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Very small organisms that live in the world’s farm fields release nitrous oxide gas. Some scientists link the gas to climate change. They are looking for a way to deal with the issue.
生活在世界农田里的极小生物会释放一氧化二氮气体。 一些科学家将这种气体与气候变化联系起来。他们正在寻找解决这一问题的方法。
Now, some researchers think they have found bacteria that can help reduce the amount of nitrous oxide released.
现在，一些研究人员认为他们已经发现了可以帮助减少一氧化二氮释放量的细菌。
In a recent publication of Nature, scientists said tests in the laboratory and in the field showed that one kind of bacteria reduced nitrous oxide without hurting other microbes in the soil.
在最近的《自然》杂志上，科学家们表示，实验室和实地测试表明，一种细菌可以减少一氧化二氮，而不会伤害土壤中的其他微生物。
The bacteria also survived well in soil and would not be very costly to produce.
这种细菌在土壤中也能很好地存活，而且生产成本不会很高。
Lars Bakken is with the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. He was one of the writers of the study.
拉尔斯·巴肯在挪威生命科学大学工作。他是这项研究的作者之一。
Bakken said, “It opens up...a number of new possibilities in bioengineering of the farmed soil.”
巴克肯谈到：“这一发现挖掘出……在农田土壤生物工程方面的一些新的可能性。”
The Associated Press reports that nitrous oxide can warm the atmosphere 265 times more than an equal amount of carbon dioxide.
据美联社报道，一氧化二氮使大气变暖的能力是等量二氧化碳的265倍。
Nitrous oxide can remain in the atmosphere for more than a hundred years.
一氧化二氮可以在大气中停留超过一百年。
Farmers’ use of nitrogen fertilizer drives up the amount of nitrous oxide produced in soil.
农民使用氮肥增加了土壤中一氧化二氮的产量。
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that, in 2022, nitrous oxide made up six percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from human activities.
美国环境保护署表示，2022年，一氧化二氮占美国人类活动温室气体排放总量的6%。
That is a big problem in agriculture, said Lori Hoagland of Purdue University in the state of Indiana. Hoagland was not involved in the recent study.
印第安纳州普渡大学的洛里-霍格兰表示, 这是农业中的一个大问题。霍格兰没有参与最近的研究。
She described the plan to reduce nitrous oxide as “really interesting.”
她形容减少一氧化二氮的计划“非常有趣”。
Bakken and other researchers used organic waste to grow their bacteria.
巴肯和其他研究人员使用有机废物来培养他们的细菌。
Building on past work, the researchers looked for a microorganism that would last long enough to reduce nitrous oxide emissions without staying in the soil so long that it hurt other life forms that are important for crop health.
基于过去的工作，研究人员寻找一种微生物，这种微生物能够持续足够长的时间来减少一氧化二氮的排放，同时不会在土壤中停留太久，以至于伤害到对作物健康很重要的其他生命形式。
In field tests, the researchers used robots to measure nitrous oxide emissions during the day and during the night.
在实地测试中，研究人员使用机器人来测量白天和夜间的一氧化二氮排放量。
They compared conditions in soil with and without the bacteria.
他们比较了有细菌和没有细菌的土壤状况。
Researchers found the bacteria reduced the nitrous oxide emissions of the first fertilizer treatment by 94 percent.
研究人员发现，细菌使第一种肥料处理的一氧化二氮排放量减少了94%。
Two weeks later, the bacteria reduced the emissions of a second fertilizer treatment by about half.
两周后，细菌将第二种肥料处理的排放量减少了约一半。
After about three months, there was no difference in the makeup of microbial life forms.
大约三个月后，微生物生命形式的构成没有差异。
This suggested to the researchers that their bacteria would not change or hurt the soil.
这向研究人员表明，他们的细菌不会改变或伤害土壤。
The bacteria that researchers used is found naturally in anaerobic digesters, machines that are already being used to turn organic waste products like cow manure into biofuels.
研究人员使用的细菌是在厌氧消化器中自然发现的，这种机器已经被用于将牛粪等有机废弃物转化为生物燃料。
The researchers said the bacteria are not genetically modified.
研究人员表示，这种细菌不是转基因的。
That might ease acceptance of their use, said Paul Carini of the University of Arizona. Carini was also not involved in the research.
亚利桑那大学的保罗·卡里尼表示，这可能会使他们更容易接受这种使用方式。卡里尼也没有参与这项研究。
Bakken said the bacteria could be included in some fertilizers on farms in three to four years if people think it is worth the cost.
巴肯称，如果人们认为值得，这种细菌可能会在三到四年内被加入到一些农场的肥料中。
Carini thinks using the bacteria is worth it.
卡利尼认为使用这种细菌是值得的。
“Any time you’re using a waste product from one industry to benefit another industry, that’s pretty cost effective,” he said.
他说到：“任何时候，当你利用一个行业的废品来造福另一个行业时，这都是非常划算的。”
However, Bakken pointed out that farmers are not paid for reducing nitrous oxide emissions.
然而，巴克肯指出，农民并没有因为减少一氧化二氮排放而获得报酬。
He thinks there must be additional incentives for emissions reductions.
他认为，必须有额外的减排激励措施。
“Any time you’re using a waste product from one industry to benefit another industry, that’s pretty cost effective,” he said.
"他说："当局的任务是制定政策工具，以某种方式使其有利可图。
Hoagland, the Purdue professor, said more research in field conditions would likely be needed before the bacteria could be used worldwide.
普渡大学教授霍格兰表示，在这种细菌能够在世界范围内使用之前，可能需要在实地条件下进行更多的研究。
That is because soil is different in places around the world.
那是因为世界各地的土壤是不同的。
“If they can get this to work across soils...it would just have a tremendous impact, for sure,” she said.
她谈到：“如果他们能让它在各种土壤中都起作用……那肯定会产生巨大的影响。”
I’m John Russell.
我是约翰·拉塞尔。
