Search Results (3,241)

Mulching is an agronomic practice that improves orchard soil and promotes root growth. To investigate the regulatory effects of different mulching materials on soil properties, microbial communities, and root function in apple orchards, eight treatments were established: clean tillage (CK), organic fertilizer mulching (OFM), chopped corn straw mulching (SM1), chopped and bundled corn straw mulching (SM2), intact corn stover mulching (SM3), composted apple branch mulching (BM), horticultural ground cover fabric mulching (FM), and weed mulching (WM). The results showed that OFM, BM, SM1, and SM3 exhibited effective cooling effects during summer. During the peak root-flush period, OFM, SM3, and BM significantly reduced soil bulk density, increased porosity, enhanced soil organic matter and available nutrient contents, and elevated the activities of soil sucrase, urease, and catalase. Moreover, these treatments promoted the accumulation of carbohydrates and the uptake of mineral nutrients in roots. OFM and SM3 significantly increased the Simpson index of both soil bacterial and fungal communities, while BM improved the beta diversity of bacterial and fungal communities. OFM, SM3, and BM can effectively improve soil physicochemical properties, optimize microbial community structure, and enhance root nutrient uptake. It is recommended as a mulching measure for soil in northern apple orchards. Among the eight treatments evaluated, OFM, SM3, and BM exhibited superior performance in improving soil physicochemical properties, promoting root function, and enhancing microbial community diversity. Therefore, the findings of this study provide an effective soil management strategy for apple orchards in the cold northern regions of China. Full article

This study investigates the influence of PLA flowability and talc content on the performance of compostable thermoplastic starch/poly(butylene succinate) (TPS/PBS)-based systems for rigid applications. Different PLA grades with varying melt flow index (PLA23, PLA8 and PLA70) and talc contents (0, 5 and 10 wt%) were incorporated. Twelve formulations were compounded by twin-screw extrusion and processed by injection moulding. FTIR confirmed the coexistence of TPS, PBS and PLA phases without evidence of chemical interactions. Morphological analysis showed that PLA flowability plays a key role in phase distribution, with higher-flow PLA promoting improved dispersion and interfacial adhesion, while talc addition (5 and 10 wt%) increased structural heterogeneity; at higher loadings, particularly, DSC analysis revealed that talc acted as a nucleating agent for the PBS phase, increasing crystallisation temperatures from approximately 73 °C to 81 °C depending on formulation. Mechanical results showed that Young’s modulus increased from approximately 1.4 GPa to 2.7 GPa with decreasing PLA flowability and increasing talc content. Formulations containing low-flow PLA reached tensile strengths close to 32 MPa, although elongation at break decreased to values near 2%. In contrast, high-flow PLA formulations exhibited a more balanced mechanical response, with elongation values up to approximately 8%, associated with improved phase dispersion. Hybrid PLA systems showed intermediate behaviour, reaching elongations up to 22% while maintaining modulus values around 1.8 GPa. Talc provided additional reinforcement but reduced deformation capacity. HDT values remained relatively constant, indicating limited improvement in thermomechanical resistance despite increased stiffness. These results demonstrate that the combined control of PLA molecular characteristics and talc content enables tuning of the mechanical and thermomechanical performance of TPS/PBS/PLA/talc systems for rigid packaging applications. Full article

Sustainable agriculture increasingly relies on organic amendments that integrate circular economy principles. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)-derived compost (MSW-compost) represents a promising candidate as soil amendment in viticulture, yet its impact on soil microbiota remains poorly investigated. This study assessed the effects of MSW-compost application on the bacterial microbiota of a Mediterranean vineyard soil over a twelve-month period, comparing two application methods (surface mulching and tillage incorporation). Soil DNA was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding, complemented by functional prediction (Picrust2) and the Tea Bag Index to assess soil decomposition activity. MSW-compost significantly increased alpha-diversity and affected beta-diversity (p = 0.001) of the microbiota, regardless of the application method, with significant effects persisting throughout the entire observation period despite a clearly diminishing trend. Devosia emerged as the hub taxon of the co-occurrence network and was increased by compost addition. MSW-compost application mode remarkably affected the microbial network, with mulched treatment leading to a more complex, denser, and more interconnected network. While a similar number of taxa were increased or decreased, functional prediction revealed a notable enrichment of metabolic pathways, both synthetic and degradative, in the MSW-compost amended samples; this finding was supported by the enhanced red tea decomposition data (p = 0.007). Our results indicate that MSW-compost acts as a beneficial soil amendment, simultaneously enhancing microbial diversity and soil decomposition activity. This study provides novel evidence supporting the use of MSW-compost as a sustainable tool for improving soil microbiological quality in productive vineyards. Full article

