2019), therefore the rate of decomposition andenvironmental conditions favouring the degradation of
antibiotics should be investigated. Under the FAO/IAEA
Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on ‘Isotopic
Techniques to Assess the Fate of Antimicrobials and
Implications for Antimicrobial Resistance in Agricultural
Systems’ (D15022), the SWMCNL team assesses how
nitrogen and water addition affects the mineralization of
sulfamethoxazole (SMX) as a model antibiotic.
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Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

In this study, which will last four months, carbon poor soil
(from Grabenegg) is incubated in 100 mL jars, amended
with 13C6-labeled sulfamethoxazole (20 mg/kg soil), withor without nitrogen (N) added (NH4NO3 at 150 mg N.kg1) or moisture elevated (from 40% to 100% of Water Filled
Pore Space). Jars were hermetically sealed, then 30 mL ofheadspace gas samples have been collected every three tofive days for analysis of 13C composition andconcentrations of CO2 and CH4 by the cavity ring-down
spectroscopy (CRDS) laser isotope analyzer Picarro 2201i.

enrichment is found in the treatment with the nitrogen
addition suggesting that SMX mineralization is N limited.
Applying N fertilizer in SMX polluted soils would increase
SMX mineralization rates, reducing SMX concentrationand the level of AMR. If these findings are further
confirmed over the next 4 months, this is potentiallyinformation to share with all Member States experiencing
high pollution of agricultural soil with Sulfamethoxazole.
It is also important to notice that the addition of water
reduced the rate of SMX mineralization, which isdemonstrated by the low 13C incorporation into CO2 forthe high soil moisture treatment (Figure 1). This suggeststhat SMX mineralization is most likely an aerobic process,which requires molecular oxygen (O2) and is inhibited byO2 deficiency. This also means that the application ofmanure, wastewater and sludge with high SMX to water
saturated soils (rice paddies) is especially dangerous since
the SMX will be very slowly degraded, amplifying AMR.

We expect that by following 13C incorporation into CO2
and CH4 we should be able to distinguish the relative
contribution of soil organic matter and SMX to the fluxesof both greenhouse gases. At the time of writing, we are in
the initial phase (the first 17 days). So far, there is no 13C
signal in CH4, nevertheless the 13C signal in CO2 is well
distinguishable (Figure 1) despite the very low rate of SMX
application. It can be observed that the highest 13C

Figure 1. Dynamics of 13C incorporation into CO2 during the soil incubation experiment with application of 13C6-labeled
sulfamethoxazole (green), SMX and nitrogen (orange) and SMX and water (blue). (N=3, mean ± SE).

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Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

In conclusion, the application of 13C6-labeled SMX
provides important insights about the influence ofenvironmental factors on SMX mineralization in soils.
Through this study, the effects of nitrogen and water
addition on SMX degradation are being shown for the firsttime, which can help Member States develop measures toreduce SMX pollution in agricultural soils and hence
reduce the spread of AMR.

FAO and IAEA (2019). Antimicrobial movement from
Agricultural areas to the environment: The missing link. A roleof nuclear techniques. Land and Water Discussion Paper 13,
Rome, Italy. ISBN 978-92-5-131648-1.

References:

Krzemiński P., Markiewicz Z., Popowska M. (2020). Entry
Routes of Antibiotics and Antimicrobial Resistance in theEnvironment. In: ‘Antibiotics and Antimicrobial Resistance
Genes: Environmental Occurrence and Treatment Technologies’
Hashmi MZ (ed.), Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp.
1-26.

Binh, C.T.T., Heuer, H., Kaupenjohann, M., Smalla, K. (2008).
Piggery man ure used for soil fertilization is a reservoir fortransferable antibiotic resistance plasmids. FEMS Microbiology
Ecology 66:25–37.

Ouyang, W.,-Y., Su, J.-Q., Richnow, H.H., Adrian, L. (2019).
Identification of dominant sulfamethoxazole-degraders in pig
farm-impacted soil by DNA and protein stable isotope probing.
Environment International. 126:118–126.

Antibiotic Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) strongly reduces heterotrophic C respiration in soils
Menyailo, O. 1, Eichinger, C. 1, Deroo, H. 1, Dercon, G.1
1

Soil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition Laboratory (SWMCNL), Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food andAgriculture, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria

Agricultural soils are increasingly polluted by antibiotics,
and this makes them a source of antimicrobial resistance(AMR). However, antibiotics may also change microbialcommunity in soils, altering microbiological processes.
The recently initiated FAO/IAEA Coordinated Research
Project (CRP) D15022 on ‘Isotopic Techniques to Assess
the Fate of Antimicrobials and Implications for
Antimicrobial Resistance in Agricultural Systems’ targets
sulfamethoxazole (SMX) as a model antibiotic. Given theknowledge gap on how SMX affects soil microbialcommunity, and in particular soil carbon (C) cycling, we
conducted an experiment to investigate how different
concentrations of SMX alter soil heterotrophic respiration(C mineralization).

Figure 1. Automatic measurements of CO2 flux and 13C-CO2

Further, during the 30 days of incubation, the CO2 flux wasdetermined eleven times. Based on these measurements,
the total amount of CO2 emitted from the soils over theentire incubation was estimated. The amount of emitted
CO2 from the control soils (without SMX) was taken as
reference (i.e.100%), the cumulative CO2 flux from allother treatments were then estimated as a fraction of thisreference (Figure 2).

We collected soils rich and poor in soil organic carbon from
Seibersdorf and Grabenegg, respectively. After the samples
were sieved at 2 mm, we incubated 80g of soil in 100mL
jars at room temperature for 30 days. The SMX was added
at day 1, at six rates (0; 0.01; 0.1; 1; 10 and 100 mg.kg-1) inwater solution. Soil moisture was kept constant at 45% ofsoil water-filled pore space throughout the incubation
experiment. The flux of CO2 and isotopic composition ofcarbon in respired CO2 were determined with a Picarro
2201-i laser isotope analyzer using Keeling plots.

In general, SMX concentration negatively affected the CO2
production rate. The negative effect was larger with ahigher SMX concentration. The inhibitory effect of SMX
followed a logarithmic function, after excluding outliers.
The fitted equations may be used to predict how much themicrobial activity is inhibited, if the concentration of SMX
in soil is known. Upon confirmation with more diverse soils
and tested under field conditions, such equations may betransferable to Member States. It was also observed in ourstudy that when the toxicant concentration increases, thetoxic effect declines at some specific concentrations oreven a stimulation of CO2 production could be found. In
fact, three concentrations (10 mg/kg for Seibersdorf, and
0.1 and 1 mg/kg for Grabenegg) resulted either in a smaller

For this, 100mL jars were placed in 1L jars, hermeticallyclosed. These 1L jars were then connected through tubes tothe laser isotope analyzer via a multiplexer and small
sample introduction module (SSIM). Eight samples wererun at once (Figure 1). Air samples (20mL) were takenfrom each jar every 72 min. Running five to six sampling
cycles we received correspondingly 5-6 data points on
accumulated CO2 concentrations and depleted 13C-CO2
values, sufficient for the Keeling plots.

