Mohamed Hijri: A simple solution to the coming phosphorus crisis
Mohamed Hijri: O soluţie simplă la criza fosforului
Mohamed Hijri studies arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), seeking to understand the structure, evolution and reproduction of these organisms, which form a symbiotic relationship with plant roots. Full bio
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by asking you a question:
with the blue algae problem?
it's a serious issue.
blue algae-contaminated water,
I won't be talking about blue algae.
I'll be talking about the main cause
the phosphorus crisis.
about the phosphorus crisis today?
that nobody else is talking about it.
I hope that the general public
and this issue.
in this situation with blue algae?
that it comes from how we farm.
chemical fertilizers.
in agriculture?
and to produce a better yield.
şi să avem recolte mai bune.
that is without precedent.
a crash course in plant biology.
in order to grow?
needs light, it needs CO2,
it needs nutrients,
are essential chemical elements:
these resources.
that is linked to phosphorus.
majoră legată de fosfor.
the most problematic chemical element.
you will have seen
and where we are today.
This is a very important point.
what the phosphorus issue is.
care este problema cu fosforul.
in several molecules,
is phosphorus-based --
These are called phospholipids.
ATP, is phosphorus-based.
phosphorus is a key component of DNA,
and which is shown in this image.
arătat aici în această imagine.
phosphorus is a key player.
fosforul are aici un rol cheie.
from the soil, through water.
from the things we eat:
eat better than others.
which speaks for itself,
as intensive agriculture.
on the use of chemical fertilizers.
we would not manage to produce enough
7 billion of us on Earth.
there will be 9 billion of us.
Do we have enough phosphorus
Avem destul fosfor
where do we find our phosphorus?
100 percent of a given dose of phosphorus.
Eighty-five percent is lost.
85% se pierde.
ending its journey in the lakes,
which leads to the blue algae problem.
ceea ce determină problema cu algele albastre.
something that is illogical.
but only 15 percent goes to the plant.
is that it is very expensive.
out the window,
that's what is happening here.
depends on phosphorus.
to the plant, all the rest is lost,
this phosphorus from?
of an extraordinary article
about the phosphorus crisis.
which is becoming increasingly scarce,
Politicians and scientists are in agreement
Politicienii şi oamenii de ştiinţă sunt de acord
for a phosphorus crisis.
o criză a fosforului.
is an open-pit mine in the U.S.,
este o mină deschisă în SUA
of the dimensions of this mine,
despre dimensiunea acestei mine,
the little crane you can see,
vedeţi o mică macara,
we talk about global warming,
vorbim despre încălzirea globală,
the phosphorus crisis.
despre criza fosforului.
oil is something we can replace.
petrolul e ceva ce putem înlocui.
but phosphorus is an essential element,
dar fosforul este un element pur,
and we can’t replace it.
şi nu putem să îl înlocuim.
of the world's phosphorus reserves?
al rezervei mondiale de fosfor?
of where we are today.
a locului în care ne aflăm astăzi.
for phosphorus reserves.
pentru rezervele de fosfor.
it will all be gone.
toată rezerva se va termina.
I’ll be retired by then.
Eu voi fi pensionar până atunci.
for a major crisis,
către o criză majoră,
of this problem.
de această problemă.
We are faced with a paradox.
Ne aflăm în faţa unui paradox.
will be available.
va fi disponibil.
the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization,
Organizaţiei Mondial pentru Alimentaţie şi Agricultură,
in 2050 than we do today.
de două ori pe cât producem astăzi
but we'll need to produce more food.
dar va trebui să producem mai multă mâncare.
or an alternative
sau vreo alternativă
phosphorus use?
folosirea fosforului?
that has existed for a very long time,
care a existat de multă vreme,
that is very mysterious,
foarte misterioase,
and yet also extremely complex.
şi totuşi foarte complexe.
for over 16 years now.
de peste 16 ani.
for my laboratory research.
pentru cercetarea de laborator.
with the roots.
cu rădăcini.
and mutually beneficial association
bidirecţională şi reciproc benefică
of a mycorrhiza.
unei micorize.
all by itself.
singură.
which surrounds it.
the root is ineffective.
rădăcina nu mai acţionează.
in its search for phosphorus.
cu căutarea ei de fosfor.
microscopic mushroom.
