Evolution of organic matter fractions after application of co-compost of sewage sludge with pruning waste to four Mediterranean agricultural soils. A soil microcosm experiment

What Influence Does Conventional Tillage Have on the Ability of Soils to Sequester Carbon, Stabilise It and Become Saturated in the Medium Term? A Case Study in a Traditional Rainfed Olive Grove

Soils have the capacity to store three times more carbon (C) than the atmosphere. This fact has focused scientific and governmental attention because it is one way to mitigate climate change. However, there comes a time when the capacity of soils to store C reaches a limit, considering soil organic carbon (SOC) saturation. In the Mediterranean area, agricultural soils are traditionally exposed to conventional tillage (CT), causing soil properties and quality degradation. Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether CT modifies the carbon storage capacity (carbon saturation), linked to soil mineral fractions <20 µm in olive grove soil in a Mediterranean area over 15 years. The results showed losses of SOC and soil organic carbon stock (SOC-S) over the period studied. Moreover, CT significantly affected aggregate grain size, reducing the percentage of small macro-aggregates (2000–250 µm) by 51.1%, 32.9%, 46.6%, and 50.6% for the Ap, Bw, BC, and C horizons, respectively, and promoting an increase in fine fractions (large micro-aggregates (250–53 µm), silt + clay fraction (53–20 µm) and fine silt + clay (<20 µm)). After 15 years, SOC fractionation showed a decrease in SOC concentration within the large macro-aggregate fraction (>2000 µm) of 38.6% in the Bw horizon; however, in the small macro-aggregates (2000–250 µm), an increase in SOC concentration over time, of 33.5%, was observed in the Ap and Bw horizons. This increasing trend continued in the fine soil fractions. Concerning SOC bound to the fine mineral fraction (<20 µm), evolution over time with CT led to an increase in soil sequestration capacity in the first horizons of 44.7% (Ap horizon) and 42.9% (Bw horizon), and a decrease in depth (BC horizon) of 31.3%. Finally, the total saturated soil organic carbon stock (T-SOC-Ssat), after 15 years, experienced an increase of 30.5 Mg ha−1, and these results conditioned the soil organic carbon stock deficit (SOC-Sdef), causing a potential increase in the capacity of soils to sequester carbon, of 15.2 Mg ha−1 in 15 years. With these results, we can affirm that the effect of CT in the medium term has conditioned the degradation of these soils and the low SOC concentrations, and has therefore made it possible for these soils, with the application of sustainable management practices, to have a high carbon storage capacity and become carbon sinks.

Towards sustainable agroforestry management: Harnessing the nutritional soil value through cocoa mix waste

Climate change and environmental degradation have contributed in compromising the soil nutrient integrity of cocoa farmlands, yet sustainable nutrient recycling innovation in cocoa waste management has received less research attention. Utilizing experimentation methodology in an agroforestry system composed of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) and a Nitrogen-fixing Gliricidia sepium (Jacq. Kunth ex Walp.), the study examines how the soil nutritional level of farmland can be enhanced. The study confirms the proposition that the rate of decomposition and nutrients release from an innovative mixed waste sample (60% cocoa waste and 40% gliricidia waste in this case) is significantly higher in comparison with the traditional cocoa waste only sample. The results further established that innovative mixed waste sample had a faster decomposition rate (no biomass left at 216 days after laying) as compared to traditional cocoa waste which fully decomposed at 277 days after laying. A difference of 51 days after laying justifies the waste mixture decomposition as a sustainable nutrient recycling innovation within cocoa agroforestry waste management context. These results have implications for agroforestry waste management, soil nutrient recycling and cocoa industry performance.

An analysis of the versatility and effectiveness of composts for sequestering heavy metal ions, dyes and xenobiotics from soils and aqueous milieus

The persistence and bioaccumulation of environmental pollutants in water bodies, soils and living tissues remain alarmingly related to environmental protection and ecosystem restoration. Adsorption-based techniques appear highly competent in sequestering several environmental pollutants. In this review, the recent research findings reported on the assessments of composts and compost-amended soils as adsorbents of heavy metal ions, dye molecules and xenobiotics have been appraised. This review demonstrates clearly the high adsorption capacities of composts for umpteen environmental pollutants at the lab-scale. The main inferences from this review are that utilization of composts for the removal of heavy metal ions, dye molecules and xenobiotics from aqueous environments and soils is particularly worthwhile and efficient at the laboratory scale, and the adsorption behaviors and effectiveness of compost-type adsorbents for agrochemicals (e.g. herbicides and insecticides) vary considerably because of variabilities in structure, topology, bond connectivity, distribution of functional groups and interactions of xenobiotics with the active humic substances in composts. Compost-based field-scale remediation of environmental pollutants is still sparse and arguably much challenging to implement if, furthermore, real-world soil and water contamination issues are to be addressed effectively. Hence, significant research and process development efforts should be promptly geared and intensified in this direction by extrapolating the lab-scale findings in a cost-effective manner.

