Hydrogels are macromolecular networks able to absorb and release water solutions in a reversible manner, in response to specific environmental stimuli. Such stimuli-sensitive behaviour makes hydrogels appealing for the design of ‘smart’ devices, applicable in a variety of technological fields. In particular, in cases where either ecological or biocompatibility issues are concerned, the biodegradability of the hydrogel network, together with the control of the degradation rate, may provide additional value to the developed device. This review surveys the design and the applications of cellulose-based hydrogels, which are extensively investigated due to the large availability of cellulose in nature, the intrinsic degradability of cellulose and the smart behaviour displayed by some cellulose derivatives. Keywords: Hydrogels; cellulose; biodegradation. 1. Introduction Hydrophilic polymers can swell and absorb water without dissolving, provided that chemical or physical crosslinks exist among the macromolecular chains. The polymer network resulting from the crosslinks swells in the aqueous solvent, until the thermodynamic force of swelling is totally counterbalanced by the elastic, retractive force exerted by the crosslinks. This ‘solid-like solution’ of polymer and water resulting at equilibrium is known as a hydrogel. The amount of water retained by

Biodegradable Cellulose-based Hydrogels: Design and Applications

Drought, the occurrence of a substantial water deficit in the soil or in the atmosphere, is an alarming constraint to crop productivity and yield stability worldwide. It is the leading environmental stress in world agriculture, causing losses in crop yield probably exceeding losses from all other causes combined. Drought stress adversely affects a variety of vital physiological and biochemical processes in plants, leading to reduced growth and final crop yield. Some plant species have evolved mechanisms to cope with the stress, including drought avoidance, dehydration avoidance, or dehydration tolerance. Such adaptive mechanisms are the results of a multitude of morphoanatomical, physiological, biochemical, and molecular changes. Osmoregulation is the most common physiological adaptation, which takes place by reducing cellular water potential via accumulation of a variety of organic and inorganic solutes in the cell. As a consequence, such plants are capable of taking up water from a low water potential medium to sustain normal or near normal physiological processes necessary for growth and development. However, most economically important crop species lack the capability of coping with this type of drought stress, precluding their cultivation under water-limited conditions. Various strategies have been proposed to facilitate crop production under drought conditions, in particular, development of new crop varieties with enhanced drought tolerance. Genetic improvement of crop plants for drought tolerance is a long-term endeavor, which requires, among other things, the availability of genetic sources of tolerance, knowledge of the physiological mechanisms and genetic controls of tolerance traits at different developmental stages, and employment of suitable germplasm screening and breeding protocols. An alternative and quicker strategy to promote plant drought tolerance is exogenous application of various compounds, including organic solutes (organic osmolytes and plant growth regulators) and mineral nutrients. Recently, this strategy has gained considerable attention because of its efficiency, feasibility, and cost- and labor-effectiveness. In this chapter, we review the roles of organic osmolytes, plant growth regulators, and mineral nutrients in plant response to drought stress and discuss their exogenous application in enhancing plant drought tolerance and alleviating the damaging effects of drought stress.

Drought Tolerance: Roles of Organic Osmolytes, Growth Regulators, and Mineral Nutrients

Hydrogel synthesis based on lignin/sodium alginate and application in agriculture

Reforestation efforts in dryland ecosystems frequently encounter drought and limited soil productivity, although both factors usually interact synergistically to worsen water stress for outplanted seedlings. Land degradation in drylands (e.g. desertification) usually reduces soil productivity and, especially, soil water availability. In dry sub-humid regions, forest fires constitute a major disturbance affecting ecosystem dynamics and reforestation planning. Climate change projections indicate an increase of drought and more severe fire regime in many dryland regions of the world. In this context, the main target of plantation technology development is to overcome transplant shock and likely adverse periods, and in drylands this is mostly related to water limitations. In this paper, we discuss some selected steps that we consider critical for improving success in outplanting woody plants, both under current and projected climate change conditions including: (1) Plant species selection, (2) Improved nursery techniques, and (3) Improved planting techniques. The number of plant species used in reforestation is increasing rapidly, moving from a reduced set of well-known, easy-to-grow, widely used species, to a large variety of promising native species. Available technologies allow for reintroducing native plants and recovering critical ecosystem functions for many degraded drylands. However, climate change projections introduce large uncertainties about the sustainability of current reforestation practices. To cope with these uncertainties, adaptive restoration approaches are suggested, on the basis of improved plant quality, improved techniques for optimizing rain use efficiency in plantations, and exploring native plant species, including provenances and genotypes, for their resilience to fire and water use efficiency.

Perspectives in dryland restoration: approaches for climate change adaptation

Superabsorbent polymers (SAP) are used, inter alia, as soil amendment to increase the water holding capacity of soils. Biodegradability of soil conditioners has become a desired key characteristic to protect soil and groundwater resources. The present study characterized the biodegradability of one acrylate based SAP in four agricultural soils and at three temperatures. Mineralisation was measured as the 13CO2 efflux from 13C-labelled SAP in soil incubations. The SAP was either single-labelled in the carboxyl C-atom or triple-labelled including additionally the two C-atoms interlinked in the SAP backbone. The dual labelling allowed estimating the degradation of the polyacrylate main chain. The 13CO2 efflux from samples was measured using an automated system including wavelength-scanned cavity ring-down spectroscopy. Based on single-labelled SAP, the mean degradation after 24 weeks varied between 0.45 % in loamy sand and 0.82 % in loam. However, the differences between degradation rates in different soils were not significant due to a large intra-replicate variability. Similarly, mean degradation did not differ significantly between effective temperature regimes of 20° and 30 °C after 12 weeks. Results from the triple-labelled SAP were lower as compared to their single-labelled variant. Detailed results suggest that the polyacrylate main chain degraded in the soils, if at all, at rates of 0.12–0.24 % per 6 months.

Biodegradability of a polyacrylate superabsorbent in agricultural soil

In this study results of hydrogel application in reclamations are presented. The application of hydrogel af - fected the survival of pine seedlings during two vegetation periods after planting. Double application of STOCKOSORB AGRO (gel) on the root system after lifting caused an about 19% higher survival rate compared to control variants. The application of 7 g/planting hole of STOCKOSORB MICRO granules caused overdosage and plant mortality. The application of hydrogel granules is simple but it is very complicated not to cause the overdosage because of the very high swelling capacity of hydrogel. Research should be carried out to determine suitable hydrogel application rates for different environmental conditions and tree species. To design a technology with regard to the economic effectiveness of application will be a very important task.

/pdf/effect-of-hydrogel-application-on-survival-and-growth-of-3dlqfxdab0.pdf

Effect of hydrogel application on survival and growth of pine seedlings in reclamations

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Effect of hydrogel application on survival and growth of pine seedlings in reclamations