Crop residues reuse to improve agricultural soil quality

Since the 70´s in The Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, the irrigated agricultural area has increased, especially in the agrarian district “Comarca del Campo de Cartagena”, (South East of Spain). As a consequence, the amount of crop residues generated has gone up too. At the present, harvest residues constitute a very serious environmental problem because, in most cases, these residues are dehydrated on the land and burned later on with subsequent negative consequences for the environment. Therefore, it is important to find a suitable residue management system which would be able to recycle them, solving serious environmental problems related to their final disposal. The main aim of this study is to reuse crop residues in order to recycle nutrients and improve soil properties. To do so, we will evaluate the influence of recycle vegetables residues on the quality of soil-plant system and therefore being able to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers. Plant waste use in this study comes from pepper crops because it represents more than 90% of the surface occupied by greenhouses in this Agrarian District. In this experiment we compare two fertilization methods: chemical fertilization used by farmers and organic amendments with crop residues. In both cases plots are divided in subplots of 5 x 4 meters in which we evaluate different doses of nitrogen, to establish the most efficient dose to reduce nutrients leaching without affecting production. Soil samples are taken at two different depths in order to know the evolution of several physical and chemical parameters such us organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus, bioavailable cations, metals, etc. Plant samples, will be also collected at the end of the cycle to measure quality and productivity parameters

Characterization of Leachate from Different Landfills Sites of Morocco and Spain: A Comparative Study

The socio-economic activities in Morocco and Spain as well as all the other countries around the world involving population growth and changes in consumption behavior have generated a substantial and important solid waste production. The decomposition of waste by microorganisms in landfills generates soluble compounds, which under the leaching action and water infiltration meteorites come to mix together forming “leachate juices”. Its composition varies widely depending on the age of the landfill and the type of waste it contains. The latter usually contains dissolved and suspended material. This study aims to characterize the physicochemical properties and evaluate the mineral and organic compounds of different leachates. It is worthy to note that this physicochemical characterization is arbitrary because those landfills willsoon be equipped with an elimination center and treatment. The following objectives of this paper have been set for this work; on one hand, to determine the qualitative characteristics aspects of leachates that are essential for characterizing the pollutant load and, thus, estimating the risks that these leachates pose to the water quality of the surrounding groundwater. On the other hand, it aims to propose a cost effective and efficient leachates treatment processes and also serves as a stepping stone reference for future leachate research. The desired process aims at obtaining a very significant reduction in the organic load of the leachate and thus could be replicated in other current and future releases. To achieve this characterization, we carried out a series of leachate sampling from different regions in Morocco (Casablanca and Marrakech) and Spain (ULEA and Orihuela). This sampling was carried out for the purpose of making a comparison between the evolutions of their qualities, and it also allows us to know the statue of those landfills

Using visible and near infrared spectroscopy to estimate carbonates and gypsum in soils in arid and subhumid regions of Isfahan, Iran

Soils in arid and semi-arid regions are strongly affected by the accumulation of carbonates, gypsum and other, more soluble, salts. Carbonates and gypsum both have a considerable influence on soil properties, especially the chemical properties of the soil solution. The development of reliable, fast and inexpensive methods to quantify the amounts of carbonates and gypsum in soil is therefore important. Visible and near infrared (vis-NIR) spectroscopy is a non-destructive, rapid and cheap method for measuring several soil properties simultaneously. However, research on vis-NIR spectroscopy in quantifying carbonates and gypsum is limited. Therefore, this study evaluated the efficiency of vis-NIR spectroscopy in quantifying carbonates and gypsum in surface soils using partial least-squares regression (PLSR) compared with standard laboratory methods and compared PLSR with a feature-specific method using continuum removal (CR). Carbonates and gypsum in a total of 251 sieved and air-dried topsoil samples from Isfahan Province in central Iran were measured by standard laboratory methods and vis-NIR spectroscopy (350–2500 nm wavelength range). In parallel, PLSR and the feature-specific method based on CR spectra were used to predict carbonates and gypsum. The PLSR model efficiency (E) for carbonates and gypsum in the validation set was 0.52 and 0.80, respectively. The PLSR model resulted in better predictions than the feature-specific method for both soil properties. Because of the unique absorption features of gypsum, which did not overlap with other soil properties, predictions of gypsum resulted in higher E values and lower errors than predictions of carbonates

Génesis y evolución paleoambiental de los suelos de la Sierra de Carrascoy (Murcia) / Angel Faz Cano ; director Roque Ortiz Silla

Tesis-Universidad de Murcia.Consulte la tesis en: BCA. GENERAL. ARCHIVO UNIVERSITARIO. D-507.Consulte la tesis en: BCA. GENERAL. ARCHIVO UNIVERSITARIO. T.M.-1491

Methodology for the detection of contamination by hydrocarbons and further soil sampling for volatile and semi-volatile organic enrichment in former petrol stations, SE Spain

The optimal detection and quantification of contamination plumes in soil and groundwater by petroleum organic compounds, gasoline and diesel, is critical for the reclamation of hydrocarbons contaminated soil at petrol stations. Through this study it has been achieved a sampling stage optimization in these scenarios by means of the location of potential contamination areas before sampling with the application of the 2D electrical resistivity tomography method, a geophysical non destructive technique based on resistivity measurements in soils. After the detection of hydrocarbons contaminated areas, boreholes with continuous coring were performed in a petrol station located in Murcia Region (Spain). The drillholes reached depths down to 10 m and soil samples were taken from each meter of the drilling. The optimization in the soil samples handling and storage, for both volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds determinations, was achieved by designing a soil sampler to minimize volatilization losses and in order to avoid the manual contact with the environmental samples during the sampling. The preservation of soil samples was performed according to Europe regulations and US Environmental Protection Agency recommendations into two kinds of glass vials. Moreover, it has been taken into account the determination techniques to quantify the hydrocarbon pollution based on Gas Chromatography with different detectors and headspace technique to reach a liquid-gas equilibrium for volatile analyses