Effects on soil phosphorus dynamics of municipal solid waste compost addition to a burnt and unburnt forest soil

The main aim of this research was to assess the effects of municipal solid waste compost (MSWC) addition to a burnt and unburnt calcareous soil, on the distribution of soil P forms in particle-size and extractable fractions. Three MSWC doses (1, 2 and 4% w/w) were added to burnt and unburnt soil samples and were incubated for 92 days at 29 °C and 75% of field capacity moisture. A particle-size fractionation followed by a sequential P extraction procedure was carried out. The burnt soil showed significantly lower concentrations of organic P forms (P_org) and significantly higher concentrations of stable P forms than the unburnt soil. Besides, in both burnt and unburnt soils, most P-forms presented higher concentrations in the clay fractions than in the sand and silt fractions, possibly due to the different proportions of microbial synthesized and plant-derived substances in the different particle-size fractions. Finer fractions of MSWC showed higher total P and P_org concentrations than coarser fractions. Our results showed that the highest dose of MSWC` was the most effective one for the rehabilitation of the burnt soil. MSWC amendment also caused an increase in soil P availability in the unburnt soil which initially contained relatively low levels of P. During the incubation process, a high proportion of organic P contained in the MSWC was mineralized into inorganic P forms. These forms were precipitated with Ca cations which are very abundant in these calcareous soils, significantly increasing the P fraction extracted by HCl in both amended soils. Hence, adding compost to the soil involved an increase in the available P reservoir in the long term. The combination of particle-size fractionation, chemical sequential extraction and incubation experiments can be a valuable tool for splitting soil phosphorus into different fractions regarding their availability in relation to short and long-term transformations in soil.

Thermal destruction of organic waste hydrophobicity for agricultural soils application

Use of organic amendments is a good strategy for combating the growing problem of soil degradation due to deterioration of organic matter content, particularly severe in semi-arid European Mediterranean regions, while at the same time providing an opportunity for recycling organic wastes. Olive mill pomace (OMP), the main by-product of the olive oil industry, is being used increasingly in olive grove soils for this purpose. Although the positive effects of OMP amendments have been widely studied, they also have some negative effects on soil. One of the most critical is that they increase water repellency (WR) due to the presence of poorly evolved, strongly aliphatic compounds. This detrimental effect has received very little attention, although it may impair plant water availability and infiltration rates, increase erosion and lower long-term soil quality. This study proposed, for the first time, thermal treatment as an effective way of reducing WR in organic amendments (i.e. mixtures of OMP, olive tree pruning, chicken manure and spent coffee grounds) prior to their application to soil. Thermal treatment at 275 °C proved effective in removing WR, while lower temperatures (175 or 225 °C) can even increase it. Changes by thermal treatment in the characteristics of the organic amendments studied with FTIR and UV-Vis spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis showed that it strongly reduced the aliphatic compounds mainly responsible for their hydrophobicity, concentrated aromatic compounds and increased thermostability. Heating also reduced phytotoxicity, making all of the organic amendments usable in the field (germination index over 100%). Therefore, heating at 275 °C could be an acceptable option for removing WR from organic amendments, enhancing their quality with more stable evolved characteristics.

Biochemical activity and chemical-structural properties of soil organic matter after 17 years of amendments with olive-mill pomace co-compost

This study evaluates soil fertility, biochemical activity and the soil's ability to stabilize organic matter after application of composted olive-mill pomace. This organic amendment was applied in two different olive groves in southern Spain having different soil typologies (carbonated and silicic). Olive grove soils after 17 years of organic management with application of olive-mill pomace co-compost were of higher quality than those with conventional management where no co-compost had been applied. The main chemical parameters studied (total organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, exchangeable bases, cation exchange capacity, total extractable carbon (TEC), and humic-to-fulvic acids ratio), significantly increased in soils treated with the organic amendment. In particular, the more resistant pool of organic matter (TEC) enhanced by about six and eight fold in carbonated and silicic soils, respectively. Moreover, the amended silicic soils showed the most significant increases in enzyme activities linked to C and P cycles (β-glucosidase twenty-five fold higher and phosphatase seven fold higher). Organic management in both soils induced higher organic matter mineralization, as shown by the higher pyrrole/phenol index (increasing 40% and 150% in carbonated and silicic soils, respectively), and lower furfural/pyrrole index (decreasing 27% and 71% in carbonated and silicic soils, respectively). As a result of mineralization, organic matter incorporated was also more stable as suggested by the trend of the aliphatic/aromatic index (decreasing 36% and 30% in carbonated and silicic soils, respectively). Therefore, management system and soil type are key factors in increasing long-term C stability or sequestration in soils. Thus application of olive-oil extraction by-products to soils could lead to important mid-to -long-term agro-environmental benefits, and be a valuable alternative use for one of the most widespread polluting wastes in the Mediterranean region.

Soil mineralization of two-phase olive mill wastes: effect of the lignocellulosic composition on soil C dynamics

The low degradation rate of two-phase olive mill wastes (TPOMW) during composting and after soil application is a characteristic feature of these materials. The aim of this work was to evaluate the relationship between the lignocellulosic fraction of TPOMW and the organic matter (OM) degradation rate in three agricultural soils amended with four TPOMW composting mixtures at different degree of stabilisation and prepared with different bulking agents and N sources. The mineralisation kinetics of TPOMW composting mixtures in soil reflected a large amount of slowly mineralisable C even in the starting mixtures (I and T1) where this fraction represented up to 85% of the total potentially mineralisable C pool. The effect of rich lignocellulosic composition was confirmed by the study of the DTS (50% dry TPOMW + 50% sheep manure) mixtures prepared with dry TPOMW, which had undergone partial degradation in a storage pond for one year before composting. These DTS samples showed a more similar kinetic behaviour in soil than the more transformed composting mixtures as reflected in the principal component analysis (PCA) diagram, where they were grouped in the same quadrant dominated by the lignin/holocellulose ratio. Soils amended with mature composts evolved very low amounts of C (between 2 and 6% of the added C) after two months of incubation, which highlights the suitability of these materials as a suitable C source for the soil to promote long term soil C stabilisation.