Improving the prediction of fertilizer phosphorus availability to plants with simple, but non-standardized extraction techniques.

In the framework of the circular economy, new P fertilizers produced from diverse secondary raw materials are being developed using various technologies. Standard extraction methods (neutral ammonium citrate (NAC) and H2O) provide limited information about the agronomic efficiency of these often heterogenous new products. Here, we compared these extractions with two alternative methods: 0.5 mol L-1 NaHCO3 and a sink extraction driven by phosphate adsorption onto ferrihydrite ("Iron Bag") on 79 recycled and mineral reference fertilizers. We compared their capacity to predict shoot biomass and P content of rye (S. cereale L.) grown in a greenhouse on three soils of contrasting pH with a subset of 42 fertilizers. The median extracted P (% of total P) was H2O (1%) < NaHCO3 (25%) < Iron Bag (67%) < NAC (85%). The NaHCO3 extraction stood out as a cost-effective and reliable method to predict plant shoot biomass and P content (R2 ranging between 0.65 and 0.86 in the slightly acidic and alkaline soil). Notwithstanding, the other methods provide complementary information for a more detailed characterization of how P solubility may be impacted by e.g. soil pH, granulation, or time. The implications of this work are therefore significant for fertilizer production, regulation, and use.

Functional Recycling of Biobased, Borate-Stabilized Insulation Materials As B Fertilizer.

Boron is a finite resource, which has been listed as a critical raw material in the EU since 2014. Glass, frits and ceramics production, as well as fertilizers are among the major uses of B. Moreover, about 50 000 t B have been applied as fire retardant and pest repellent in cellulose fiber insulation (CFI) in Europe since the 1980s. Here we propose the end-of-life utilization of borated CFI as B fertilizer, to decrease societal B consumption and to avoid costly and potentially environmentally harmful CFI incineration and deposition in landfills. In a case study, we show that CFI biochar can provide substantial amounts of B to rapeseed and sunflower, with the B plant-availability being comparable to sodium tetraborate, a conventional B fertilizer. The annual B fertilizer consumption of the EU is estimated at ∼4000 t B yr-1, which could be sustained by the B currently installed as CFI for >10 years. In addition, the annual use of B in CFI of 1100 t B yr-1 could cover ∼25% of the annual B fertilizer demand of the EU. Hence, conversion of CFI to B fertilizer provides a meaningful end-of-life strategy, which would contribute to a more resource-efficient and sustainable economy and to several of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Silicon Availability from Chemically Diverse Fertilizers and Secondary Raw Materials.

Crops may require Si fertilization to sustain yields. Potential Si fertilizers include industrial byproducts (e.g., steel slags), mined minerals (CaSiO3), fused Ca-Mg-phosphates, biochar, ash, diatomaceous earth, and municipal sewage sludge. To date, no extraction method was shown to accurately predict plant availability of Si from such chemically diverse Si fertilizers. We tested a wide range of products in greenhouse experiments and related the plant Si content to Si extracted by several common Si fertilizer tests: 5-day extraction in Na2CO3-NH4NO3, 0.5 mol L-1 HCl, and Resin extraction. In addition, we tested a novel sink extraction approach for Si(OH)40 that utilizes a dialysis membrane filled with ferrihydrite ("Iron Bag"). Wheat straw biochars and ash exhibited equivalent or marginally higher Si solubility and availability compared to wheat straw. Thermo-chemically treated municipal sewage sludge, as well as diatomaceous earth, did not release substantial amounts of Si. The Resin and the Iron Bag extraction methods gave the best results to predict plant availability of Si. These methods better reproduce the conditions of fertilizer dissolution in soil and around the root by (1) buffering the pH close to neutral and (2) extracting the dissolved Si(OH)40 with ferrihydrite (Iron Bag method) for maximum quantitative extraction.

Decomposition of beech (Fagus sylvatica) and pine (Pinus nigra) litter along an Alpine elevation gradient: Decay and nutrient release.

Litter decomposition is an important process for cycling of nutrients in terrestrial ecosystems. The objective of this study was to evaluate direct and indirect effects of climate on litter decomposition along an altitudinal gradient in a temperate Alpine region. Foliar litter of European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Black pine (Pinus nigra) was incubated in litterbags during two years in the Hochschwab massif of the Northern Limestone Alps of Austria. Eight incubation sites were selected following an altitudinal/climatic transect from 1900 to 900 m asl. The average remaining mass after two years of decomposition amounted to 54% (beech) and 50% (pine). Net release of N, P, Na, Al, Fe and Mn was higher in pine than in beech litter due to high immobilization (retention) rates of beech litter. However, pine litter retained more Ca than beech litter. Altitude retarded decay (mass loss and associated C release) in beech litter during the first year only but had a longer lasting effect on decaying pine litter. Altitude comprises a suite of highly auto-correlated characteristics (climate, vegetation, litter, soil chemistry, soil microbiology, snow cover) that influence litter decomposition. Hence, decay and nutrient release of incubated litter is difficult to predict by altitude, except during the early stage of decomposition, which seemed to be controlled by climate. Reciprocal litter transplant along the elevation gradient yielded even relatively higher decay of pine litter on beech forest sites after a two-year adaptation period of the microbial community.

Lignin decomposition along an Alpine elevation gradient in relation to physicochemical and soil microbial parameters.

Lignin is an aromatic plant compound that decomposes more slowly than other organic matter compounds; however, it was recently shown that lignin could decompose as fast as litter bulk carbon in minerals soils. In alpine Histosols, where organic matter dynamics is largely unaffected by mineral constituents, lignin may be an important part of soil organic matter (SOM). These soils are expected to experience alterations in temperature and/or physicochemical parameters as a result of global climate change. The effect of these changes on lignin dynamics remains to be examined and the importance of lignin as SOM compound in these soils evaluated. Here, we investigated the decomposition of individual lignin phenols of maize litter incubated for 2 years in-situ in Histosols on an Alpine elevation gradient (900, 1300, and 1900 m above sea level); to this end, we used the cupric oxide oxidation method and determined the phenols' (13) C signature. Maize lignin decomposed faster than bulk maize carbon in the first year (86 vs. 78% decomposed); however, after the second year, lignin and bulk C decomposition did not differ significantly. Lignin mass loss did not correlate with soil temperature after the first year, and even correlated negatively at the end of the second year. Lignin mass loss also correlated negatively with the remaining maize N at the end of the second year, and we interpreted this result as a possible negative influence of nitrogen on lignin degradation, although other factors (notably the depletion of easily degradable carbon sources) may also have played a role at this stage of decomposition. Microbial community composition did not correlate with lignin mass loss, but it did so with the lignin degradation indicators (Ac/Al)s and S/V after 2 years of decomposition. Progressing substrate decomposition toward the final stages thus appears to be linked with microbial community differentiation.