Vermicomposting is a process in which earthworms are used to convert organic materials into humus-like material known as vermicompost. A number of researchers throughout the world have found that the nutrient profile in vermicompost is generally higher than traditional compost. In fact, vermicompost can enhance soil fertility physically, chemically and biologically. Physically, vermicompost-treated soil has better aeration, porosity, bulk density and water retention. Chemical properties such as pH, electrical conductivity and organic matter content are also improved for better crop yield. Nevertheless, enhanced plant growth could not be satisfactorily explained by improvements in the nutrient content of the soil, which means that other plant growth-influencing materials are available in vermicomposts. Although vermicomposts have been shown to improve plant growth significantly, the application of vermicomposts at high concentrations could impede growth due to the high concentrations of soluble salts available in vermicomposts. Therefore, vermicomposts should be applied at moderate concentrations in order to obtain maximum plant yield. This review paper discusses in detail the effects of vermicompost on soil fertility physically, chemically and biologically. Future prospects and economy on the use of organic fertilizers in the agricultural sector are also examined.

The use of vermicompost in organic farming: overview, effects on soil and economics

. Soil quality (SQ) assessment has long been a challenging issue, since soils present high variability in properties and functions. This paper aims to increase the understanding of SQ through the review of SQ assessments in different scenarios providing evidence about the interrelationship between SQ, land use and human health. There is a general consensus that there is a need to develop methods to assess and monitor SQ for assuring sustainable land use with no prejudicial effects on human health. This review points out the importance of adopting indicators of different nature (physical, chemical and biological) to achieve a holistic image of SQ. Most authors use single indicators to assess SQ and its relationship with land uses – soil organic carbon and pH being the most used indicators. The use of nitrogen and nutrient content has resulted sensitive for agricultural and forest systems, together with physical properties such as texture, bulk density, available water and aggregate stability. These physical indicators have also been widely used to assess SQ after land use changes. The use of biological indicators is less generalized, with microbial biomass and enzyme activities being the most selected indicators. Although most authors assess SQ using independent indicators, it is preferable to combine some of them into models to create a soil quality index (SQI), since it provides integrated information about soil processes and functioning. The majority of revised articles used the same methodology to establish an SQI, based on scoring and weighting of different soil indicators, selected by means of multivariate analyses. The use of multiple linear regressions has been successfully used for forest land use. Urban soil quality has been poorly assessed, with a lack of adoption of SQIs. In addition, SQ assessments where human health indicators or exposure pathways are incorporated are practically inexistent. Thus, further efforts should be carried out to establish new methodologies to assess soil quality not only in terms of sustainability, productivity and ecosystem quality but also human health. Additionally, new challenges arise with the use and integration of stable isotopic, genomic, proteomic and spectroscopic data into SQIs.

/pdf/identification-of-sensitive-indicators-to-assess-the-5ezm52e0ae.pdf

Identification of sensitive indicators to assess the interrelationship between soil quality, management practices and human health

Soil organic matter (SOM) improves soil physicochemical and biological properties, and the sequestration of carbon in SOM may mitigate climate change. Soil organic carbon (SOC) often decreases in intensive cropping systems. Incorporation of crop residues (CR) may be a sustainable management practice to maintain the SOC levels and to increase soil fertility. This study quantifies the effects of CR incorporation on SOC and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (CO2 and N2O) in Europe using data from long-term experiments. Response ratios (RRs) for SOC and GHG emissions were calculated between CR incorporation and removal. The influence of environmental zones (ENZs), clay content and experiment duration on the RRs was investigated. We also studied how RRs of SOC and crop yields were correlated. A total of 475 RRs were derived from 39 publications. The SOC increased by 7% following CR incorporation. In contrast, in a subsample of cases, CO2 emissions were six times and N2O emissions 12 times higher following CR incorporation. The ENZ had no significant influence on RRs. For SOC concentration, soils with a clay content >35% showed 8% higher RRs compared with soils with clay contents between 18 and 35%. As the experiment progressed, RR for SOC concentration increased. For N2O emissions, RR was significantly greater in experiments with a duration <5 yr compared with 11–20 yr. No significant correlations were found between RR for SOC concentration and yields, but differences between sites and study durations were detected. We suggest that a long duration of crop residue incorporation is a win-win scenario under a continental climate. We conclude that CR incorporation is important for maintaining SOC, but its influence on GHG emissions should be taken into account as well.

/pdf/effect-of-crop-residue-incorporation-on-soil-organic-carbon-5czukck96v.pdf

Effect of crop residue incorporation on soil organic carbon and greenhouse gas emissions in European agricultural soils

The growing use of commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and the need to adjust N fertilization rates in maize (Zea mays L.) currently constitute a key research issue. In this study, different multispectral vegetation indices (green-band and red-band based indices), SPAD and crop height (derived from a multispectral compact camera mounted on a UAV) were analysed to predict grain yield and determine whether an additional sidedress application of N fertilizer was required just before flowering. Seven different inorganic N rates (0, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 400 kg·N·ha−1), two different pig slurry manure rates (Ps) (150 or 250 kg·N·ha−1) and four different inorganic-organic N combinations (N100Ps150, N100Ps250, N200Ps150, N200Ps250) were applied to maize experimental plots. The spectral index that best explained final grain yield for the N treatments was the Wide Dynamic Range Vegetation Index (WDRVI). It identified a key threshold above/below 250–300 kg·N·ha−1. WDRVI, NDVI and crop height showed no significant response to extra N application at the economic optimum rate of fertilization (239.8 kg·N·ha−1), for which a grain yield of 16.12 Mg·ha−1 was obtained. This demonstrates their potential as yield predictors at V12 stage. Finally, a ranking of different vegetation indices and crop height is proposed to overcome the uncertainty associated with basing decisions on a single index.