The transition to a circular economy requires the safe management of sewage sludge through nutrient and energy recovery. However, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) present a significant challenge. These compounds tend to accumulate in sludge via sorption, shifting the environmental burden from the aqueous phase to the sludge. This manuscript provides a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on technical alternatives for valorizing sewage sludge and removing emerging contaminants. The study evaluates the limitations of conventional biological methods, such as anaerobic digestion and composting, which exhibit variable efficacy and are often insufficient to degrade some commonly used pharmaceuticals. On the contrary, thermal treatments (pyrolysis, gasification, and hydrothermal processes) are considered robust alternatives capable of achieving the high removal of chemical compounds. Furthermore, the article emphasizes the innovative potential of utilizing carbon-based byproducts (biochar and hydrochar) as adsorbents, catalysts, or soil amendment to enhance the removal of PPCPs within the treatment infrastructure itself. The integration of advanced thermal technologies is essential to mitigate the risks of contaminant transfer to the food chain and ensure a safe and sustainable nutrient cycle. Full article

Sustainable agricultural technologies are essential to respond to environmental and social pressures, ensuring the maintenance of global food security. Therefore, there is an urgent demand for more sustainable agricultural practices that promote soil quality, as this factor directly impacts the global economy. Agricultural yield is directly associated with soil health and fertility. The use of organic waste serves as a source of essential nutrients for plants, increasing soil organic matter, contributing to the improvement of soil physical and chemical properties, as well as increasing crop yield. Based on this context, this research aimed to evaluate the effects of incorporating organic waste aiming to mitigate the oxidative damage in maize plants grown under different levels of soil fertility (low, average, and high), evaluating soil and plant, more specifically chemical, physiological, biochemical, and morphological responses. In soil, organic waste promoted significant increases in the activities of arylsulfatase and β-glucosidase and improved the chemical parameters, including cation exchange capacity, soil organic matter, base saturation, and sum of bases. The application of organic waste, regardless of fertility level, improved the nutritional status in maize plants, increased concentrations of photosynthetic pigments, maximized the photochemical efficiency and photosynthesis rate. In plant metabolism, the results demonstrated that organic waste promoted significant increases in plant antioxidant defense, including superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, and peroxidase, minimizing the oxidative stress on photosynthetic machinery, especially in plants cultivated on soil with low fertility. Therefore, this research proves that organic waste mitigates the negative impacts associated with nutritional starvation, improves soil health and fertility, favors the maintenance of redox metabolism, and stimulates photosynthesis in maize plants cultivated in low-fertility soil. Full article

Conventional composting struggles with slow fermentation and low humification efficiency in managing global food waste. While hyperthermophilic composting (HTC, >80 °C) can enhance efficiency, the microbial and metabolic drivers of accelerated humification remain unknown. Multi-omics analysis revealed that microbial restructuring during the HTC cooling stage (30–80 °C) triggers metabolic reprogramming. Enriched thermophiles (e.g., Gordonia, Cryptosporangium, Limnochordia) redirect carbon flux toward anabolism via upregulated glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and aromatic amino acid biosynthesis, while suppressing the TCA cycle. This redirected carbon flux accelerated lignocellulose degradation (2.6–3.7-fold), boosted humic acid synthesis (by 50%), and increased the humification index (by 76%). Critically, it promoted the condensation of lignin-derived phenolics with amino acids and Maillard-mediated polymerization, increasing aromatic precursors by 161%. Structural equation modeling demonstrated a strong association between microbial restructuring and humic substance formation, explaining 96% of the total variance through metabolic regulation. These mechanistic insights enable the design of high-efficiency composting systems for simultaneous waste valorization and stable humic substance production. Full article

