APAN2007 on August 29, 2007

A novel system for measuring and sharing vitality of soil microbial community in worldwide farme

r/researcher network.

Kazunari YOKOYAMA(NARO)Akira MINEMURA(GIFU pref.)

Chiharu MORIKAWA(ISHIKAWA pref.)Seishi YOSHIDA(NAGANO pref.)Masayuki MAEDA(NIIGATA pref.)

Yoshihiro HASHIMOTO(SAKATA seed co.)

China depends on irrigated land to produce 70 percent of the grain for its huge population of 1.2 billion people, but it is drawing more and more of that water to supply the needs of its fast-growing cities and industries. As rivers run dry and aquifers are depleted, the emerging water shortages could sharply raise the country's demand for grain imports, pushing the world's total import needs beyond exportable supplies.

1.4 billion peoples

beyond exportable supplies

Serious concerns for sustainability and environmental safe

Impact of human activities onto soil biotic environment

Difficulty in scientific research of impact on soil biotic Environment.

Difficulty in evaluation of soil microbial community.

Difficulty in rational decision making on the environmental risks.

Outbreak of “Techno-phobia”….

Escapism from prior investments for potential risks in the future.

１０１０～１１ units/gMore than 1000 spp/gMostly unknownVast of labor Invisible

Only 1/1000 to 1/100 are culturable

Very diverse and gigantic but impossible to know what and how many

Impossible to apply conventional concept

Need to develop a new concept of diversity

What the soil microbes are:

StrainA

StrainB

StrainC

StrainD

distanceA-B

distanceAB-C

distanceABC-D

Taxon-independent Diversity Index= (sum of distances)2/number of strains

Suppressive soil

The natural suppressive soil had highly balanced structure

Diseased soil

Measuring balance of information structure of the components orientated by the MDS (Multi Dimensional Analysis)

化学肥料区 豚ぷん区 稲わら堆肥区0

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Bacteria

Fungi

Yield(kg/a)Relationship between yield and diversity of Soil microbial Community　

Relationship between fertilizer and diversity of Soil microbial Community　

What we found :

We have discovered that the diversity of soil microbial communities in the agricultural fields has been shrinking world-widely in the case without human positive care.

OmniLog PM System

Soil vitality as a GIS information

熱水消毒

Ping point management of soil vitality

The ShangHai Institute is now under construction

We open around Dec. in 2007!We open around Dec. in 2007!

Next Steps

• Business Models– Soil Vitality Analysis and Consulting

• 200 soils/month/person

– World Soil Vitality map– Collaboration with the GIS

• Environmental Friendly Rural Development

• Environmental Reforming