Periodic Reporting for period 2 - LEX4BIO (Optimizing Bio-based Fertilisers in Agriculture – Knowledgebase for New Policies)
Berichtszeitraum: 2021-12-01 bis 2023-05-31
World food production relies heavily on agricultural productivity to feed the increasing world population. In recent decades, crop yield increases have been achieved with mineral fertilisers, especially those containing nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). This causes vast environmental problems that have become even more severe due to disintegration of crop and animal production and urbanisation.
Both N and P use have exceeded their sustainable planetary boundaries (Steffen et al., 2015), demanding urgent action to secure environmental protection and future food supply. Action is also needed to deal with the anticipated scarcity of P and the contribution of N fertiliser industry greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to climate change. It is essential that nutrient-rich side-streams (NRSS), currently treated as organic waste, be used more efficiently in the form of bio-based fertilisers (BBFs).
Currently NRSS, such as manure, anaerobic digestate, sewage sludge, municipal biowaste and food industry by-products, are poorly used sources of nutrients for agriculture. They are often geographically concentrated: manure, due to the segregation of livestock and crop production, and municipal sewage sludge and biowaste due to urbanisation. This has led to great variations in nutrient balances, e.g. for P (applied P amount minus P export in crops), balances (EU27) varied from -2.8 (Eastern) to +23.2 kg/ha (Western Europe) in 2005 (van Dijk et al., 2016). High nutrient balances also often indicate low actual need for further P inputs in agricultural soils and large losses to the environment.
While the transportation of manure to areas in need of nutrients is prohibitively costly, the management of many sewage sludge and biowaste materials has tended not to focus on nutrient reuse, but rather on handling and disposal, to reduce their harmful effects on the environment, since organic pollutants and heavy metals may limit their use. For these reasons, the application of synthetic, mineral fertilisers remains prevalent in agriculture. Therefore, to replace mineral fertilisers with BBFs at large, better stabilised and more transportable fertiliser products with reduced water content, high nutrient content and quality assurance must be produced and become market available. Furthermore, their potential contamination with organic and inorganic pollutants must be considered. The technical conversion of nutrients in NRSS into practical, easy-to-use and safe BBFs needs to be tailored accordingly, fulfilling the needs of farmers and consumers and sustaining environmental protection, food and feed security, and safety and human health.
For optimal development and use of BBFs, it is crucial to generate a knowledge base for optimal application of these future fertilisers, with regards to their quality, agronomic efficiency, environmental impact and safety of food, feed and human health. This will allow scientifically based and balanced EU-wide actions of policymakers, industry and farming communities, to reach the common target of enhancing the use of BBFs and improving consumer confidence in BBFs, ultimately closing the nutrient cycle.
The overall objective of Optimising bio-based fertilisers in agriculture – Providing a knowledge basis for new policies (LEX4BIO) is to realise the potential of BBFs and consequently decrease European dependency on finite and imported, apatite-based P fertilisers and energy-intensive mineral N fertilisers.
Both N and P use have exceeded their sustainable planetary boundaries (Steffen et al., 2015), demanding urgent action to secure environmental protection and future food supply. Action is also needed to deal with the anticipated scarcity of P and the contribution of N fertiliser industry greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to climate change. It is essential that nutrient-rich side-streams (NRSS), currently treated as organic waste, be used more efficiently in the form of bio-based fertilisers (BBFs).
Currently NRSS, such as manure, anaerobic digestate, sewage sludge, municipal biowaste and food industry by-products, are poorly used sources of nutrients for agriculture. They are often geographically concentrated: manure, due to the segregation of livestock and crop production, and municipal sewage sludge and biowaste due to urbanisation. This has led to great variations in nutrient balances, e.g. for P (applied P amount minus P export in crops), balances (EU27) varied from -2.8 (Eastern) to +23.2 kg/ha (Western Europe) in 2005 (van Dijk et al., 2016). High nutrient balances also often indicate low actual need for further P inputs in agricultural soils and large losses to the environment.
While the transportation of manure to areas in need of nutrients is prohibitively costly, the management of many sewage sludge and biowaste materials has tended not to focus on nutrient reuse, but rather on handling and disposal, to reduce their harmful effects on the environment, since organic pollutants and heavy metals may limit their use. For these reasons, the application of synthetic, mineral fertilisers remains prevalent in agriculture. Therefore, to replace mineral fertilisers with BBFs at large, better stabilised and more transportable fertiliser products with reduced water content, high nutrient content and quality assurance must be produced and become market available. Furthermore, their potential contamination with organic and inorganic pollutants must be considered. The technical conversion of nutrients in NRSS into practical, easy-to-use and safe BBFs needs to be tailored accordingly, fulfilling the needs of farmers and consumers and sustaining environmental protection, food and feed security, and safety and human health.
For optimal development and use of BBFs, it is crucial to generate a knowledge base for optimal application of these future fertilisers, with regards to their quality, agronomic efficiency, environmental impact and safety of food, feed and human health. This will allow scientifically based and balanced EU-wide actions of policymakers, industry and farming communities, to reach the common target of enhancing the use of BBFs and improving consumer confidence in BBFs, ultimately closing the nutrient cycle.
The overall objective of Optimising bio-based fertilisers in agriculture – Providing a knowledge basis for new policies (LEX4BIO) is to realise the potential of BBFs and consequently decrease European dependency on finite and imported, apatite-based P fertilisers and energy-intensive mineral N fertilisers.