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Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

decrease or an increase of CO2 production (considered as
the above-mentioned outliers, shown in Figure 2). Thisobserved increase can be related to the following processes:(1) It may be concentration-dependent AMR, (2) SMX may
act as a C source, but the most likely explanation is (3)inhibiting bacteria, it may reduce the competition, allowing
for other microbial groups to proliferate and so actively
decompose soil organic matter.

Overall, the incubation experiment with different
concentrations of SMX provides important insights on the
toxicological effects of SMX on soil microbial life and thesoil C cycle in agricultural soils. The derived equations areuseful to predict the inhibitory effect of SMX on microbialactivity, if the concentration of the pollutant is known, andto estimate priming effects related to soil organic matter
dynamics.

Figure 2. The effect of SMX at different concentrations on soil C respiration. (N=3, Mean ± Standard Error). White bullets are values
taken for fitting the logarithmic equation; black bullets were not considered for modelling.

Understanding the interaction between maize water use efficiency and nutrient uptake inirrigated cropping systems, a basis for predicting and improving Zambia’s productivity
in a changing climate
Mwape, M.1,2,3, Diels, J.4, Phiri, E.3, Said Ahmed, H.1, Dercon, G.1
1

Soil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food andAgriculture, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Seibersdorf, Austria
2
Zambia Agriculture Research Institute, Chilanga, Zambia
3
The University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
4
KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

Food security is a growing concern for the population in
Zambia, and more so with the negative effects that climatechange and reduced rainfall have on crop production. It istherefore important to be able to understand crop
production trends so that mitigation measures can be put inplace if the expected production does not follow theincreasing demand for food.

under the ICTP/IAEA Sandwich Training Educational
Programme (STEP). AquaCrop is a crop growth model
developed by FAO’s Land and Water Division to address
crop response to water and assess the effect of the rainfall
and irrigation and their management on crop production.
AquaCrop simulates the yield response of herbaceous crops
to water and is particularly well suited to conditions inwhich water is a key limiting factor in crop production.
AquaCrop balances accuracy, simplicity and robustness.

To predict maize crop production trends for Zambia, the
FAO’s AquaCrop model is used in this study, carried out
24Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

To ensure its wide applicability, it uses only a small numberof explicit parameters and mostly intuitive input variables
that can be determined using simple methods(https://www.fao.org/aquacrop/en/).

ii)

As explained in our previous Newsletter (Vol. 44 No. 2 Jan2022), a field experiment was implemented by the STEP
fellow at the Mount Makulu Central Research Station of
Chilanga in Zambia as part of her PhD study, looking at thenitrogen response of maize under different water
management practices. The main aim of this research is to
identify optimal and sustainable water and nitrogen
application for maximizing maize production in irrigatedcrop systems. Maize was planted at three nitrogen and threeirrigation levels. The resulting crop growth and yield data
are now being used in AquaCrop, firstly to validate themodel’s performance in the Zambian context, and secondly
to run different nutrient and water management scenarios
to improve crop productivity.

iii) Soil characteristics, such as initial soil moisture (atplanting time), water holding capacity and texture,measured to be used as inputs for the model;iv) Weather data;v)

Yield (both grain and biomass).

This information is now being put into the AquaCropmodel, and we are checking how well it performs to predict
the observed above-ground biomass, green canopy cover,soil moisture and yield. Preliminary results for green
canopy cover showed that the model simulates the canopy
cover over the growing season well (Figure 2). However,
the model predicts a yield of 6.0 ton/ha, higher than themeasured yield of 4.9 ton/ha. Refining inputs further will
be required to produce a better representation of yield bycarrying out further analyses of the soil’s physicalparameters.

To calbrate the AquaCrop model, only the 100% ET waterlevel and the highest nitrogen level (140 Kg N/ha) wereconsidered in this study. Further, the following datasets
were collected:i)

Aerial photos using an airborne optical camera tomeasure plant canopy cover. One square meter (1 m2)
was marked in the field and the picture was taken.
These were then analysed in image J to calculate thegreen canopy cover (Figure 1);

Above-ground biomass at five growth stages
throughout the growing season;

Figure 1. (a), (b) and (c): Processing aerial photos for image analysis for cover crop.

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Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Figure 2. Simulation results of green canopy cover: (a) graphical display, and (b) statistical indicators.

After this validation, we will analyse based on the longterm dataset (30 years) how maize crop production may be
expected to evolve, and how irrigation (and nitrogen)management in combination with agronomic measures
such as planting time may help to mitigate the impacts ofclimate change.

Influence of NH4+ fertilisation and clay mineral amendments on Cs+ in soil solution
Rohling, M.1,2, Asanza, M.1, Eguchi, T.1,3, Heiling, M.1, Toloza, A.1, Gerzabek, M.H.2, Putyatin, Y.4,
Dercon, G.1
1 Soil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture,
International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria.
2 Institute of Soil Research, University of Natural Resources and Life Science (BOKU), Vienna, Austria.
3Agricultural Radiation Research Center, Tohoku Agricultural Research Center, National Agriculture and Food Research
Organization (NARO), Fukushima, Japan.
4 Institute for Soil Science and Agrochemistry (BRISSA), Minsk, Belarus

rate of 10 and 40 t ha-1. The RC uptake for ryegrass (lollium
perenne) was calculated by means of the empirical equation
given by Smolders et al. (1997). The results showed that
NH4+ induced RC desorption depends on the soil´s clay
mineralogy. More precisely, the presence of 2:1 clay
minerals (mica, vermiculite) caused relatively smaller RC
desorption due to exchange sites that are highly RC
selective.
In
contrast,
2:1:1(chlorite),
1:1(kaolinite/halloysite) and amorphous (allophane) clay
minerals are less RC selective and were hence associatedwith stronger RC desorption. Moreover, the clay mineralapplications reduced the solution RC concentration in thefollowing order: vermiculite > zeolite > smectite and 40 t
ha-1 > 10 t ha-1 for each mineral. Solution NH4+
concentrations decreased with time due to nitrification
processes and most likely fixation in the 2:1 clay mineral
structure, which led to decreasing solution RC
concentrations.

