Periodic Reporting for period 1 - LEX4BIO (Optimizing Bio-based Fertilisers in Agriculture – Knowledgebase for New Policies)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2019-06-01 al 2021-11-30
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 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 societal 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 and 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), indicating a remarkable imbalance in soil nutrient status across the EU. 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 societal 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 and 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), indicating a remarkable imbalance in soil nutrient status across the EU. 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.
During this reporting period, availability of NRSS were mapped in the EU and available BBFs in the EU’s market were screened. Approximately 80 P- and N-BBFs were selected for testing, covering a wide range of BBFs according to Product Function Categories (PFC) and Component Material Categories (CMC) included in the Fertilising Products Regulation (EU 2019/1009).
Agronomic efficiency of both P- and N-BBFs in different climatic conditions across the EU and potential losses of nutrients and heavy metals after BBFs application is currently being evaluated. Potential ammonia volatilisation from N-BBFs was assessed and great variation exists between BBFs. A general reduction in ammonia volatilisation was found after incorporation of BBFs in soil vs. surface application. Selection of about 2400 soil samples from LUCAS soil archive (year 2015), proportionally allocated, were collected during this reporting period. Soil samples are ready for analyses for determining nutrient and harmful heavy metal status of agricultural soils in the EU. Safety of BBFs is currently being evaluated, including potential organic contaminants, antibiotic resistance in soils induced by BBFs and evaluation of suitable ecotoxicological test for BBFs.
A review of published life cycle assessments (LCAs) was conducted and a draft convention for making nutrient recycling LCAs comparable was developed. Assessing, describing and (tentatively) monetarising the accounted and hidden socioeconomic impacts of current fertilising practices has started. Evaluation drivers and barriers regarding the replacement of mineral fertilisers by BBFs in conventional and organic farming is ongoing. Modelling of the optimal combination of processing, transport and use of BBFs regionally and inter-regionally has started and is being discussed among partners.
Agronomic efficiency of both P- and N-BBFs in different climatic conditions across the EU and potential losses of nutrients and heavy metals after BBFs application is currently being evaluated. Potential ammonia volatilisation from N-BBFs was assessed and great variation exists between BBFs. A general reduction in ammonia volatilisation was found after incorporation of BBFs in soil vs. surface application. Selection of about 2400 soil samples from LUCAS soil archive (year 2015), proportionally allocated, were collected during this reporting period. Soil samples are ready for analyses for determining nutrient and harmful heavy metal status of agricultural soils in the EU. Safety of BBFs is currently being evaluated, including potential organic contaminants, antibiotic resistance in soils induced by BBFs and evaluation of suitable ecotoxicological test for BBFs.
A review of published life cycle assessments (LCAs) was conducted and a draft convention for making nutrient recycling LCAs comparable was developed. Assessing, describing and (tentatively) monetarising the accounted and hidden socioeconomic impacts of current fertilising practices has started. Evaluation drivers and barriers regarding the replacement of mineral fertilisers by BBFs in conventional and organic farming is ongoing. Modelling of the optimal combination of processing, transport and use of BBFs regionally and inter-regionally has started and is being discussed among partners.
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 as analysing of LUCAS soil samples provides knowledge of 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 BBFs 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 as analysing of LUCAS soil samples provides knowledge of 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 BBFs 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.