Effect of different lignocellulosic wastes on Hericium americanum yield and nutritional characteristics

WOS: 000390708500029PubMed ID: 27100377BACKGROUNDThe aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of using cottonseed hulls (CSH) and olive press cake (OPC) as new supplement materials for substrate preparation in Hericium americanum cultivation. Some chemical properties of the substrates prepared by mixtures of oak sawdust (OS) with wheat bran (WB), CSH and OPC in different ratios were determined. In addition, the effect of mixtures of OS:CSH and OS:OPC on spawn run time, yield and biological efficiency (BE), average mushroom weight and nutrition content of the fruiting body were compared with the control substrate (8OS:2WB). RESULTSThe yield, BE and average mushroom weight of substrates containing CSH and OPC were higher than the control substrate and increased with an increase in the rate of CSH and OPC in the mixtures. Hericium americanum showed (on a dry weight basis) 8.5-23.7% protein, 9.9-21.2 g kg(-1) P, 26.6-35.8 g kg(-1) K, 0.63 - 1.33 g kg(-1) Mg, 0.19 - 0.23 g kg(-1) Ca, 1.34-1.78 g kg(-1) Na, 49.5-72.2 mg kg(-1) Fe, 6.22-10.11 mg kg(-1) Mn, 32.8-82.8 mg kg(-1) Zn and 8.6-11.2 mg kg(-1) Cu on different growing substrates. The nutritional value of mushrooms was greatly affected by the growing media. CONCLUSIONThe results revealed that CSH and OPC could be used as new supplement materials for substrate preparation in H. americanum cultivation. (c) 2016 Society of Chemical Industr

The effect of some agro- industrial wastes on yield, nutritional characteristics and antioxidant activities of Hericium erinaceus isolates

WOS: 000435625900028Four isolates of Hericium erinaceus cultivated in different growing media were investigated for their mycelial growth, yield, biological efficiency (BE), macro and micro element content, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity. In the study, oak sawdust (OS) was used as a base substrate, and cottonseed hulls (CSH) and olive press cake (OPC) were added at the ratios of 9:1, 8:2 and 7:3 to prepare the growing media. The control medium was prepared using OS and wheat bran (WB) at the rate of 8:2. The spawn run-period was shorter in all H. erinaceus isolates growing in the OS:WB (control) medium. The yield and BE (%) of H. erinaceus isolates ranged between 76.7 and 152.9 g/kg and 22.3-44.4%, respectively, depending on the growing medium used. The highest yield and BE% for all H. erinaceus isolates, except He-Trabzon, was obtained on 70S:3CSH medium. The nutritional composition of H. erinaceus isolates varied with the growing medium, but there was no direct relationship between the macro- and micro-element content of the growing media and the nutrient content of the fruitbodies. The antioxidant activity and phenolic content of H. erinaceus isolates grown on different growing media ranged between 1.76 and 4.92 mu mol TE/g fw and 0.318-0.663 mg GAE/g fw, respectively. The antioxidant activity and phenolic content of He- Ankara, He-Denizli and He-Trabzon were not affected by the growing media, whereas the addition of OPC to the oak sawdust substrate had a noticeable effect on the phenolic content and antioxidant activity of the fruitbodies of HE-Izmit. According to the results, cotton seed hulls and olive pess cake can be recommended as alternative additive materials to wheat bran to increase the yield of H. erinaceus. Finally, the use of olive press cake as substrate incrases the phenolic content of H. erinaceus mushrooms.Ege University Research CouncilEge University [ZRF 038]This work was supported by the Ege University Research Council 2009 Grant No. ZRF 038 and forms part of the PhD thesis of the first author

Structural Development, Water Status, Pigment Concentrations, and Oxidative Stress of Zygophyllum Fabago Seedlings in Relation To Cadmium Distribution in the Shoot Organs

Cadmium is a toxic pollutant, but the relationships between morphological modifications and Cd accumulation in different organs, as well as the physiological impact of accumulated Cd in leaves of different ages, remain an open question. We compared Cd concentration in the primary branches and main stems of the perennial shrub Zygophyllum fabago L. Six weeks of treatment with 10 mM Cd inhibited stem elongation and axillary bud development, and Cd accumulated to a higher level in the oldest leaves on the main stem than in ramification leaves. Although ramifications always contained lower amounts of Cd than main-stem leaves, ramification leaves were more sensitive to the pollutant. While Cd accumulation induced stomatal closure, a decrease in carbon isotope discrimination, and an increase in the water use efficiency of main-stem leaves, an inverse trend was recorded for primary-branch leaves. Cadmium induced an increase in chlorophyll concentration in the main stem but decreased it in lateral branches. Bypass flow, quantified by the 8-hydroxy-1,3,6-pyrenetrisulfonic acid trisodium salt fluorescent dye, correlated significantly with Cd accumulation in leaves, suggesting that it contributes to Cd translocation through the transpiration stream. Our study demonstrates that Cd absorbed by the roots is unevenly distributed in the shoot leaves. Accumulated toxic ion, however, is not the only factor conditioning the organ response; for example, the physiological status of the tissues in relation to the leaf ontogeny may directly influence the extent of metabolic disorders resulting from Cd accumulation