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Agronomy
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Bio-Based Fertilizers and Soil Health: Innovations for Nutrient Recycling and...
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Bio-Based Fertilizers and Soil Health: Innovations for Nutrient Recycling and Environmental Protection

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil and Plant Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 1341

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Carmo Horta

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CERNAS-IPCB Research Centre, Polytechnic University of Castelo Branco, 6001-909 Castelo Branco, Portugal
Interests: soil science; fertilization and plant nutrition; sustainable management of fertilizers and fertilization; bio-based fertilizers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Ofélia Anjos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CERNAS-IPCB Research Centre, Polytechnic University of Castelo Branco, 6001-909 Castelo Branco, Portugal
Interests: vibrational spectroscopy; chemometrics; chromatography; new product development; sensory analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The maintenance of soil health is crucial in relation to providing good quantities of high-quality food to an increasing worldwide population in a climate change scenario.

Therefore, there is an urgent need to adopt sustainable soil fertilization practices, which lead to a decrease in the production of mineral fertilizers obtained from finite natural resources. Currently, large quantities of effluents are produced by human activities, agro-food technology, or livestock production containing crop nutrients; however, these effluents have some disadvantages such as crop nutrient imbalance, diversified mineral composition, and unknown mineralization rates. To overcome these disadvantages, some approaches have been developed (e.g., composting, vermicomposting, algae-based nutrient recovery, electrodialysis, precipitation, pyrolysis, and hydrothermal carbonization) to produce bio-based fertilizers (BBFs), which aim to recover and recycle nutrients from secondary raw materials, promoting more sustainable soil management practices in conventional and organic agricultural sectors and contributing to close nutrient cycles.

The main purpose of this Special Issue is to gain a deeper understanding of the role of these BBFs through a holistic approach focused on soil health, as well as assessing their biostimulant and/or a pytoprotective behaviour against crop diseases and pests, as well as exploring the increase in the soil’s C content and sequestration. Another topic of interest is the application of rapid, non-destructive, and highly informative ways of investigating the complex physical and chemical properties of soils and fertilisers, such as vibrational spectroscopy. This technique allows for the accurate identification and characterization of the BBFs and soil, as well as their nutrient forms, monitoring transformation processes and quality control, all of which are critical to optimising plant growth while minimising environmental impact.

Prof. Dr. Carmo Horta
Prof. Dr. Ofélia Anjos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • agronomic efficiency
  • bio-based fertilizers
  • biochar
  • circular economy
  • composting
  • conservative agriculture
  • struvite
  • pyrolysis
  • sustainable fertilization
  • vibrational spectroscopy