The dynamics of the nuclear fission product radiocaesium(RC) in the soil-plant continuum are strongly influenced bysoil mineralogy. Clay minerals, such as 2:1 hyllosilicatesand zeolites, can cause the immobilisation of RC in soils
due to their negative surface charges. On the other hand,competing cations, such as ammonium (NH4+), may
induce the desorption of RC from the exchange sites of clay
minerals and therefore increase the risk of RC plant uptake.
Under CRP D15019 on “Remediation of Radioactive
Contaminated Agricultural Land”, an incubation
experiment for a duration of five weeks was carried out at
the SWMCNL aiming to elucidate the effect of NH4+
fertilisation on Cs+ in soil solution in five different soil
types (Andosol, Cambisol, Gleysol, Chernozem andPodzol), with distinct clay mineralogy. One soil (allophanic
Andosol) with low RC interception potential (RIP) was
additionally treated with clay amendments such as
smectite, vermiculite and zeolite, and this at an application
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Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Table 1. Effect of the NH4+ fertiliser treatment on the calculated RC uptake of ryegrass. Green down-facing arrows indicate adecreased and red up-facing arrows an increased calculated RC uptake of ryegrass after the fertilisation treatment. The arrow size↓

indicates absolute changes < 100 (↓), > 100 & < 500 (↓) and > 500 ( )DayChernozem

PodzolCambisol

Gleysol

Andosol

-

↑

↓

↓

↑

↓

=

↑

↓

↑

↑

↓

↓

↑

↓

↓

↓

↓

↑

↓

1

8

22

36

Table 2: Effect of clay mineral amendments in reducing the RC uptake of ryegrass relative to the control (allophanic Andosol). Red up-facing arrows
indicate a relative increase and green-down facing arrows a relative decrease. The arrow size indicates relative changes < 2 (↑), >2 & < 100 (↑)↑

and > 100 ( ).

Day

Smectite

Smectite

Vermiculite

Vermiculite

ZeoliteZeolite(10 t ha )(40 t ha )(10 t ha )(40 t ha )(10 t ha )(40 t ha )

-1

-1

-1

-1

-1

-1

NF

F

NF

F

NF

F

NF

F

NF

F

NF

F

↑

↑

↑

↑

↑

↓

↓

↑

↑

↓

↑

↑

↑

↑

↑

↑

↓

↓

↓

↓

↑

↑

↑

↑

↑

↓

↑

↑

↓

↓

↓

↓

↑

↑

↑

↑

↑

↑

↑

↑

↓

↓

↓

↓

↑

↑

↑

↑

1

8

22

36

Contrary to our expectations, the calculated RC uptake ofryegrass was, in nearly 60% of the investigated conditions(soils without clay mineral amendments), reduced by
NH4+ fertilisation (Table 1). This result could be attributed
to the increased solution of K+ concentrations, which
resulted in a reduction of the RC concentration factor (CF),defined as RCplant/RCsolution. As these results contradict
earlier studies that empirically determined the RC plant
uptake after NH4+ fertilisation, we explain thephenomenon by high abundance of K+ shortly after the
NH4+ fertilisation and, later, K+ exhaustion causing astrong increase of the RC CF (Lasat et al., 1997;27

Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Dushenkov et al., 1999; Paasikallio and SormunenCristian, 2002; Ioannides et al., 2003; Sun et al., 2019).

Environ.
Sci.
Technol.
https://doi.org/10.1021/es980788+

Moreover, the calculated RC uptake was predominantly
increased by the zeolite and smectite amendments but
decreased by the vermiculite amendments relative to thecontrol without any amendments (Table 2). As all minerals
were K+ depleted prior to their application, solution K+
concentration decreased, and the RC concentration factor
increased. This effect exceeded the effect of reduced
solution RC concentrations, particularly in the zeolite
amended soils, as zeolite (Clinoptilolite) is a highly K+
selective clay mineral. Earlier assumptions that zeolite
amendments are helpful due to K+ release from the mineral
could therefore not be confirmed in this study (Fujimura etal., 2013; Yamaguchi et al., 2019). In contrast, the strong
reduction in solution RC concentration exceeded the effectof the increased RC CF in the vermiculite amended soils.
However, the preparation of the vermiculite used in thisstudy is cost intensive and therefore of less practicalrelevance. Summarising, NH4+ fertilisation includes therisk of RC desorption but needs to be considered in thecontext of solution K+ concentrations dynamics, while clay
mineral amendments are helpful in reducing the solution
RC concentration. However, potential solution K+
reductions need to be considered.

Fujimura, S., Yoshioka, K., Saito, T., Sato, Mutsuto, Sato,
Makoto, Sakuma, Y., Muramatsu, Y., 2013. Effects of Applying
Potassium, Zeolite and Vermiculite on the Radiocesium Uptake
by Rice Plants Grown in Paddy Field Soils Collected from
Fukushima Prefecture. Plant Prod. Sci. 16, 166–170.
https://doi.org/10.1626/pps.16.166

33,

469–475.

Ioannides, K.G., Papachristodoulou, C.A., Mertzimekis, T.J.,
Tzialla, C.E., 2003. Effect of soil amendments on radiocesiumtransfertoalfalfa.
HealthPhys.
84,
637–641.
https://doi.org/10.1097/00004032-200305000-00010
Lasat, M.M., Norvell, W.A., Kochian, L.V., 1997. Potential for
phytoextraction of 137Cs from a contaminated soil. Plant Soil
195, 99–106.
Paasikallio, A., Sormunen-Cristian, R., 2002. Harvesting strategy
and N fertilization influence 134Cs uptake by forage plants[WWW Document]. Agric. Food Sci. Finl. URL
https://orgprints.org/id/eprint/17096/ (accessed 9.4.22).
Smolders, E., Van den Brande, K., Merckx, R., 1997.
Concentrations of 137Cs and K in Soil Solution Predict the Plant
Availability of 137Cs in Soils. Environ. Sci. Technol. 31, 3432–
3438. https://doi.org/10.1021/es970113r
Sun, X., Kobayashi, S., Tokue, A., Itabashi, H., Mori, M., 2019.
Enhanced radiocesium uptake by rice with fermented bark andammonium salt amendments. J. Environ. Radioact. 202, 59–65.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2019.02.008

References
Dushenkov, S., Mikheev, A., Prokhnevsky, A., Ruchko, M.,
Sorochinsky, B., 1999. Phytoremediation of RadiocesiumContaminated Soil in the Vicinity of Chernobyl, Ukraine.

