Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Biotechnology provides a valuable solution for reducing
the amount of chemical fertilisers used in conventional farm-
ing, finally leading to a reduction in the amount of greenhouse
gases released into the atmosphere. This has been made pos-
sible by the development and use of modern biotechnology such
as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that have low fer-
tiliser input needs. For example, the rice and canola developed
by Arcadia Biosciences are genetically modified (GM) to use
nitrogen more efficiently, resulting in reduced fertiliser needs.
This technology, which is referred to as nitrogen use efficiency
(NUE), allows farmers to produce yields equivalent to conven-
tional agriculture without a significant requirement for nitro-
gen fertilisers. Artificial inorganic nitrogenous fertilisers like
ammonium sulphate, ammonium chloride, ammonium phos-
phate, sodium nitrate and calcium nitrate are responsible for
the formation and release of greenhouse gases (especially N
2
O)
from the soil to atmosphere when they interact with common soil
bacteria (Brookes and Barfoot, 2009). Additionally, improved
NUE in crops leads to the lower emission of greenhouse gases
in the atmosphere through reduced fertiliser application. The
reduced input of nitrogen fertilisers also means less nitrogen
pollution of ground and surface waters. The GMOs and other
related technologies like organic farming also reduce on-farm
fuel usage, leading to reduction in CO
2
emissions, by decreas-
ing the necessity and frequencies of spraying with fertilisers,
pesticides and herbicides. Additionally, the GM crops will con-
tinue to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through reduced fer-
tiliser application by combining the initial CO
2
reduction with
further improvements in biotechnology research.
The use of environment-friendly biotechnology-based fer-
tilisers (composted humus and animal manure) should be
encouraged to reduce the negative effects of artificial fertilis-
ers. Organic farming based on biofertilisers, crop rotation and
intercropping with leguminous plants having nitrogen-fixing
abilities are among some of the conventional biotechnologi-
cal strategies for reducing artificial fertilisers use (Varshney
et al., 2011). The use of genetically engineered techniques
to improve
Rhizobium
inoculants led to the development of
strains with improved nitrogen-fixing characteristics. The
non-leguminous cereal crops, such as rice and wheat, can be
made to fix nitrogen in the soil by inducing nodular structures
on their roots using biotechnological approaches (Yan et al.,
2008). Additionally, manipulation of animal diet and manure
management can reduce CH
4
and N
2
O emissions from animal
husbandry (Johnsona et al., 2007). Agricultural biotechnology
