An interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Houston has received a $500,000, three-year grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to investigate nature-based approaches for restoring wetland ecosystems in Galveston Bay.
The project brings together Abdul Latif Khan, associate professor of Biotechnology; Xiaonan Shan, associate professor of Electrical Engineering; and Shuhab Khan, professor of Remote Sensing in NSM’s Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. It combines expertise in biotechnology, environmental sensing and remote sensing as a result. The team will investigate how native vegetation and microbial communities can reduce excess nutrients and help restore degraded wetland habitats.
“The microbe-assisted phytoremediation (MAP) technology will be developed and tested in Galveston Bay,” Abdul Latif Khan said. “This is a nature-friendly approach where the wetland will be enriched with native vegetation and its microbes to reduce nutrient runoff and support habitat restoration efforts.”
Khan, in collaboration with Shan and Shuhab Khan, identified several focus points for the project.
- Nutrient survey and quantification: Developing new methods for detecting and quantifying nutrients from wetland waterbodies and rhizospheric soil. Shuhab Khan’s GeoRS Lab is leading efforts to use satellite- and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based data to create maps of vegetation and water health across 16 sites. These remote sensing observations will allow the team to evaluate wetland conditions over larger areas and track changes through time, complementing the water and soil measurements collected in the field. Shan’s lab’s specially designed water-surface drone will be used to collect and analyze water samples in real time. This will create spatio-temporal passport data for these sites for future studies.
- MAP technology for nutrient conversion: The project will demonstrate and develop novel and ecologically friendly strategies using local habitat microbial diversity to reduce nutrients. They plan to develop a culture bank of microbes (fungi and bacteria, about 1,000 strains) native to the wetland ecosystem for biodiversity gene pool conservation and use for broader ecological functions. They also plan to identify 30 to 40 new strains and their combination, with the potential to remove nutrients, produce ecosystems, and improve local vegetation growth.
- Wetland vegetation benefits due to microbial consortium application: The project will assess the health of four keystone vegetation species – Mangrove, Saltwort, Cordgrass and Salicornia — and their soil health by studying microbial diversity and their abilities to maintain a healthy ecosystem. They will also promote vegetation through microbial symbionts, which are key to reducing coastal erosion, flooding, and biodiversity losses.
The project will also have an extensive community and academic impact, given its need for skilled researchers. Two Ph.D. students will be trained in environmental monitoring, vegetation and habitat restoration research, with six master’s students also slotted in for roles. About 45 undergraduates and an additional cohort of high school students in wetland ecology and biotechnology fields will participate in summer events.
“We will arrange three workshops with about 40 participants per year to educate and train local communities – farmers, urban community members and youth — in microbiome and ecosystem restoration,” Khan said. “Nearly 120 individuals will be trained and educated in all.”
The past few years have been a busy, productive time of research for Abdul Latif Khan’s lab. Recently, his lab published a key study on the microbial species of halophyte plants in Galveston Bay. The work proposed how hypersaline microbes can improve soybean plant growth during saline soil conditions. The Khan Lab is headquartered at the Sugar Land Campus of the University of Houston.