Yamaguchi, N., Hikono, A., Saito, T., 2019. Effects of zeoliteand vermiculite addition on exchangeable radiocaesium in soil
with accelerated ageing. J. Environ. Radioact. 203, 18–24.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2019.02.011

What can a mountain in Kenya tell us about the effect of weathering on radiocesiumbioavailability in soils?
Vanheukelom, M.1,2, Sweeck, L.1, Al Mahaini, T.1 Smolders, E.2
12

Biosphere Impact Studies, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK•CEN), Belgium
Division of Soil and Water Management, University of Leuven, Belgium

In September 2022, Margot Vanheukelom travelled to
Kenya to collect soil samples for the next experiment in her
PhD project, linked to the CRP D15019 on “Remediationof Radioactive Contaminated Agricultural Land”. The aim
was to collect soils that have a similar parent rock but
represent different stages of weathering and, as such,differences in soil mineralogy that can affect thebioavailability of radiocesium. A sequence of soils
collected at different altitudes is called a toposequence.
Toposequences on a volcanic mountain has often been usedin soil science to study soil weathering. In this scenario, theeffect of weathering could be studied on the bioavailabilityof radiocaesium in soils.

intervals of 250-300 m and at four locations on farms in thevalley, around Kitale, with the objective to find soils with
contrasting properties, so that the role of weathering
becomes clear (Figure 1). For the first part of the sampling,
the team had to be escorted by forest rangers. Equippedwith a shovel, bags and GPS, the team set out to find thesampling locations. The first sample at 2400 m a.s.l. wastaken along a dirt road that was easily accessible by vehicle.
However, for the next locations, the team had to go on footthrough a dense forest without walking trail to collect theremaining 30 kg of soil. As the journey was far and the teamwas hampered by vegetation and afternoon rains, the team
had to return after sampling at 2650 m and 2900 m altitude.
On the way down, the vehicle got stuck in the mud leaving
the team return only by midnight.

In practice, sampling the soils was challenging. In fourdays, at least 10 kg of soil had to be collected from four
locations on the mountain flank of Mount Elgon at altitude
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Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

The next day, continued with the aim, the team put thewalking boots and rain jackets back on for another climb totake the final sample at 3200 m altitude. For the second partof the sampling, the team drove to farms in Trans Nzoia
district to collect arable soils. The team had to explain the
project aims to farmers and ask where the typical weatheredtropical soils could be found. Finally, the soils had to be
air-dried and packed for transport so that on the last day
Margot could take the soil samples in her luggage to
Belgium.

K). Ryegrass will be grown on the soils for 30 days so thatthe ¹³⁷Cs soil-to-plant transfer factors can be determined.
The outcome will reveal the role of the soil weathering
stage on the ¹³⁷Cs bioavailability. All such work would
improve predictions of the ¹³⁷Cs soil-plant transfer used for
emergency preparedness and the recovery phase in case of
nuclear power plant accidents.
The sampling campaign was made possible by the funding
from the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK-CEN) andthe collaboration of the University of Eldoret (UoE) in
Kenya and the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) in
Belgium. It would never have gone so smoothly without thehelp of Dr. Abigael Otinga, Dr. Ruth Njoroge and Ms.
Mary Nekesa of UoE and Prof. Roel Merckx of KU
Leuven.

In addition to the soil series in Kenya, similar sequences
have been collected in Chile, France, Guatemala, thePhilippines, Spain and Vietnam. The soil properties arebeing measured and a selection of soils will be used in a pot
experiment where the soil is spiked with ¹³⁷Cs and two
potassium fertilizer scenarios are compared (no K vs. with

Figure 1. Sampling at Mount Elgon (from left to right Cambisol, Nitisol, Nitisol)

Figure 2. Sampling in farms around Kitale (from left to right Gleysol, Vertisol, Ferralsol) in the Trans Nzoia district, Kenya.

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Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Reducing the impact of decontamination efforts on downstream ecosystems in largescale nuclear emergencies affecting food and agriculture
Abrams, F.1,2, Sweeck, L.1, Camps, J.1, Van Orshoven, J.2
1 Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK•CEN), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium
2 Division of Forest, Nature and Landscape, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, University of Leuven, Belgium

In the areas affected by the Fukushima Daiichi and
Chernobyl nuclear power plant accidents, government-led
decontamination efforts reduced the radiation risk, yet its
long-term downstream impacts remain unclear (Bin et al.,2022). Because a major part of the deposited radiocaesiumon the ground will become tightly fixed to the clay
particles, subsequent migration with suspended sediments
into the river system will affect downstream areas (Qin etal., 2012; Yoshimura et al., 2015). Many studies havereported radiocaesium wash-off resulting from soil erosion
in Fukushima (Evrard et al., 2015; Onda et al., 2020) and
Chernobyl (Konoplev et al., 2021). Bin et al (2022)
demonstrated that upstream decontamination efforts caused
persistently excessive suspended sediment loads
downstream. Rapid vegetation recovery can shorten the
duration of such unsustainable results and assessing the offsite impact should therefore be included in the remediation
process. A Cellular Automata Based Heuristic Solution

Method for Minimizing Flow (CAMF) was adapted toconsider not only the quantity but also the Cs-137
concentration of the transported sediments. Through thecollaboration between the partners of the CRP D15019 on“Remediation of Radioactive Contaminated AgriculturalLand”, it became possible to use data acquired in the region
affected by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant
accident to help develop and test these models. Using an
iterative workflow, the model will identify areas with thehighest contribution of radiocaesium wash-off to the outlet.
This information, as seen in Figure 1, can be provided todecision makers for improving the sustainability ofremediation actions. This model will be further integrated
with the on-site decision support system (OREFA)
developed under CRP D15019, where it can help improvethe efficient allocation of resources for remediation ofagricultural regions.

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Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Figure 1. Identification of priority areas for remediation decisions based on the production of sediments (right) and land use (left)
in the Maarkebeek catchment after a hypothetical accident.

Referencesand EXAFS Technique.”doi:10.2343/geochemj.2.0214.

Evrard, O., Laceby, J.P., Lepage, H., Onda, Y., Cerdan, O., andAyrault, S., 2015. “Radiocesium Transfer from Hillslopes to the
Pacific Ocean after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant
Accident: A Review.” Journal of Environmental Radioactivity
148: 92–110. doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2015.06.018.

In

Geochemical

Journal.

Kazuya, Y., Onda, Y. and Kato, H., 2015. “Evaluation ofRadiocaesium Wash-off by Soil Erosion from Various Land Uses
Using USLE Plots.” Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 139.
Elsevier Ltd: 362–69. doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2014.07.019.

Feng, B., Onda, Y., Wakiyama, Y., Taniguchi, K., Hashimoto, A.
and Zhang, Y., 2022. “Persistent Impact of Fukushima
Decontamination on Soil Erosion and Suspended Sediment.”
Nature Sustainability. Springer US. doi:10.1038/s41893-02200924-6.

Konoplev, А., Kanivets, V., Zhukova, O., Germenchuk, M., andDerkach, H. 2021. “Mid- to Long-Term Radiocesium Wash-offfrom Contaminated Catchments at Chernobyl and Fukushima.”
Water
Research
188.
Elsevier
BV:
116514.
doi:10.1016/j.watres.2020.116514.