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is widely recognized as a major forage crop, yet its role as a multifunctional biological input in sustainable horticultural production remains underexplored. This review evaluates alfalfa as a biological nitrogen source, organic fertilization resource, and biofertilizer-supporting crop within vegetable, medicinal, and perennial horticultural systems. Due to its high capacity for biological nitrogen fixation, alfalfa can supply substantial amounts of plant-available nitrogen, reducing dependency on synthetic fertilizers and supporting environmentally sound nutrient management. When used as green manure, cover crop, intercrop, mulch source, compost feedstock, or processed organic fertilizer, alfalfa enhances the soil organic carbon (SOC), improves soil structure, and increases the water-holding capacity properties particularly critical in intensive horticultural production. Higher SOC levels also contribute to the improved tolerance of horticultural crops to drought and heat stress through enhanced soil moisture retention and rhizosphere buffering. Alfalfa-based organic inputs stimulate rhizosphere microbial biomass, enzymatic activity, and functional genes associated with nitrogen cycling, strengthening plant–microbe interactions that underpin biofertilizer effectiveness. Evidence from vegetable and perennial systems indicates that alfalfa-derived amendments and rotations increase soil nitrogen availability, support yield stability, and improve soil health over the long-term. In orchards and vineyards, alfalfa cover cropping contributes to carbon sequestration, erosion control, and enhanced soil biological functioning. Overall, alfalfa emerges as a strategic species for integrating organic fertilization and biofertilizer-based approaches into modern horticultural systems, supporting reduced mineral fertilizer inputs while sustaining productivity, soil health, and environmental quality. Full article

The management of livestock manure is associated with substantial ammonia (NH₃) emissions and the accumulation of emerging contaminants, including antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and microplastics, posing risks to environmental quality and public health. Biochar has emerged as a promising strategy for mitigating gaseous emissions and reducing contaminant mobility during manure storage and composting processes. This review synthesizes recent research on the application of biochar in livestock manure management systems, focusing on NH₃ emissions, antibiotic degradation, ARG reduction, and microplastic removal. Particular attention is given to the effectiveness of biochar in mitigating pollutants during manure storage, housing operations, and composting processes. Across the literature, reported NH₃ mitigation efficiencies vary widely, from negligible effects to reductions exceeding 90–97%, depending on feedstock type, pyrolysis conditions, particle size, and application strategy. Biochar also promotes antibiotic degradation and ARG mitigation, with reductions of up to 98% reported in composting systems. Emerging evidence further suggests that biochar can reduce microplastics by approximately 15–64% in sludge composting. Plant-derived and chemically modified biochars generally outperform manure-derived biochars due to higher surface area, cation exchange capacity, and greater abundance of functional groups. The review highlights that activation treatments, co-composting strategies, and microbial interactions are key factors controlling pollutant mitigation efficiency. Despite promising outcomes, large-scale application remains limited by economic constraints, variability in biochar properties, and the lack of long-term field-scale validation. Future research should prioritize standardized production protocols, field implementation studies, and integrated environmental and economic assessments to support the practical adoption of biochar in sustainable livestock waste management systems. Full article

Back-mixing has been widely applied during practical composting to initiate the process and improve compost product quality. However, for antibiotic mycelial residue (AMR), a fermentation by-product containing residual antibiotics, the ecological safety of this treatment remains unclear. In this study, pleuromutilin mycelial residue (PMR) was subjected to a 35-day aerobic composting experiment with a back-mixing treatment (T group) and the conventional composting group (CK group) to evaluate composting performance and antibiotic resistance risk. The results demonstrated that the T group exhibited more rapid heating and a higher degree of humification. Additionally, the T group not only exhibited faster pleuromutilin degradation, reaching below the detection limit 3 days earlier than in the CK group, but also achieved up to a 3.1-fold reduction in antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and a 93.2% overall reduction in mobile genetic elements (MGEs). Redundancy analysis (RDA), variance partitioning analysis (VPA), and co-occurrence network analysis indicated that microbial community structure appeared to be more strongly associated with ARG variation than MGEs under the tested conditions. Overall, back-mixing accelerated pleuromutilin degradation and enhanced PMR composting performance, while no substantial enrichment of the detected ARGs was observed under the tested composting conditions. This study provides a scientific basis for the safe resource utilization of AMR. Full article

