Unique Effects of Alginite as a Bituminous Rock on Soil, Water, Plants and Animal Organisms – Review

Abstract

The publication aims to present some knowledge about the less-known but at the same time very scarce bituminous rock alginite with comprehensive practical use in the form of a brief overview. Alginite is an organic-bituminous rock that was formed about six million years ago from dead fossil algae Botryococcus braunii Kütz and diatoms in the area of today's Pannonian Basin. In Europe, alginite deposits have been discovered in Hungary, Austria and Slovakia in Pinciná village. Alginite mining is mostly used in Hungary in the Gerce area. Alginite is grey to dark grey, in the wet state dark laminated, clayey with the form of disintegrating clay. Alginite has very valuable physical, mechanical and chemical properties. It is a natural bituminous rock with a favourable content of basic nutrients (P, K, Ca, Mg and S) for plants except for nitrogen content. Alginite contains a large number of microelements, which increase the agrochemical possibilities of its use. It can be applied in its natural form without chemical treatment. It is an ecological raw material that improves the soil and does not negatively affec the environment. Alginite has become the subject of research in many workplaces. The overview presents the basic physical, mechanical and chemical properties of alginite and selected knowledge and research results that have enabled the practical use of alginite in natural or technologically modified form in agriculture in the formation of growth, development and crop formation and quality of seeds and fruits of cultivated crops, forestry, remediation and improvement of soil and water properties, decomposition of herbicides, stabilization of beneficial microorganisms in animal organisms and other areas.

Influence of Application Forms of Alginite on Phytomass Formation, Bioactive Contents and Antioxidant Activity of Extracts from Plants Rosmarinus officinalis L.

“…Of the biogenic elements, Ca and Mg are the most abundant, with less N, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Ti, Cr, Li, Co, Ni. It does not contain any chemical additives and phytotoxins (Kulich-Valko-Obernauer, 2001;Brindza et al, 2021b).…”

Active effects of less known bituminous rock alginite on the biological processes of Solanum lycopersicum L.

“…The exploitation of alginite from the deposit is only in the beginning stage. Nevertheless, alginite has become an important research object even in the conditions of Slovakia at the Geocomplex research workplace [12,9,10,5] , University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmaceuticals in Košice, [13,16], Technical University of Zvolen [6,3], National Agriculture and Food Centre -Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute [2]; State Geological Institute of Dionýz Štúr [1]. Natural and modified alginite has unique effects on plants, animal organisms, soil, water and solving other current environmental problems [5].…”

Biological Effects of Alginite on Tomato Plants (Lycopersicon esculentum) and Some Insects (Leptinotarsa decemlineata, Galleria mellonella and Halyomorpha halys)

“…Alginite is an organic-bituminous rock, rich in macro-and microelements. Alginite arose as a result of the fossilization of accumulated organic (algae) and inorganic material, especially clay, carbonates, quartz and amorphous modification of silicic acid in the aqueous environment (Gancarčikova et al, 2019;Brindza et al, 2021a). In the Slovak Republic an alginite deposit (maar belonging to the Podrecany Basalt Formation, Pontian in age, approx.…”

“…Despite the fact that alginite contains trace elements, the toxicity of heavy metals is below the toxicity limit. The alginite has high water absorption capacity -up to 110 % and high specific surface (313-654 m 2 special features of the organic matter (kerogen type II) and by the presence of smectite (Brindza et al, 2021a). According to many authors, alginite, due to its exceptional chemical composition, improves the soil properties, thereby affecting the growth and development of plants, contributes to increase yields (Rauch and Földényi, 2012;Kádár et al, 2015;Benei and Rauch, 2016;Bednárová, 2019;Kropp et al, 2021).…”