Haibo, Q., Yokoyama, Y., Fan, Q., Iwatani, H., Tanaka, K.,
Sakaguchi, A., Kanai, Y., Zhu, J., Onda, Y. and Takahashi, Y.,
2012. “Investigation of Cesium Adsorption on Soil and Sediment
Samples from Fukushima Prefecture by Sequential Extraction

Onda, Y., Taniguchi, K., Yoshimura, K., Kato, H., Takahashi, J.,
Wakiyama, Y., Coppin, F., and Smith, H., 2020. “Radionuclides
from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Terrestrial
Systems.” Nature Reviews Earth & Environment. Springer US.
doi:10.1038/s43017-020-0099-x.

Validating banana drought stress proxies on-farm in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania
Vantyghem, M.1,2,3, Nkombe, B.2,4,5, Merckx, R.2, Hood-Nowotny, R.3, Dercon, G.1
1

Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food andAgriculture, Seibersdorf, Austria
2
Division of Soil and Water Management, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, KU Leuven, Belgium
3
Institute of Soil Research, Department of Forest and Soil Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna,
Austria4
School of Life Sciences and Bio-Engineering, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha, Tanzania.
5International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Arusha, Tanzania

Research under the PUI (Peaceful Uses Initiative) projecton ‘Enhancing climate change adaptation and diseaseresilience in banana-coffee cropping systems’ in East

Africa, funded by Belgium, has indicated that stable carbon
isotopes (δ13C) and leaf temperature can be used to detect
drought stress in banana. This was determined during
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Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

We found that leaf temperature and δ13C in the phloem sap
clearly correlated over the variable farm environments,
although only under sunny conditions (Figure 1). The
presence of clouds prevents the leaves from warming up,
resulting in no variability in leaf temperature. Moreover,
we found that shadiness within the farm was the main
driver of variability in both parameters and thus, drought
stress. Parts of the farm where banana plants werecompletely shaded by trees were the least stressed.
Intercropping of banana with trees is a commonly applied
strategy in this highland area. Our research confirms that
this strategy might be very beneficial when insufficientirrigation water is available. This is already the case fairly
often and climate change is only expected to make watersupplies even less reliable.

greenhouse experiments and in controlled field
experiments. The next step in the project was to test therobustness of these drought stress measurement methods
on-farm. Smallholder farms typically greatly vary in termsof soil fertility, water availability, which are all factors that
could potentially affect δ13C and leaf temperature, so theirimplication as a proxy for stress under farm conditions is
far from evident.
Leaf temperature and δ13C of the phloem sap were
measured in 10 farms in the Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania.
Measurements took place during the dry season. Twentyseven plants (both mother and daughter plants) were
sampled in three plots per farm, which varied in water
availability. Phloem sap was collected in the morning,
while leaf temperature was measured at noon. Furthermore,data were collected on tree shading within the farm andoverall cloudiness.

Figure 1. Relation between leaf temperature and δ13C in phloem sap in plots with different water availability in 10 farms (n = 9)
under clouded and sunny conditions.

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Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Counteracting drought effects in cassava production systems: An update on the
CIALCA activities at SWMCNL
Van Laere, J.1,2,3, Barhebwa, F.4, Birindwa, D.2, Munyahali, W.1, Merckx, R.2, Hood-Nowotny, R.3,
Dercon, G.1
1

Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear techniques in Food andAgriculture
2
Division of Soil and Water Management, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, University of Leuven, Belgium
3
Institute of Soil Research, Department of Forest- and Soil Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna,
Austria4
Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

Climate change is a driver of agricultural shifts around theglobe. Due to an increase in dry spell frequency andtemperatures in Central-Africa, various crops will lose theirimportance, while others will become more suitable. In
Central-Africa, cassava is one of those crops that will gain
importance. It is generally believed that this crop can stillachieve considerable yields on nutrient poor soils andunder drought. However, yield losses of up to 70% havebeen found in cassava, more severely when the drought
happened during the first four months after planting. This
increases the importance of the search for agronomical
practices to improve water use efficiency in cassava
cropping systems.

At 4 months after planting, morphological as well as
physiological parameters of the plants were measured in
multiple repetitions, spread over the different locations.
Leaf samples were taken and isotopic composition of bulk,
soluble sugars and cellulose are being measured by Isotope
Ratio Mass Spectrometry in the SWMCN Laboratory in
Seibersdorf. Preliminary results of isotopic analyses can befound in Figure 2.

The SWMCN Laboratory has been working previouslywith cassava in controlled greenhouse experiments,
researching how drought, fertilizer application and variety
selection are reflected in isotopic signatures (C-13 andO-18, proxies for water use efficiency and stomatal
conductance respectively). As a follow up, the work was
taken to the field, more specifically to the Democratic
Republic of Congo. In collaboration with IITA under the
CIALCA project, cassava fields were planted under
supervision of Fidèle Barhebwa in Walungu, Uvira andBunyakiri, to assess effects of fertilizer application (control
vs NPK) and weeding time and frequency on water use
efficiency (Figure 1).

Figure 2. Field work on study site in Walungu, DR Congo.

Fertilizer application significantly increased the δ13C
(p < 0.05) in both bulk and soluble sugars of samples from
Uvira, while the same, but insignificant trend was found in
Bunyakiri. This means that applying fertilizer increased the
intrinsic water use efficiency of the plants. Trends between
different leaf levels are different for bulk (upward trend
towards the upper leaf) and sugars (increase towards
middle leaf and stagnation or decrease towards upper leaf).
This shows that other information is stored in the isotopic
signal of both materials. Further steps will be to link
isotopic information with yields, morphological andphysiological parameters, to understand cassava’s response
to fertilizer application.
Figure 1. Measuring stomatal conductance and relatedparameters

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Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Uvira (n=12)

Bunyakiri (n=13)

-24

-24

plot

-26

13

-26

δ 13C of bulk [‰]-22

δ C of bulk [‰]

-22

AB

A

ABC

BC

C

BC

-28

-28

-30

C

C

A

AB

AB

control
NPK

B

-30
LOW

MID

UP

-22

LOW

MID

UP

-22

-26

AB

δ 13C of soluble sugar [‰]δ 13C of soluble sugar [‰]

B
B

-24

-24

AB

AB

A

B

-26

-28

B

B

B

AB
A

-28

-30

-30
LOW

MID

UP

LOW

Leaf level

MID

UP

Leaf level

Figure 2. Isotopic composition (δ13C) of cassava leaves from the field work in Uvira and Bunyakiri. Leaves from the lower level, middle level andupper level were analyzed for isotopic composition in bulk (upper two panels) and extracted soluble sugars (lower two panels). Each dot represent
the means of 12 (Uvira) or 13 (Bunyakiri) samples, while error bars represent standard errors. Yellow color represents control plots, while blue
color represents plots that received NPK fertilization. Different letters per panel show significant (p<0.05) difference between the groups, basedon anova followed by tukey HSD

Effect of urease inhibitor and biofertilizer on wheat production
Mirkhani, R.1, 2, Heiling, M. 1, Mitchell, J.1, Eichinger, C.1, Hood-Nowotny, R.3,
Toloza, A.1, Heng, L.4, Dercon, G.1
1

Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food andAgriculture, Seibersdorf, Austria
2
Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, Tehran, Iran
3
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria
4
Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Section, Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture,
Vienna, Austria

Agricultural production must increase by 50% to support
about 9 billion people by 2050 (Alexandratos andBruinsma, 2012). Previous studies showed that integrated
crop-soil management strategies can improve cereal yieldby 30% without increasing nitrogen (N) use (Chen et al.,2014). Sustainable agricultural practices can help reach thispoint by improving resource use efficiency.

Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), located at GroßEnzersdorf in the east of Vienna, to determine the effect ofurease inhibitors and biofertilizers on wheat production(Figure 1). A randomized complete block design including
five treatments and four replicates was used in this study.
Each main plot was 9 by 9 meters, and a buffer zone of 1.5
meters was implemented between each of the individual
main plots. The treatments were: T1 (control treatment without N fertilizer), T2 (Urea only), T3 (Urea+Urease
Inhibitor(UI)),
T4(Urea+Biofertilizer),
T5

In the spring of 2022, a field experiment was established at
the experimental station of the University of Natural
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Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

(Urea+UI+Biofertilizer). All treatments received 50 kg N
ha-1 at tillering stage (GS 31), except T1. In this study N-(nbutyl) thiophosphoric triamide (nBTPT) or “Agrotain” wasused as UI and Azotobacter chroococcum“AZOTOHELP” was used as biofertilizer.

orFigure 1. Spring wheat in Groß-Enzersdorf (Vienna)

To determine wheat yield (grain and straw), a 1.5 by 8
meter area was harvested in each main plot (9 by 9 meters)(Figure 1). To measure other parameters including thenumber of tillers per square meter, 1000-grain weight (g),plant height (cm), spike length (cm) and numbers of grains
per spike, a 1m-by-1m area was harvested within each main
plot for all treatments.

grains per spike and the weight of 1000-grain in the
Urea+UI+Biofertilizer treatment (T5) showed an increaseof about 20 and 11%, respectively, compared to the Urea
treatment (T2), but these increases were not significant.
Plant height in treatments that received N fertilizer was notaffected by fertilization treatments, but spike length wasaffected (Figure 2).

The highest grain and straw yields were observed in the T5treatment (Urea+UI+Biofertilizer), with a grain yield of
about 20, 11, 8% higher, compared to the T2 (Urea), T3(Urea+UI) and T4 (Urea+Biofertilizer) treatments,
respectively. A significant difference between the T2 andT5 treatments could be observed with regards to grain andstraw yields. However, the yields of the T3 and T4
treatments were not significantly different from both T2 andT5 treatments. There was also no significant difference ingrain and straw yields and other parameters between the
Urea+UI and Urea+Biofertilizer treatments. The number ofReferences:
Alexandratos, N., and Bruinsma, J., 2012. World Agriculture
Towards 2030/2050: the 2012 Revision. ESA Working Paper No.
12-03, FAO, Rome.
Chen, X., Cui, Z., Fan, M., Vitousek, P., Zhao, M., Ma, W.
Q., Wang, Z. L., Zhang, W. J., Yan, X. Y., Yang, J. C., Deng, X.
P., Gao, Q., Zhang, Q., Guo, S. W., Ren, J., Li, S. P., Ye, Y.
L., Wang, Z. H., Huang, J., Tang, Q., Sun, Y., Peng, X., Zhang,J., He, M., Zhu, Y., Xue, J., Wang, G., Wu, L., An, N., Wu, L.,
Ma, L., Zhang, W., Zhang, F., 2014. Producing more grain withlower environmental costs. Nature, 514, 486

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Soils Newsletter Vol. 45 No. 2, Jan 2023

Figure 2. The effect of different fertilization treatments (T1: control treatment; T2: Urea; T3: Urea+UI; T4: Urea+Biofertilizer; T5:
Urea+UI+Biofertilizer) on grain and straw yields, number of grains per spike, 1000-grain weight, plant height, and spike length. The vertical bars
indicate the standard deviation. A mean comparison between fertilization treatments from Tukey’s HSD-test indicates a significant difference at
p<0.05. The same letters indicate groups that were not significantly different from one another. * UI: Urease Inhibitor

Analytical Services
Resch,C.1, Pucher, R.1 and Toloza, A.1
1

Soil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition Laboratory (SWMCNL), Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Foodand Agriculture, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria

In 2022, the SWMCN Laboratory analysed 9496 samples
for stable isotopes and 73 samples for radionuclides. Most
analyses were carried out for supporting Research andDevelopment activities at the SWMCNL focused on thedesign of affordable isotope and nuclear techniques toimprove soil and water management in climate-smart
agriculture, to support soil conservation measures andcombat soil erosion.

