Transforming waste to wealth: Impact of food waste-derived soil amendments and synthetic nitrogen fertilizer on soil dynamics

Article

O'Connor, James, Mickan, Bede S., Gurung, Sun K., Siddique, Kadambot H. M., Leopold, Matthias, Bühlmann, Christopher H. and Bolan, Nanthi S.. 2024. "Transforming waste to wealth: Impact of food waste-derived soil amendments and synthetic nitrogen fertilizer on soil dynamics." Soil Use and Management. 40 (3). https://doi.org/10.1111/sum.13093
Article Title

Transforming waste to wealth: Impact of food waste-derived soil amendments and synthetic nitrogen fertilizer on soil dynamics

ERA Journal ID5277
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsO'Connor, James, Mickan, Bede S., Gurung, Sun K., Siddique, Kadambot H. M., Leopold, Matthias, Bühlmann, Christopher H. and Bolan, Nanthi S.
Journal TitleSoil Use and Management
Journal Citation40 (3)
Article Numbere13093
Number of Pages14
Year2024
PublisherJohn Wiley & Sons
Place of PublicationUnited Kingdom
ISSN0266-0032
1475-2743
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1111/sum.13093
Web Address (URL)https://bsssjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/sum.13093
AbstractApproximately one-third of all food produced globally goes to waste, highlighting the need for sustainable waste management technologies like composting and anaerobic digestion. These technologies convert food waste into soil amendment products such as compost, liquid digestate (LD) and solid digestate (SD). However, these food waste-derived soil amendments have relatively low nutrient contents compared with synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizers such as urea, making their agricultural use challenging. Despite this, food waste-derived soil amendments can enhance the physical and biological properties of soil, potentially creating synergistic effects when combined with synthetic N fertilizers. This study aimed to investigate effects of food waste-derived amendments in soil applied at 50 kg ha?1 total N (compost, LD or SD) and synthetic N fertilizer [urea ammonium nitrate (UAN)] at 50 and 100 kg ha?1 total N. Over 56 days of soil incubation, greenhouse gases (CO2, N2O), soil chemistry ((Formula presented.) –N, (Formula presented.) –N, pH) and microbial biomass C (MBC) were measured. Results showed that LD + UAN 50 reduced cumulative N2O emissions by 23% compared with UAN 100, despite having the same total N and similar available N rate applied to soil. Replacing UAN with LD in farming practices can supply equivalent available N while lowering N2O emissions, offering a sustainable nutrient strategy. Moreover, applying food waste-derived soil amendments can enhance N retention in soils, reducing the need for increased applications of synthetic N fertilizers to compensate for N deficits in farming. Food waste-derived soil amendments can also act as a slower N release compared with UAN, reducing nitrogen run-off. SD had the highest CO2 emissions, followed by LD and compost. SD + UAN 50 increased MBC levels because of higher carbon content and labile carbon, and available N because of the application of UAN. The major drawback of using SD compared with LD is that the process of evaporating LD to form SD causes high ammonia volatilization (ammonium in solution into ammonia gas) rates, reducing the available N in SD. Therefore, future studies should explore strategies to reduce ammonia volatilization of LD. © 2024 The Author(s). Soil Use and Management published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Society of Soil Science.
Keywordsammonia volatilization; compost; digestate; GHG; nitrification
Contains Sensitive ContentDoes not contain sensitive content
ANZSRC Field of Research 20204106. Soil sciences
Byline AffiliationsUniversity of Western Australia
Cooperative Research Centre for High Performance Soils, Australia
Richgro Garden Products, Australia
Centre for Agricultural Engineering
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