The legal framework governing the use of BBFs at national and EU level was evaluated. Furthermore, the potential of BBFs to substitute mineral N and P fertilisers at the national and EU level was calculated by evaluating the available data. Flows of nutrient-rich side-streams (NRSS) and BBFs between The Netherlands and Germany were simulated, showing that there exists a large discrepancy in the magnitude of the reported and simulated trade flows between these countries.
A literature review and meta-analysis showed that solid and carbon rich BBFs had a positive effect on soil organic carbon content as compared to mineral fertilisers. Both climatic conditions and soil properties need to be considered when selecting the most beneficial BBFs. Furthermore, carbon depleting steps during BBF processing should be applied with caution and only if needed to eliminate organic pollutants and pathogens.
Evaluations of agronomic efficiencies of N and P-based BBFs were conducted in different climatic conditions in the EU. Average N fertiliser replacement value of N-BBFs was 71% across sites and years. Results show that N-BBFs are capable of replacing traditional mineral N fertilisers effectively. The agronomic mineral replacement value of BBFs showed a larger variation for P-BBFs than for N-BBFs. European soils were found to have a high general P status and majority of the agricultural lands were not P-responsive.
Potential ammonia volatilization from various N-BBFs varied between 0-64% of the applied total-N. Characteristics of N-BBFs explained 89% of the variation in accumulated potential NH3 volatilization. Incorporation of N-BBFs into an acidic sandy soil effectively reduced potential NH3 volatilization by 37%–96% compared to surface application of BBFs. Also, the highest volatilization potential was observed in acidic sandy soil. Rainfall simulation, conducted after incubation of P-BBFs with different soil types, demonstrated that P-BBFs caused lower P leaching losses than conventional mineral P fertiliser.
Methods for simultaneously screening multiple pharmaceuticals and pesticides in the BBFs and field soils have been developed using both targeted analyses and suspect screening. Contamination levels were generally found to be very low. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in soils as induced by BBFs was examined. No enrichment of antibiotic resistant genes in the soil appears to take place, rather bacteria already present in the soil appear to be stimulated by the BBF application.
Socio-economic impact of the current fertilizing products and practices was assessed. Analyses showed that comparisons among methods for monetising socio-economic impact is challenging causing variability among studies. Drivers and barriers for improving the utilization of BBFs were identified.
A literature review and meta-analysis showed that solid and carbon rich BBFs had a positive effect on soil organic carbon content as compared to mineral fertilisers. Both climatic conditions and soil properties need to be considered when selecting the most beneficial BBFs. Furthermore, carbon depleting steps during BBF processing should be applied with caution and only if needed to eliminate organic pollutants and pathogens.
Evaluations of agronomic efficiencies of N and P-based BBFs were conducted in different climatic conditions in the EU. Average N fertiliser replacement value of N-BBFs was 71% across sites and years. Results show that N-BBFs are capable of replacing traditional mineral N fertilisers effectively. The agronomic mineral replacement value of BBFs showed a larger variation for P-BBFs than for N-BBFs. European soils were found to have a high general P status and majority of the agricultural lands were not P-responsive.
Potential ammonia volatilization from various N-BBFs varied between 0-64% of the applied total-N. Characteristics of N-BBFs explained 89% of the variation in accumulated potential NH3 volatilization. Incorporation of N-BBFs into an acidic sandy soil effectively reduced potential NH3 volatilization by 37%–96% compared to surface application of BBFs. Also, the highest volatilization potential was observed in acidic sandy soil. Rainfall simulation, conducted after incubation of P-BBFs with different soil types, demonstrated that P-BBFs caused lower P leaching losses than conventional mineral P fertiliser.
Methods for simultaneously screening multiple pharmaceuticals and pesticides in the BBFs and field soils have been developed using both targeted analyses and suspect screening. Contamination levels were generally found to be very low. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in soils as induced by BBFs was examined. No enrichment of antibiotic resistant genes in the soil appears to take place, rather bacteria already present in the soil appear to be stimulated by the BBF application.
Socio-economic impact of the current fertilizing products and practices was assessed. Analyses showed that comparisons among methods for monetising socio-economic impact is challenging causing variability among studies. Drivers and barriers for improving the utilization of BBFs were identified.
The selected BBFs include a wide range of available BBFs, including those already on the market as well as potential future BBFs, covering a wide selection of PFC/CMC categories of FPR. This ensures evaluation of different technologies for producing safe and efficient BBFs in different climatic conditions in the EU, focusing on environmental protection, food and feed safety and human health.
LEX4BIO will provide information on required technologies for producing regionally safe BBFs. Analysis of LUCAS soil samples provides knowledge on bioavailable nutrient and harmful heavy metal concentrations in agricultural soils in the EU. This information can be used for targeting BBFs to ensure high quality food and feed production, having a direct impact on human health. Better BBF utilization also ensures reduced dependency on imported, apatite-based P fertilisers and energy intensive mineral N fertilisers, providing tools for reaching the goals of the Paris agreement on climate change.
LEX4BIO will provide information on required technologies for producing regionally safe BBFs. Analysis of LUCAS soil samples provides knowledge on bioavailable nutrient and harmful heavy metal concentrations in agricultural soils in the EU. This information can be used for targeting BBFs to ensure high quality food and feed production, having a direct impact on human health. Better BBF utilization also ensures reduced dependency on imported, apatite-based P fertilisers and energy intensive mineral N fertilisers, providing tools for reaching the goals of the Paris agreement on climate change.