Mediterranean agricultural systems are highly vulnerable to increased climatic variability, which threatens soil water availability and the functionality of the soil carbon (C) cycle. Soil management practices strongly influence water dynamics and C-substrate quality, thus potentially affecting the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration. We evaluated the combined effects of tillage (traditional tillage, TT; reduced tillage, RT), fertilization (mineral, MF; addition of biosolid compost, BC), and rainfall inputs (ambient conditions, C; reduction of 30% rainfall inputs, EX) on soil water content (SWC) and storage (SWS), and in situ soil respiration (Resp) dynamics over three agricultural seasons in a Mediterranean legume–wheat rotation, using a factorial field experiment. We also evaluated how the sensitivity of soil respiration to temperature could be affected by tillage and fertilization types in a complementary laboratory experiment under controlled moisture and temperature conditions. RT was effective in improving SWS and mitigating surface desiccation, although this advantage was attenuated in wet years due to homogenization of moisture along the soil profile. Soil Resp was primarily controlled by SWC. BC stimulated soil respiration mainly during the first crop season, with a residual non-significant trend in the third season. This effect appeared constrained under dry periods, although no significant fertilization × rainfall exclusion interaction was detected. The diurnal cycle of Resp showed a clear decoupling from diurnal soil temperature. Crucially, the intrinsic thermal sensitivity of respiration (Q₁₀) remained stable across all tillage and fertilization treatments, suggesting that field variability is driven by water dynamics and crop phenology and not by microbial responses to changes in substrate availability. Our results confirmed the hierarchical role of climate on C-cycling processes. Full article

Accurate estimation of winter wheat aboveground biomass (AGB) is essential for crop growth monitoring and precision agricultural management. To reduce the effects of canopy structural complexity and spectral saturation on AGB estimation, this study evaluated winter wheat grown under different compost substitution ratios and planting densities. Based on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) multispectral and RGB imagery acquired over two growing seasons at four key growth stages, spectral vegetation indices, colour vegetation indices, and canopy structural features were extracted and integrated. Recursive feature elimination, Elastic Net, and support vector regression were used to construct stage-specific AGB estimation models. The optimal feature strategy varied among growth stages, indicating that AGB estimation requires stage-specific feature selection rather than a single fixed feature combination. The proposed framework achieved validation R² values of 0.872, 0.898, 0.867, and 0.895 at the jointing, booting, flowering, and grain-filling stages, respectively, and the corresponding RRMSE values were 12.5%, 12.1%, 14.3%, and 12.0%, respectively. Additional comparisons with PLSR, RF, and XGBoost based on the stage-specific optimal feature sets further confirmed the competitive performance of SVR under the present small-sample and multi-source feature conditions. Model improvement was more evident at the flowering and grain-filling stages. At these stages, the integration of selected spectral, colour, and structural features better represented canopy closure, spike-layer formation, and late-season biomass variation. Under the treatment combining 20% compost substitution with a planting density of 4.5 million plants ha⁻¹, winter wheat maintained relatively high AGB levels across growth stages. The novelty of this study lies in demonstrating that the effectiveness of multi-source UAV feature fusion for winter wheat AGB estimation is growth-stage dependent and is enhanced when coupled with feature selection. These findings provide a methodological reference for multi-temporal AGB monitoring and precision cultivation management under similar field conditions. Full article

A controlled composting biodegradation system was implemented to evaluate a wood–plastic composite (WPC) composed of wood fibers and recycled HDPE (rHDPE), in accordance with ASTM D5338, by measuring CO₂ capture over 45 days. This evaluation was complemented with mechanical and physicochemical characterization, including stereomicroscopy/SEM, mass loss, water absorption, contact angle, tensile strength, FTIR, TGA, and DSC. The results showed 6.12% biodegradation, classifying the material as neither biodegradable nor compostable. SEM analysis revealed increased surface roughness, cracks, and microbial-like structures, together with a 10% decrease in contact angle. The mechanical properties declined by 33% (tensile strength), despite only 1.26% mass loss, which was attributed to weakening of the matrix–fiber interfacial adhesion due to water absorption. TGA, DSC, and FTIR supported the interpretation that degradation occurred preferentially in the wood fibers. Full article

