Intensive agricultural practices are worldwide drivers of soil, water and atmosphere pollution. In this optic, there is an urgent need to implement sustainable methodologies which help to preserve these fundamental non-renewable environmental resources.
One of the main issues related to intensive agriculture is the excess use of N and P fertilizers coupled with the low fertilizer efficiency. When their application surpasses the crop uptake, the excess N and P is leached into waterways or, in the specific case of N, volatilized as harmful or greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. Nevertheless, during the last decades several organic and inorganic amendments (e.g. zeolites, biochar, manure, etc.) have been recognized as an efficient strategy for soil, water and air preservation. Specifically, the application of different inorganic and organic soil amendments has been found to improve soil quality, soil organic matter, aggregate stability, nutrient retention, plant N use efficiency, influence microbial activity and population as well as soil gaseous emissions. Soil amendments are also effective in improving soil water retention, which can be beneficial when extreme events such as drought occurs. Furthermore, the high immobilization potential of pollutants by these soil amendments make them an attractive tool for the recovery of contaminated areas and disturbed landscapes. With this session we aim to focus on the current research and latest advances on a wide spectrum of soil inorganic and organic amendments in agriculture as well as for the restoration of degraded soils, covering biological, chemico-physical, biochemical and environmental aspects.
Submission of abstracts from PhD students and early career scientists are particularly encouraged.