Analysis of vegetation indices to determine nitrogen application and yield prediction in maize (Zea mays L.) from a standard UAV service

The missing nitrogen pieces: A critical review on the distribution, transformation, and budget of nitrogen in the vadose zone-groundwater system.

The impact of organic and mineral fertilizers on soil quality parameters and the productivity of irrigated maize crops in semiarid regions

Long-Term Effects of Mineral Nitrogen Fertilizer on Irrigated Maize and Soil Properties

Published in Agron. J. 105:1264–1270 (2013) doi:10.2134/agronj2012.0486 Copyright © 2013 by the American Society of Agronomy, 5585 Guilford Road, Madison, WI 53711. All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. T emerging bioenergy market based on corn stover has encouraged many farmers to harvest and sell their stover rather than incorporate it back into the soil (Showers, 2012). Selling the stover provides short-term economic gains, but according to Wilhelm et al. (2004) its incorporation increases soil productivity, thus it should not be considered entirely as a waste product (Blanco-Canqui, 2012). The incorporation of stover has many benefits including the prevention of soil erosion, the maintenance of soil organic matter (SOM) and soil structure by humification, and is a source of energy for soil biota (Lal, 2005). Stover is also an important source of macronutrients (NPK) and micronutrients such as S, Cu, B, Zn, and Mo (Mubarak et al., 2002). Apart from these benefits, corn stover has a long-term positive impact on SOC levels, and continuous removal can result in a progressive decline in yields (Wilhelm et al., 2004) by reducing SOC levels until the production capacity of the soil becomes limiting (Johnson et al., 2006; Mann et al., 2002). The SOC is a key CO2 sink, maintaining the productivity of agriculture while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating global climate change (Christopher et al., 2009). The benefits of higher SOC levels include the sequestration of atmospheric CO2 as well as better soil quality (Benjamin et al., 2010; Blanco-Canqui and Lal, 2009). Furthermore, corn stover contains 17.7 g N kg–1, 1.82 g P kg–1, and 28.36 g K kg–1 of the fertilizer applied to crops (Johnson et al., 2010). However, not all the nutrients are available to the following crops. Most of the N remains in organic forms and mineralization is required before absorption, leading to a short-term N deficit affecting grain yield in the following crop (Van Den Bossche et al., 2009). Interactions between stover management and N fertilization have been reported by several authors (Karlen et al., 2011; Power et al., 1998; Maskina et al., 1993). The combination of corn stover and N fertilizer can influence SOC storage, but most of these studies involve U.S. cropping systems (Mann et al., 2002), with grain yields of approximately 10 Mg ha–1 and N fertilization rates of 0 to 280 kg N ha–1 (Clapp et al., 2000). This productivity is much lower than in the Ebro Valley (Northeast Spain), where average grain yields under irrigation are typically 14 to 16 Mg ha–1 (Cela et al., 2011; Berenguer et al., 2009). The higher yields in this area of Spain reflect the larger amounts of stover (harvest index of 50%) and N fertilization applied to the soil (300–350 kg N ha–1) and the use of irrigation (Yague and Quilez, 2010b). There is little information about the interaction between stover management and N fertilization rates in irrigated, high-yielding corn crops such as those in Spain. It is unclear whether the results from the United States can be extrapolated to these conditions. Previous studies have compared the effects of stover incorporation with reduced tillage agriculture but little is known about the impact of stover management and conventional tillage (Karlen et al., 2011; Graham et al., 2007; Allmaras et al., 2000; Linden et al., 2000). A better understanding of the effects of corn stover management and its potential interaction with N fertilization could help to improve ABSTRACT

Stover Management and Nitrogen Fertilization Effects on Corn Production

Long-term effects of pig slurry combined with mineral nitrogen on maize in a Mediterranean irrigated environment

Swine feed is often supplemented with Cu and Zn, but > 90% of the ingested metal is excreted, ultimately accumulating in soil treated with liquid swine manure (LSM) to meet nitrogen (N) requirements. A maize field experiment was conducted between 2002 and 2015 in the Ebro Valley (north-east Spain) to determine the effects of long-term LSM application at two rates [30 and 50 m3 ha−1, equivalent to ~ 220 (218) and ~ 390 (389) kg N ha−1] compared to 0 and 300 kg N ha−1 mineral fertilizer. The highest Cu concentration in plants (5.03 mg kg−1) was observed following the 300 kg N ha−1 treatment. The treatments did not affect plant Zn levels (~ 21 mg kg−1). All whole-plant and grain metal concentrations were lower than threshold values for animal and human ingestion (30 mg Cu kg−1 and 500–1300 mg Zn kg−1). After 12 years, the soil organic carbon (SOC) of 13 g kg−1 in the first year (2002) increased by 19% and 26% at the low and high LSM rates, respectively. Mineral fertilization (300 kg N ha−1) achieved a 22% increase in SOC and also the 0 kg N ha−1 control treatment caused the SOC to rise by 11%. LSM applications do not seem to have adverse effects on maize yields after 12 years of applications.

Long-term effects of liquid swine manure on soil organic carbon and Cu/Zn levels in soil and maize

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