36

Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2, Jan 2023

Publications
Albinet, F., Dercon, G. (2022). What is the role of Artificial Intelligence in MIRS based soil analysis? International
symposium on Managing Land and Water for Climate-Smart Agriculture, Vienna, 25 – 29 Jul 2022, ID #328
Albinet, F., Dercon, G., Eguchi, T., Peng, Y., Smolders, E. (2022). Prediction of exchangeable potassium in soil
through mid-infrared spectroscopy and deep learning: from prediction to explainability. International
symposium on Managing Land and Water for Climate-Smart Agriculture, Vienna, 25 – 29 Jul 2022, ID # 190
Albinet, F., Peng, Y., Eguchi, T., Smolders, E., Dercon, G. (2022). Prediction of exchangeable potassium in soil
through mid-Infrared spectroscopy and deep learning: From prediction to explainability. Artificial Intelligencein Agriculture, Volume 6, Pages 230-241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aiia.2022.10.001
Beelen, E. (2022). Unraveling carbon dynamics in banana mats through a 13C labelling experiment. Master thesis, KU
LeuvenBhat, N.R., Thomas, B., Al-Mansour, H., Said Ahmed, H., Eid, L., Almulla, L., Suleiman, M. (2022). Climate-smart
nutrient and irrigation management for sustainable date palm production in arid environments. International
symposium on Managing Land and Water for Climate-Smart Agriculture, Vienna, 25 – 29 Jul 2022, ID #191
Blagodatskaya, E., Guliyev, V., Glaser, B., Meniailo, O., Tanunchai, B., Purahong, W. (2022). Decomposition of biobased and biodegradable plastic and its consequences on soil organic carbon stock. International symposium on
Managing Land and Water for Climate-Smart Agriculture, Vienna, 25 – 29 Jul 2022, ID #343
Blake, W., Harbottle, Ar., Benmansour, M., Mabit, L., Millward, G.E., Toloza, A. (2022). Fallout Be-7 as a tracer tosupport soil conservation and climate smart agriculture. International symposium on Managing Land and Water
for Climate-Smart Agriculture, Vienna, 25 – 29 Jul 2022, ID #204
Bogena, H., Schrön, M., Jakobi, J., Ney, P., Zacharias, S., Andreasen, M., Baatz, R., Boorman, D., Duygu, .M.,
Eguibar-Galán, M. A., Fersch, B., Franke, T., Geris, J., González Sanchis, M., Kerr, Y., Korf, T., Mengistu, Z.,
Mialon, A., Nasta, P., Nitychoruk, J., Pisinaras, V., Rasche, D., Rosolem, R., Said, H., Schattan, P., Zreda, M.,
Achleitner, S., Albentosa-Hernández, E., Akyürek, Z., Blume, T., Del Campo, A., Dimitrova-Petrova, K., Evans,
J. G., Frances, F., Güntner, A., Herrmann, F., Iwema, J., Jensen, K. H., Kunstmann, H., Lidón, A., Looms, M.
C., Oswald, S., Panagopoulos, A., Patil, A., Power, D., Rebmann, C., Romano, N., Scheiffele, L. M.,
Seneviratne, S., Weltin, G., Vereecken, H. (2022). COSMOS-Europe: A European Network of Cosmic-Ray
Neutron Soil Moisture Sensors, Earth System Science Data. 14, 1125–1151. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-141125-2022
Dang, D. N., Ha, L. A., Mai, D. K., Vu, H., Adu-Gyamfi, J., J. Heng, L. (2022) Dual isotopic fingerprinting of sulfur(δ34S-SO4) and oxygen (δ18O-SO4) and related techniques for partitioning different sources of contaminantsin the aquatic environment of Red River delta, Vietnam. Journal Environmental Research (In press)
Dercon, G. (2022). Linking nuclear and digital techniques for enhancing the use and conservation of soil and water
resources. Science and Innovation, World Food Forum, Rome.
Eichinger, C., (2022). Impact of EDTA soil washing on microbial life and ecosystem functions – a stable isotope
labelling approach. JESIUM 2022 Joint Europe Stable Isotope Users group Meeting 10 – 14 October 2022,
Kuopio, Finland.
Hood-Nowotny, R., (2022). Cover crop C inputs; isotope insights from a long-term field trial. JESIUM 2022 Joint
Europe Stable Isotope Users Group Meeting 10 – 14 October 2022, Kuopio, Finland.
Hood-Nowotny, R., Toloza, A., Heiling, M., Dercon, G. (2022). Stable isotopes can help understanding processes ofcarbon turnover and storage in soils: Results of a ten year long-term trial in Austria. International symposium on
Managing Land and Water for Climate-Smart Agriculture, Vienna, 25 – 29 Jul 2022, ID #294
Khododadi, M., Blake, W., Ajili, F., Ahmadi, E., Toloza, A., Fuentealba, Lo. (2022). Evaluating the impact of installingcheck-dams on the sediment sources using geochemical fingerprints in Zarivar Lake watershed, Iran. International
symposium on Managing Land and Water for Climate-Smart Agriculture, Vienna, 25 – 29 Jul 2022, ID #225
Ma, D., Zhang, H., Song, X., Xing, S., Fan, M., Heiling, M., Liu, L., Zhang, L., Yanling M, (2022). Estimating soilorganic carbon and nitrogen stock based on high-resolution soil databases in a subtropical agricultural area ofChina. Soil & Tillage Research, 219:105321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2022.105321
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Soils Newsletter Vol. 45 No. 2, Jan 2023

Meniailo, O., Dercon, G., Adu-Gyamfi, J., Heiling, M., Resch, C., Heng, L. (2022). Microplastics in agricultural soils:
a new field for stable isotopes application. International symposium on Managing Land and Water for ClimateSmart Agriculture, Vienna, 25 – 29 Jul 2022, ID #119
Meniailo, O., Eichinger, C., Deroo, H., Dercon, G., Adu-Gyamfi, J., Heiling, M., Resch, C., Heng, L. (2022). Nuclear
techniques to fight Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR): uncovering the fate of Sulfamethoxazole in agricultural soils
with stable isotopes. International symposium on Managing Land and Water for Climate-Smart Agriculture,
Vienna, 25 – 29 Jul 2022, ID #90
Menyailo, O., Makarov, M., Cheng, C.-H., Makarov, M. (2022). Direct and reverse microbial priming for clarifying therole of ectomycorrhizae in the turnover of soil carbon under Arolla pine (Pinus sibirica). International symposiumon Managing Land and Water for Climate-Smart Agriculture, Vienna, 25 – 29 Jul 2022, ID #89
Menyailo, O., Sobachkin, R., Makarov, M., Cheng, C.-H. (2022). Tree species and stand density: Effects on soil organic
matter content, decomposability and susceptibility to microbial priming, EGU General Assembly 2022. EGU221634. https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-1634.
Menyailo, O., Sobachkin, R.S., Makarov, M.I., Cheng, C.-H. (2022). Tree Species and Stand Density: The Effects on
Soil Organic Matter Contents, Decomposability and Susceptibility to Microbial Priming. Forests, 13, 284.
https://doi.org/10.3390/f13020284
Merckx, R., Van Laere, J., Vantyghem, M., Dercon, G. (2022). Tracing and tracers for climate smart agriculture morethan a research tool? International symposium on Managing Land and Water for Climate-Smart Agriculture,
Vienna, 25 – 29 Jul 2022, ID #290
Mirkhani, R. And Heng, L. (2022). Maximizing the planting date of wheat with AquaCrop model and isotopic massbalance method for adaptation to climate change. International symposium on Managing Land and Water for
Climate-Smart Agriculture, Vienna, 25 – 29 Jul 2022, ID #124
Modou, M., Amenzou, N., Benmasour, M., Said Ahmed, H., Hamid, M., Houria, D., Moussadek, R., Mahe, H. (2022).
A near-real-time web GIS tool for climate smart water management by combining Cosmic-Ray Neutron Sensor
data and remote sensing data (Sentinel 1 & 2 and MODIS). International symposium on Managing Land andWater for Climate-Smart Agriculture, Vienna, 25 – 29 Jul 2022, ID #194
Modou, M., Said Ahmed, H., Toloza, A., Weltin, G., Trenton, F., Fulajtar, E., Gerhard, R., Rosolem, R., Strauss, P.,
Dercon, G., Heng, L. (2022). Deep neural network for cosmic-ray neutron sensors calibration. International
symposium on Managing Land and Water for Climate-Smart Agriculture, Vienna, 25 – 29 Jul 2022, ID #183
Mwape, M., Said Ahmed, H., Phiri, E., Dercon, G., Heiling, M., Heng, L., Resch, C. (2022). Understanding theinteraction between maize water use efficiency and nutrient uptake in irrigated cropping systems, a basis forpredicting and improving Zambia’s productivity in a changing climate. International symposium on Managing
Land and Water for Climate-Smart Agriculture, Vienna, 25 – 29 Jul 2022, ID #184
Namulisa, P., Heiling, M., Grand, A., Resch, C., Dercon, G., Hood-Nowotny, R. (2022). Greenhouse gas emissions fromworm-compost-biochar combinations from farm to production to fork. EGU General Assembly 2022. Abstract
EGU22-7741. https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-7741
Namulisa, P., Hood-Nowotny, R., Heiling, M., Resch, C., Dercon, G. (2022). Greenhouse gas emissions from wormcompost-biochar combinations; a potential peat alternative? International symposium on Managing Land andWater for Climate-Smart Agriculture, Vienna, 25 – 29 Jul 2022, ID #301
Navas, A., Lizaga, I., Santillán, N., Gaspar, L., Latorre, B., Dercon, G. (2022). Targeting the source of fine sedimentand associated geochemical elements by using novel fingerprinting methods in proglacial tropical highlands(Cordillera Blanca, Perú). Hydrological Processes, Open Access Volume 36, Issue 8, article number e14662
Said Ahmed, H., Modou, M., Toloza, A., Dercon, G., Weltin, G., Fulajtar, E., Heng, L., Gerhard, R., Strauss, P. (2022).
High-resolution soil moisture map using Cosmic-Ray Neutron Sensors data and Sentinel-1. International
symposium on Managing Land and Water for Climate-Smart Agriculture, Vienna, 25 – 29 Jul 2022, ID #196
Said Ahmed, H., Toloza, A., Dercon, G., Diels, J., Fulajtar, E., Heng, L., Modou, M., Weltin, G. (2022). Field scale soil
moisture monitoring with Gamma Rays Sensor. International symposium on Managing Land and Water for
Climate-Smart Agriculture, Vienna, 25 – 29 Jul 2022, ID #193

