Organic residues and their impact on soil health, crop production and sustainable agriculture: A review including bibliographic analysis

Abstract

Despite their potential as a sustainable source of soil nutrients and organic matter, waste organic residues are often discarded rather than utilized in agriculture. This review examines the current state‐of‐the‐art in the application of organic residues in agricultural production systems by analysing trends and results in published research conducted on their use for soil health and crop production purposes. For this, a bibliographic analysis was conducted on 81 papers collected from the Web of Science database. Our research shows a growing trend in the field, particularly in recent years, with articles from India, China and the United States at the forefront. The most commonly evaluated organic residues were compost, animal manure, crop residues, municipal solid waste and biochar. Soil pH, bulk density and especially organic matter/total organic carbon (TOC) were the chemical, physical and biological attributes most frequently evaluated, respectively. This review indicates that the application of organic residues improves soil health, positively affecting crop productivity in crops such as maize, wheat and rice. However, further research is needed to address the potential risk of soil contamination from potentially toxic metals (PTMs) associated with organic residues, as well as to identify best practices to guarantee food safety and environmental preservation.

Soil health and carbon storage in community gardens in the Perth metropolitan area, Australia

“…The study conducted at a public open space (near West Leederville Community Garden and Earthwise Community Garden) which is a historical soil contamination site also showed no significant heavy metal pollution (Andrew, 2021). The Zn, Cu, Pd and Cd content in raised beds is higher than in the control plots, probably because compost applied to the gardening area has a high concentration of metals (Bolan, Adriano, & Mahimairaja, 2004; Brichi et al., 2023). Studies have found that the application of compost (where heavy metals are present) can increase heavy metal concentrations in soil because of accumulation processes impacting soil quality (Bolan et al., 2014; Pinamonti et al., 1997, 1999).…”

Soil Health Assessment in Brazilian Subtropical Oxisol Under Land Use and Long-term Tillage Systems

“…In addition, along with diversified cover crops, the inclusion of organic residues such as cattle manure and organic compost can Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology. Vol.67(spe1): e24230789, 2024 www.scielo.br/babt contribute positively to the maintenance of soil pH and improvements of macronutrient availability [52] in all tillage practices. Furthermore, we highlight that soil in all tillage practices and SF was functioning close to the maximum potential of physical and biological capacity.…”

Optimizing integrated nutrient management for sustainable maize–sesame cropping in Gujarat Plains: A soil health perspective

“…Given the scarcity of extant research pertaining to the residual effects of varying organic and inorganic fertilizer levels on sesame crops subsequent to maize cultivation (Brichi et al., 2023; P. Singh et al., 2023), our current study assumes a pivotal role in ameliorating this lacuna. Our research is anchored in the pursuit of a quantitative appraisal of soil attributes, thereby poised to find the optimal blend of INM practices.…”