(Research period: 1990-1996)
Technologies to control greenhouse gas circulation have been developed using functions of agro-, forest- and marine-ecosystems. Techniques for the prediction of changes in production capacity of the major agricultural products associated with the global environmental changes have been developed. Outlines of the major themes are as follows:
(1) Assessing impacts of global change on agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
(2) Parameterizing the CO2 budget in the biosphere.
(3) Analyzing and enhancing CO2 fixation capacity of ecosystems.
(4)Control of CH4 and N2O flux in agro- and forest-ecosystems.
(5) Analyzing impacts of global change on agro-,forest- and marine-ecosystems.
(6) Predicting impacts of global change on agro-,forest- and marine-ecosystems.
(Research period:1993-1997)
The rare metals have been recently suspected to enter into agro-ecosystems through the activities of high technology industries.The behavior of these elements in water-soil-plant systems has been studied to prevent the contamination by these metals.
(1) The effects of pH (3.6-7.5) on the absorption of rare metal elements on soil in soil-water systems was examined.The rate of absorption was found to be higher at the higher solution pH.
(2) The influence of various pH levels of extractant was investigated on the solubility of rare metals in the soil. Rare metals were divided into six groups and the majority of rare metals was found to change to the form which is hard for plants to absorb in neutral soil pH.
(3) The concentration of nickel, copper, zinc, arsenic, cadmium, antimony, bismuth, silver and lead were raised remarkably in soil within one month by the application of any sewage sludge. Thallium concentration was raised by one of the tested four sludges.
(4) No specific plant species contained a rare metal at high
concentrations in tested conditions. The order of accumulation in
plant shoots is as follows:
Ti > Cd > Li > Ag > Be.
(Research period:1994-1997)
Four main results in 1996 are selected as follows:
(1) Prediction of solar radiation by satellite image data from "Himawari".
(2) Predictions of the emergence time and flowering time of soybean by using the development rate function.
(3) Evaluation of resistance to cool summer damage in the paddy fields under continuous input of low nitrogen and common usage of nitrogen.
(4) Determination of development parameters of paddy rice in our country.
Now, we are developing crop growth models and also a new system which can be used to analyze the daily growth of crops and predict crop yield in real time.
Next year is the last year of this project. Therefore,we will publish a collection of main research results from four years.
Furthermore, we will have a training course in 1998, on how to obtain data from crop fields,to use meteorological data and to predict the growth and yield of crops.
(Research period:1994-1998)
How to measure and evaluate quantitatively the environmental impacts, including loads and purification from rural areas,is not an easy problem especially from non-point sources under varying natural conditions. In the project,we aim to study and publish of manuals on monitoring methods:
(1) Research methods to investigate and map characteristics of soil, topography, ground water movement and land uses.
(2) Research methods to investigate the input and output of agricultural chemicals and organic nutrients.
(3) Measurement and sampling of runoff discharge of water, soil, nutrients and chemicals at a time of heavy rain.
(4) Development of biological indicators for environmental evaluation.
(5) Modeling of environmental discharge from rural catchment areas.
(Research period:1996-1998)
Outlines of the project are as follows:
(1) Prediction and modeling of carbon dioxide in natural ecosystems in a jack pine boreal forest, a tropical monsoon forest and a cool temperate forest.
(2) Prediction and modeling of carbon dioxide in such artificial ecosystems as a double-crop(upland rice - barley) rotation system and an artificial Larix and Abies forests in subalpine zones.
(3) Soil microbiological functions and soil process models.
(4) Modeling of global carbon cycling. Three kinds of global carbon cycling models for the evaluation and prediction of carbon dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems.
(Research period:1996-1998)
The objective of this project is to develop appropriate methodologies required for applying recombinant DNA technology in agriculture. Achievements in three years research are:
(1) Improvement in methodologies for safety assessment of agricultural products to use as foods.
(2) Improvement of safety assessment methods and the management of genetic recombinants for use in the open field.
(3) Studies on the public acceptance of the use and sale of recombinants through public opinion surveys.
(Research period:1996-1999)
Various pollutants, including recalcitrant chemicals,have been released into the environment,and pose serious environmental problems. The bioremediation technique is considered to be superior to other remediation techniques for many reasons, including the efficiency of decomposition and removal of pollutants, cost effectiveness, and safety to the environment.
In this project:
(1) Microorganisms which degrade organic pollutants are being isolated and screened. These microorganisms are being characterized and degradation pathways are elucidated.
(2) The stability of degrading genes during cultivation and in the environment are being examined. Structures, functions and expression of degrading genes are being analyzed,and improvements in degrading ability are being attempted using recombinant DNA techniques.
(3) Bioremediation ability displayed by mixed cultures in the environment is being analyzed,and techniques to optimize the degrading ability of microorganisms in the environment are being developed.
(Research period:1996-2000)
The purpose of this project is to identify macro-indicators (MI) such as flood prevention, water retention, water quality, soil erosion, landslide, soil fertility, biodiversity, climatic mitigation, and landscape, and to evaluate the impacts of agriculture, forestry and fisheries on natural resources and the environment. The research meeting was held on 19-20 February 1997 at NIAES with about 140 scientists. To promptly cope with the situation within and outside the country, the images of macro-indicators were evaluated, and 12 principal results were selected.
(Research period:1996-2000)
To answer the key question,"what will happen in rice ecosystems with the increase of atmospheric CO2 ",we will conduct FACE (Free-Air CO2 Enrichment) in rice paddies in Shizukuishi (Lat. 39°40'N,long.141°E).
The FACE system will be newly designed with innovative features, e.g. use of pure-CO2 emitters for much lighter and simpler FACE rings. After 2 years of system design and site preparation, we will conduct the FACE experiment for 3 years. We will study rice growth and yield under high CO2, changes in carbon dynamics, i.e. assimilation, translocation and respiration, in rice plants, changes in carbon and nitrogen dynamics in the rice ecosystem, and changes in methane emission.
The FACE results will be used to test existing models of rice growth and ecosystems.