The main sources of biodegradable waste come from agriculture and municipal waste, with animal manure and food waste (FW) being the most representative respectively. Most of this waste remains still unexploited, while there is skepticism regarding the environmental footprint of various methods of their utilization. This work provides a reliable comparative environmental evaluation using life cycle assessment (LCA). In the present work, LCA applied to compare two alternative scenarios regarding the management of (a) sheep and goat manure and (b) FW. Alternative scenarios for sheep and goat manure include composting for fertilizer and energy production via anaerobic digestion (AD), while FW scenarios include incineration and energy production through AD. In both case studies, the AD scenario generates environmental benefits (expressed as negative damage) across all three damage categories namely resource scarcity, human health and ecosystem quality. Regarding sheep and goat manure, the most significant effect of AD is on human health (−0.016 Pt) while in the scenarios of FW the superior performance of AD is particularly evident in the ecosystem quality (−0.21 Pt). Both case studies reached the same conclusion pointing out that the use of sustainable technologies for managing agricultural and municipal waste mitigates the environmental impacts. Full article

The sustainability, crop production, and food safety of agriculture are increasingly challenged by microplastic pollution, as agricultural soils are the largest reservoirs and may serve as points of contact for plastic particles in the food chain. This review provides a comprehensive overview of plant materials, fate and uptake pathways, detection techniques, and the possible risks of microplastics in agriculture. Agroecosystems are also a source of microplastics, such as plastic mulch films, sewage sludge, compost and manure additives, wastewater irrigation, polymer-coated fertilizers, greenhouse materials, atmospheric deposition, and decomposition of discarded agricultural plastics. Their distribution and mobility in soil are controlled by polymer composition, particle size, morphology, density, surface ageing, soil texture, organic matter content, tillage practices, runoff, leaching, and soil biota. Recent data show that microplastics, especially smaller microplastics and nanoplastics, can attach to root surfaces, penetrate plants via cracks in roots, areas of lateral root development, and apoplastic pathways, and eventually move to tissues aboveground. Plant tissue detection is often accomplished by digestion of the sample, density separation, visual and fluorescence microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, pyrolysis–gas chromatography mass spectrometry, and electron microscopy, but standardization of these methods remains a significant challenge. Microplastics can disrupt seed germination, root structure, nutrient absorption, photosynthesis, oxidative homeostasis, biomass buildup, yield development, and quality. Further, their capacity to transport additives, plasticizers, heavy metals, and persistent organic pollutants raises concerns about the transfer of contaminants to edible plant parts and their potential transfer to human diets. Further studies are needed focusing on field-realistic exposure conditions, long-term crop–soil interactions, nanoplastics behaviour, standardised analysis procedures, uptake and translocation pathways, edible crop risk assessments, and sustainable mitigation approaches to reduce microplastics in agroecosystems. Full article

Applying sludge from wastewater treatment plants to agricultural soils is a major pathway for microplastics (MPs) to reach terrestrial ecosystems, with critical implications for food and environmental safety. A longitudinal analysis (13 months) was conducted to evaluate vermicomposting (with Eisenia andrei) as a remediation strategy, comparing fresh sludge, worm casts, mature vermicompost, and control (earthworm-free) compost. MPs were isolated by chemical digestion and density separation and characterized by optical microscopy and μ-Raman spectroscopy. The MP content of fresh casts (584 ± 45 MP·g⁻¹; p = 0.036), driven by the mechanical and digestive activity of earthworms, showed a significant increase relative to sludge, in contrast to the invariant results observed in the control compost. The MP content of the vermicompost initially increased to 755 ± 88 MP·g⁻¹ after 3 months of maturation due to gradual fragmentation by microbial degradation. However, after 13 months, the MP content in vermicompost, compared to the initial sludge, decreased by 62% (reduction of 625 ± 49 MP·g⁻¹; p < 0.001), more than the 56% (reduction of 560 ± 83 MP·g⁻¹; p = 0.001) observed in the control compost, suggesting a net long-term decrease. Morphological, colorimetric, and compositional changes, reflected by browning and reduced particle size and natural fiber content, revealed a temporal lag, with earlier transformation in vermicomposted samples. Overall, the findings show the potential of vermicomposting to reduce the MP content of sewage sludge used as a soil amendment. Full article