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 1558 KB  
Article
Effect of Composting and Vermicomposting on Microbiological and Chemical Characteristics of Spent Coffee Grounds
by Egor Smolskii, Vladimir Cheptsov, Andrey Belov, Olga Yakimenko, Vladimir Romanenkov, Hatirarami Nezomba, Blessing Nyamasoka-Magonziwa, Taliesen Wadzvanya and Pavel Krasilnikov
Agronomy 2025, 15(12), 2823; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15122823 - 8 Dec 2025
Abstract
Annually, up to 15 million tons of coffee production waste are produced worldwide. Among them are spent coffee grounds (SCG), which have the potential to be recycled and used as organic fertilizers. However, their direct application to soil is limited due to the [...] Read more.
Annually, up to 15 million tons of coffee production waste are produced worldwide. Among them are spent coffee grounds (SCG), which have the potential to be recycled and used as organic fertilizers. However, their direct application to soil is limited due to the presence of ecotoxic compounds (phenols, tannins, and caffeine). Composting is a promising approach; however, the highly variable properties of the raw coffee materials require the selection of optimal production and application modes. In this study, we performed two composting methods for SCG, i.e., vermicomposting and microbial composting, in mixtures with co-composting substrate at five SCG/substrate ratios (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% SCG). First, the acute toxicity of raw SGC and its mixtures to earthworm Eisenia andrei was evaluated. After 30 days of composting, chemical and microbiological properties, including pH, RedOx potential (Eh), organic carbon (Corg), lignin content, bacteria count, diversity, and potential metabolic activity, were determined in the end products. As composting went on, the pH increased from 5.6–6.2 to 6.0–7.3 and 7.4–7.7 under microbial composting and vermicomposting, respectively. RedOx potential levels achieved 142–166 mV for microbial composting and 73–113 mV for vermicomposting. Organic matter (OM) content reached 86–94%, with an increasing proportion of lignin, demonstrating the decomposition of more readily accessible organic matter. Vermicomposting and microbial composting produced chemically safe and microbiologically highly active composts. An initial SCG content of 25–50% of the compost mixture’s weight yielded the most favorable properties for the resulting compost (high organic matter content and optimal pH levels). Due to the high biological activity of both composting methods, the resultant composts are likely to have a positive effect on plant growth and development and soil health when used as organic nutrient resources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Based Fertilizers and Soil Health: Innovations for Nutrient Recycling and Environmental Protection)
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17 pages, 1697 KB  
Article
Soil Management and Topsoil Quality as Determinants of Residue Decomposition and Nutrient Release in Agroecosystems of the Brazilian Cerrado
by Daiane Conceição de Sousa, João Carlos Medeiros, Jaqueline Dalla Rosa, Edvaldo Sagrilo, Julian Junio de Jesús Lacerda, José Oscar Lustosa de Oliveira Júnior, Rita de Kássia Oliveira Tavares, Hosana Aguiar Freitas de Andrade and Henrique Antunes de Souza
Agronomy 2025, 15(12), 2687; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15122687 - 22 Nov 2025
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Abstract
Nutrients and carbon cycling processes in integrated production systems are essential for agroecological sustainability in the Cerrado of Northeast Brazil. However, quantitative and process-level understanding remains limited. This study aimed to characterize off-season plant residue decomposition under different production arrangements through the assessment [...] Read more.
Nutrients and carbon cycling processes in integrated production systems are essential for agroecological sustainability in the Cerrado of Northeast Brazil. However, quantitative and process-level understanding remains limited. This study aimed to characterize off-season plant residue decomposition under different production arrangements through the assessment of dry biomass, bromatological composition, and litter decomposition kinetics. The experiment was conducted in the off-season of the 2022/2023 agricultural year at Barbosa farm (Brejo, Maranhão, Brazil), in a Yellow Argisol (Ultisol), with Aw prevailing climate. We evaluated residues of soybean, Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu, maize, maize + Marandu, Megathyrsus maximus cv. BRS Tamani, Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus + Tamani, and native forest, representing crop–livestock integration (CLI), livestock–forestry integration (LFI), no-tillage soybean (Soybean-NT), and native forest (control). For each treatment, 0.20 × 0.20 m, 2 mm mesh nylon litterbags (nº = 4 replicates) were filled with 20 g of oven-dried plant residues cut into ~10 cm pieces. Litterbags were placed on the soil surface and sampled at 0, 30, 60, and 118 days to estimate the decomposition rate (k), C and N mineralization, and macronutrient dynamics. Residues differed in initial composition, with Eucalyptus and Eucalyptus + Tamani showing higher C contents (41–43%), while Marandu and Soybean-NT had greater concentrations of N (37.8–39.2 g kg−1), P (2.37–2.42 g kg−1), and Mg (2.38–2.83 g kg−1). The Eucalyptus + Tamani mixture exhibited the highest decomposition rate (k = 0.0041), which was about 40% greater than Soybean-NT (k = 0.0026), and faster C release, whereas N in maize residues remained immobilized for up to 118 days. CLI and Soybean-NT enhanced nutrient cycling efficiency, with K+ increasing 17.3-fold (1.1 to 18.9 g kg−1) and N 1.2-fold (1.8 to 2.3%) compared to native forest. Overall, residue quality, especially C/N ratio and lignin, regulated decomposition and integrated systems, particularly LFI, which conferred greater resilience and nutrient cycling efficiency in the Cerrado. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Based Fertilizers and Soil Health: Innovations for Nutrient Recycling and Environmental Protection)
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19 pages, 1020 KB  
Article
Greenhouse Evaluation of the Agronomic Potential of Urban Wastewater-Based Fertilizers: Sewage Sludge and Struvite for Lettuce Production in Sandy Soil
by Andreia F. Santos, Gonçalo Carreira, Mariana Mota, Licínio M. Gando-Ferreira, Margarida J. Quina and Paula Alvarenga
Agronomy 2025, 15(11), 2589; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15112589 - 10 Nov 2025
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Abstract
Environmental impacts of urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) can be reduced by recovering nutrients and organic matter (OM) from their streams for agricultural use, decreasing dependence on conventional fertilizers. This study evaluated dehydrated sewage sludge (SS) as an organic amendment and the partial [...] Read more.
Environmental impacts of urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) can be reduced by recovering nutrients and organic matter (OM) from their streams for agricultural use, decreasing dependence on conventional fertilizers. This study evaluated dehydrated sewage sludge (SS) as an organic amendment and the partial replacement of mineral P fertilizers in lettuce cultivation. Struvite, a byproduct of WWTPs, was also investigated as a sustainable P source. A 43-day greenhouse pot experiment assessed SS (12 t/ha) and struvite (at two P rates: 30 and 60 kg P2O5/ha), both alone and combined. SS significantly increased soil OM (p < 0.001), though long-term applications would be required to enhance this effect. The highest struvite rate (60 kg P2O5/ha) yielded the greatest extractable soil-P levels (150 ± 8.1 mg P2O5/kg), while its combination with SS further increased extractable P (>250 mg P2O5/kg), indicating a stable soil P pool. The highest plant dry biomass (8.9 ± 1.1 g, p < 0.05) also occurred under the highest struvite dosage. Complementary effects between SS and struvite were observed in foliar K, Ca, Mg, and S contents, although no significant interaction between both was found for P content. Adequate foliar P levels (0.40–0.52%) were achieved only in treatments containing SS, indicating its essential role in improving plant P nutrition. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Based Fertilizers and Soil Health: Innovations for Nutrient Recycling and Environmental Protection)
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