Lincoln Researchers Find Way to Prepare Soils for the Impacts of Climate Change

Scientists at the University of Lincoln have discovered a promising new way to help protect crops from one of climate change's growing threats to global food production - increasing soil salinity.

The study, led by Professor Matthew Goddard, at the University of Lincoln and funded by UKRI-Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), has shown that naturally occurring soil microbes can be "trained" to better tolerate saltier conditions, potentially helping farmers maintain crop yields as climate change continues to alter agricultural environments.

Published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, the research addresses one of the world's fastest-growing agricultural challenges. Rising sea levels, changing rainfall patterns and increasing temperatures are leading to increased saline levels in agricultural soil, reducing their ability to support healthy crop growth. Around 30 per cent of agricultural soils worldwide are already affected by increased salinisation, with that figure expected to rise to around 50 per cent by 2050.

The research found that exposing soils to low levels of saline irrigation encouraged naturally occurring microbial communities within the soil to adapt over time. These adapted communities were better able to function under increased salinisation, helping established crops continue to grow and maintain yields where higher salinity would normally have a damaging effect.

Rather than introducing new organisms or chemicals, the approach works by encouraging the soil's existing microbial community to become more resilient, offering what researchers believe could become a practical and cost-effective way for growers to prepare farmland for future climate conditions.

The findings suggest farmers could, in effect, "teach" soils to cope with increasing salinity before conditions become severe, supporting food production in regions increasingly affected by climate change.

Professor Matthew Goddard: "As is all too apparent in the UK at the moment, the heat and lack of rain are having significant effects. As far as we are aware this is first demonstration of being able to 'engineer' natural agricultural microbiomes to support food production under climate change, and this method also reduces the amount of fresh water used by agriculture. This approach could be integrated with other methods into a holistic management approach that could help secure food systems for future climate change conditions in a sustainable way."

The researchers found that the adapted soil microbiomes showed changes in their structure and activity, improving nutrient turnover and enabling them to better withstand saline conditions.

The researchers believe the work could provide an important new tool in helping agriculture adapt to climate change, complementing existing approaches to crop breeding and water management while supporting long-term global food security.

The study, Supporting crop yields under climate change by engineering innate soil microbiomes, has been published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology and funded by BBSRC BB/X002969/1.