Katie ODea

An exciting collaboration is taking place between Trinity College Dublin’s TERRAFORM group and a research team at University College Dublin working on the “Crushed returned concrete as a soil amendment for carbon capture” project. Co-funded by iCRAG and Silicate, the project aims to investigate the potential of concrete application on agricultural soils as a negative emissions technology. A team of botanists and geologists from two leading Irish universities have joined forces to provide a holistic understanding of the potential of enhanced weathering to capture carbon, as well as any possible benefits for crops.
The project draws on silicate weathering, an ancient process that plays an important role in the Earth’s long-term carbon cycle, capturing CO2 from the atmosphere and helping regulate the Earth’s climate over millions of years. Cations produced during rock weathering react with CO2 from the atmosphere and the reaction products are eventually stored deep in the ocean as carbonates.
The ancient silicate weathering process inspired the exploration of enhanced weathering as a negative emissions technology. The practice aims to accelerate weathering reactions in order to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and reduce the effects of global warming. It commonly involves crushing silicate rocks followed by application onto agricultural soils, where it has the added benefit of weathered rock acting as a fertilizer by providing nutrients to crops. This project is unique in that it aims to investigate the possibility of using an otherwise waste industrial product, concrete, as the reactant in this process, further streamlining the sustainability of enhanced weathering as a practice.
Pilot studies are in full swing on fields of barley and oat located in Co. Wexford. Dr Ruadhán MaGee and Leo Hickey, based at UCD, study the CO2 removal potential under field conditions. Terraform members, Dr Christos Chondrogiannis and Katie O’Dea investigate the impact of concrete application on crop physiology and yields.
Possible positive results yield multiple benefits including; 1) Enhanced weathering as a carbon negative emission technique, 2) Alternate use of crushed concrete, a waste by-product of construction industry, 3) use of rocks as a crop soil fertilizer.

Two of our lab members Prof. Jennifer McElwain and Dr. Christos Chondrogiannis had the privilege of attending a Gordons Research Conference (GRC) on the topic of photosynthesis from 7th – 12th of May 2023. The conference took place at Renaissance Tuscany Il Ciocco Resort & Spa, a tranquil estate nestled in the lush hilltops of Tuscany, Italy.

The conference, titled “CO2 Assimilation in Plants from Genome to Biome”, brought together researchers from leading labs, from PhDs making the first steps in their career to famous, well-established researchers of photosynthetic studies. The aim of the conference was to advance frontiers in the field of photosynthesis by showcasing cutting edge and unpublished research on a wide suite of plants, from rare species to widely cultivated crops. The rigorous discussions that happened between researchers informally were a highlight of the event. Fruitful discussions that stretched over lunch and well into the evening led to the genesis of new ideas and future collaborations.

Prof. Jennifer McElwain presented the final talk of the conference, titled ‘Reconstructing Terrestrial Ecosystem Function in Deep Time using Paleo-Plant Traits and Paleo-Ecosystem Modelling’. McElwain discussed the importance of accurate estimates and reconstructions of atmospheric CO2 through deep time. She also presented her idea of paleo-traits, the application of modern plant functional trait ecology within palaeobotany, which will enable reconstruction of plant activity in paleo-environments.

Dr. Christos Chondrogiannis presented a poster titled ‘Photosynthetic rate as a focal trait to assess plant weathering rate across evolutionary groups’, detailing how his chamber experiments aim to establish a correlation between photosynthesis and weathering rates and uncover information on how these processes interact. Chondrogiannis also had the pleasure of attending a workshop on the 6th of May, titled “Photosynthetic efficiency in a changing environment.”

The EGU23 General Assembly was held in Vienna from 14-19 April 2023. Located on an island in the magical Danube, the warm and welcoming Austria Center Vienna welcomed the 15,453 attendees from 107 countries around the world. The conference was a great success, as 16,357 presentations were given in 938 different sessions.

TERRAFORM was represented by Christos Chondrogiannis, William Matthaeus and Richard Nair.

Christos Chondrogiannis gave an oral presentation in the session “Co-evolution of life and the Earth, and major transitions in Earth’s biosphere and environment” titled “TERRAFORM: Trait ecology and Biogeochemical cycles in deep time”. He presented the goals of TERRAFORM project, how plants affect the biogeochemical cycles, and how modern trait ecology can be implemented in the fossil record to inform us about plant activity in the deep time.

William Matthaeus had a poster titled “Moisture seasonality as a differential driver of modelled forest distribution during the Pennsylvanian” presenting part of his recent work. Specifically, by using the Paleo-BGC ecosystem process model, he showed simulation evidence supporting the long-held inference that moisture seasonality explains the spatial distribution of the major plant types of the late Paleozoic ice age.

Finally, Richard Nair, presented a poster titled “Day-night root dynamics change through the growing season”, where he showed shifts in the diurnal pattern of root growth during the growing season. Richard, was also a co-convener at the session titled “Vegetation functional responses to global change across multiple methods and scales” and presented during the townhall meeting for the CLEANFOREST EU COST action.

Many participants were interested in the work of the attending TERRAFORM members, with a high level of engagement around the presentations. In addition, the members of the group had the opportunity to attend presentations related to their research interests. At the same time, fruitful discussions and acquaintances with emerging and distinguished scientists took place.