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Van Laere, J., Merckx, R., Hood-Nowotny, R., Dercon, G. (2022). A dual stable isotope (C-13 and O-18) approach toassess drought tolerance of two contrasting varieties of cassava with different potassium availabilities.
International symposium on Managing Land and Water for Climate-Smart Agriculture, Vienna, 25 – 29 Jul 2022,
ID #220
Van Laere, J., Willemen, A., De Bauw, P., Hood-Nowotny, R., Merckx, R., Dercon, G. (2022) Carbon allocation in
cassava is affected by water deficit and potassium application - a 13C-CO2 pulse labelling assessment. Rapid
communications in Mass Spectrometry. doi: 10.1002/rcm.9426
Vantyghem, M., (2022) Carbon allocation to banana suckers under optimal and drought conditions – evidence from a¹³CO₂ pulse. JESIUM 2022 Joint Europe Stable Isotope Users group Meeting 10 – 14 October 2022, Kuopio,
Finland
Vantyghem, M., Beelen, E., Hood-Nowotny, R., Merckx, R., Dercon, G. (2022). Carbon allocation to banana suckers
under optimal and drought conditions – evidence from a 13CO2 pulse-labeling experiment. Joint European Stable
Isotope Users Group Meeting, 10 – 14 Oct, Kuopio, Finland.
Vantyghem, M., Merckx, R., Stevens, B., Hood-Nowotny, R., Swennen, R., Dercon, G. (2022). The potential of stablecarbon isotope ratios and leaf temperature as proxies for drought stress in banana under field conditions.
Agricultural Water Management, 260, 107247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2021.107247
Vantyghem, M., Nkombe, B.M., Merckx, R., Hood-Nowotny, R., Dercon, G. (2022). Validating two banana drought
stress proxies on-farm in the Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania. International symposium on Managing Land andWater for Climate-Smart Agriculture, Vienna, 25 – 29 Jul 2022, ID #207
Vantyghem, M., Swennen, R., Merckx, R., Hood-Nowotny, R., Heiling, M., Resch, C., Dercon, G. (2022). Innovative
indicators for drought stress in banana. Accelerated breeding of better bananas – annual project meeting.
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, 23 – 25 May, Arusha, Tanzania.
Watzinger, A., Formayer, H., Heiling, M., Hood-Nowotny, R., Kisielinska, W., Leitner, S., Miloczki, J., Murer, E.,
Prommer, J., Resch, C., Spiridon, A., Wanek, W., Wawra, A. (2022). Drought due to climate change will reduce
plant production, delay mineralization and reduce denitrification in an agrocecosystem. International symposiumon Managing Land and Water for Climate-Smart Agriculture, Vienna, 25 – 29 Jul 2022, ID #263
Wellens, J., Raes, D., Fereres, E., Diels, J., Coppye, C., Adiele, J. G., Ezui, K. S. G., Becerra, L.-A., Selvarai, M. G.,
Dercon, G., & Heng, L. K., (2021). Calibration and validation of the AquaCrop water productivity model for
cassava(Manihotesculenta
Crantz).
Agricultural
Water
Management,
263,
107491.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2022.107491
Yu, H., Adu-Gyamfi, J., Oshunsanya, S.O., Chappelle, A., Liu, W., Zheng, Y. Xue, T., Heng, L. (2022) Novel sedimentsource fingerprinting quantifying erosion-induced total nitrogen and total phosphorus outputs from an intensive
agricultural catchment, North China. International Soil and Water Conservation Researchhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.iswcr.2022.10.006

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Soils Newsletter Vol. 45 No. 2, Jan 2023

Websites and Links
 Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Section:
https://www.iaea.org/topics/land-and-water-management
 Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture:https://www.iaea.org/topics/food-and-agriculture Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO):
http://www.fao.org/home/en Nuclear applications in agriculture On-the-ground success stories:
https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/cb5847en.pdf

Disclaimer

Impressum
Soils Newsletter Vol. 45, No. 2
The Soils Newsletter is prepared twice per year by the Soil and Water Management andCrop Nutrition Section, Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food andAgriculture and FAO/IAEA Agriculture & Biotechnology Laboratories, Seibersdorf.
International Atomic Energy Agency
Vienna International Centre, PO Box 100, 1400 Vienna, Austria
Printed by the IAEA in Austria, January 2023
22-05703

40This newsletter has not been edited by theeditorial staff of the IAEA. The views
expressed remain the responsibility of thecontributors and do not necessarily
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