Improvements in the Quality of Agricultural Soils Following Organic Material Additions Depend on Both the Quantity and Quality of the Materials Applied

Abstract

It is widely recognized that the application of organic materials is one of the most effective ways of increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) levels and improving soil quality, but do all forms of organic matter input have the same impact on soil properties A network of seven experimental sites investigated the effects on soil quality of annual applications over a minimum of 3 years of compost and food-based digestate in comparison with farmyard manure (FYM) and livestock slurry. Two of the sites were existing experimental platforms which had previously benefitted from applications of FYM, livestock slurry and green compost allowing the effects of longer-term applications (6-17 years) on soil properties to be quantified. The application of all organic materials increased soil nutrient supply (total nitrogen, extractable phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium) within a short timescale (<3 years), whereas SOC contents were only increased following the long-term (9 years or more) application of bulky organic materials (compost and FYM). SOC increases were associated with improvements in soil biological (microbial biomass) and physical properties (reduced bulk density), although the level of improvement was dependent on the quality of the organic material applied (as determined by its lignin content, an indicator of resistance to decomposition). Applications of low dry matter content materials (digestates and livestock slurries) had a limited capacity to improve soil biological and physical functioning, due to their low organic matter loading.

Growth response of blue panic grass (Panicum antidotale) to saline water irrigation and compost applications

“…Analysis of OM amended soil (at 20% compost) in comparison with the reference soil showed higher OM, N, and K content. These results are consistent with many studies, which indicated that compost addition increase OM and nutrients in amended soils (Adugna, 2018;Bhogal et al, 2018, Naba et al, 2020. In addition, compost, naturally, contributes to the stabilization and increase of crop productivity and crop quality (Adugna, 2018).…”

Application of Farmyard Manure Rather Than Manure Slurry Mitigates the Net Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Herbage Production System in Nasu, Japan

“…(Please note that negative NECB values represent net CO 2 emission from grassland to the atmosphere.) The NECB of the slurry and FYM systems were similar to previously measured values in Japanese grasslands that respectively received only synthetic fertilizers or FYM + synthetic fertilizers [17], suggesting that slurry C had limited capacity for maintaining soil organic C in comparison with FYM C [12]. The emissions of N 2 O from grassland were not significantly different between slurry and FYM systems (2.2 Mg CO 2 -eq ha −1 y −1 in slurry system, 2.3 Mg CO 2 -eq ha −1 y −1 in FYM system), because synthetic N fertilizer was also applied [18,19].…”

“…On that basis, the identification of important processes with significant contributions is necessary in order to determine the priority of countermeasures to mitigate GHG. To date, it is recognized that the quality and quantity of organic materials applied have great influence on soil organic carbon [4,12]; however, insufficient information is available on the effect of manure type (i.e., slurry or FYM) on the net GHG emissions and GHGI of herbage production systems.…”

The impact of liquefaction disaster on farming systems at agriculture land based on technical and psychosocial perspectives

“…This condition shows that the liquefaction-affected lands from the physical aspect can still be used as agricultural areas, however it requires input to increase the nutrient availability in order to optimize the soil health and the carrying capacity for the plant growth. The administration of the organic materials input can improve the soil structure and the water holding capacity [ 38 , 39 ].…”