şi microscopică ciupercă.
to seek out phosphorus.
pentru a căuta fosfor.
the root’s one-millimeter scope
de perimetrul limitat la un milimetru al rădăcinii,
for 450 million years.
de peste 450 de milioane de ani.
has evolved and adapted to seek out
a evoluat şi s-a adaptat pentru a căuta
and to put it to use,
şi a o folosi
in the real world, is a carrot root,
în lumea reală, este o rădăcină de morcov,
with its very fine filaments.
cu filamentele ei foarte fine.
we can see that this mushroom
vedem că această ciupercă
between the root's cells,
printre celulele rădăcinii,
a typical arbuscular structure,
o structură tipică arbusculară
the exchange interface
interfaţa de schimb
that mutual exchanges will occur.
va apare schimbul reciproc.
I’m going to reduce it to 25 percent.
o voi reduce la o pătrime.
most will benefit the plant,
majoritatea va fi benefică plantei,
will remain in the soil.
va mai rămâne în pământ.
we don't even need to add phosphorus.
nici nu mai e nevoie să adăugăm fosfor.
I showed you earlier,
pe care le-am expus înainte,
it is in insoluble form.
se află în formă insolubilă.
soluble forms.
decât în forme solubile.
of dissolving this insoluble form
să dizolve această formă insolubilă
for the plant to use.
pentru a se folosi de acesta.
here is a picture that speaks for itself.
iată aici o fotografie care vorbeşte de la sine.
in a field of sorghum.
într-un câmp de sorg.
produced using conventional agriculture,
produsă utilizând agricultura convenţională,
the dose was reduced to 50 percent,
doza a fost redusă la jumătate,
we achieved a better yield.
am obţinut o recoltă mai bună.
that this method works.
că această metodă funcţionează.
Mexico and India,
în Mexic şi în India,
and in several other cases,
şi în multe cazuri,
any phosphorus at all,
să adăugăm fosfor,
and drawing it from the soil.
şi îl ia cu succes.
in Canada.
în Canada
but not in the other.
dar nu şi la celălalt.
and yellow a weaker yield.
şi galben - o recoltă mai proastă,
I have invented nothing.
nu am inventat nimic nou sub soare.
for 450 million years,
de peste 450 milioane de ani,
modern-day plant species to diversify.
să se diversifice la ora actuală.
that is still undergoing lab tests.
care să mai necesite cercetări şi teste.
and commercialized worldwide.
şi comercializată în întreaga lume.
that people are not aware of it.
nu sunt conştienţi de ea.
are still not aware of this problem.
nu sunt încâ conştienţi de această problemă.
will alleviate some of the pressure
va atenua unele din presiunile
on the world's phosphorus reserves.
pe rezervele de fosfor ale lumii.
I am a scientist and a dreamer.
eu sunt un om de ştiinţă, dar şi un visător.
what my retirement dream is,
care e visul meu la pensionare,
that phosphorus peak,
atingem vârful de consum al fosforului,
"Made with mycorrhiza,"
pe care scrie „produs cu micoriză",
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Mohamed Hijri - BiologistMohamed Hijri studies arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), seeking to understand the structure, evolution and reproduction of these organisms, which form a symbiotic relationship with plant roots.
Why you should listen
Mohamed Hijri is a professor of biology and a researcher at the plant biology research institute (l'Institut de recherche en biologie végétale) at the Université de Montréal. His work focuses on the most common and widespread symbiotic relationship on earth -- between plant roots and a type of fungi found in the soil called arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). These fungi improve plant growth by increasing roots' ability to absorb phosphorus, while also boosting resistance to pathogens.
As Hijri points out in his talk, the study of AMF and a deeper understanding of them could have big implications for agriculture and could help divert us from an impending crisis -- that we are quickly running out of phosphorus.
Mohamed Hijri | Speaker | TED.com