Restoration Techniques Applied in Open Mining Area to Improve Agricultural Soil Fertility
Open pit mining causes damage in natural and rural regions; that is why soil restoration is necessary in order to recovery soil–plant systems. The application of waste can be a good solution for rehabilitation, and it clearly complies with the circular economy and the zero-waste strategy. This study...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-09-01
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| Series: | AgriEngineering |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2624-7402/5/3/99 |
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| author | María Ángeles Peñaranda Barba Virginia Alarcón Martínez Ignacio Gómez Lucas Jose Navarro-Pedreño |
| author_facet | María Ángeles Peñaranda Barba Virginia Alarcón Martínez Ignacio Gómez Lucas Jose Navarro-Pedreño |
| author_sort | María Ángeles Peñaranda Barba |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Open pit mining causes damage in natural and rural regions; that is why soil restoration is necessary in order to recovery soil–plant systems. The application of waste can be a good solution for rehabilitation, and it clearly complies with the circular economy and the zero-waste strategy. This study was carried out in a quarry restoration area in the southeast of Spain, where experimental plots were designed and fertilized with different amendments (commonly used inorganic fertilizer N-K-P, pig slurry, pruning waste and urban solid wastes) with the objective of studying ways to improve the restoration of the soil by using these residues and increase the soil fertility before planting. The treatments applied were evaluated in the short term (two and four months from their addition to topsoil) and medium term (nine months) in order to determine if the restored soils will be adequate for agriculture based on nutrients’ availability. The results showed that in all the treatments, the pH exceeded 8.5 due to the nature of the soil matrix, but after 9 months of the application, in the plots treated with NPK and pig slurry, the pH decreased. In general, with the application of the treatments, soil macro- (N, P, K, Na, Ca and Mg) and micro-nutrients (Fe and Cu) were increased. However, pig slurry and urban solid waste favored N and P, respectively. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:08:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5730dc837ec94528af1ce092ef137a96 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2624-7402 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:08:25Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | AgriEngineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-5730dc837ec94528af1ce092ef137a962023-11-19T09:08:40ZengMDPI AGAgriEngineering2624-74022023-09-01531599161310.3390/agriengineering5030099Restoration Techniques Applied in Open Mining Area to Improve Agricultural Soil FertilityMaría Ángeles Peñaranda Barba0Virginia Alarcón Martínez1Ignacio Gómez Lucas2Jose Navarro-Pedreño3Department of Agrochemistry and Environment, Edif. Alcudia, Miguel Hernández University of Elche, Avda. de la Universidad, s/n, 03202 Elche, SpainDepartment of Industrial and Electronic Organization, Higher School of Engineering and Technology, International University of La Rioja, C/Almansa, 101, 28040 Madrid, SpainDepartment of Agrochemistry and Environment, Edif. Alcudia, Miguel Hernández University of Elche, Avda. de la Universidad, s/n, 03202 Elche, SpainDepartment of Agrochemistry and Environment, Edif. Alcudia, Miguel Hernández University of Elche, Avda. de la Universidad, s/n, 03202 Elche, SpainOpen pit mining causes damage in natural and rural regions; that is why soil restoration is necessary in order to recovery soil–plant systems. The application of waste can be a good solution for rehabilitation, and it clearly complies with the circular economy and the zero-waste strategy. This study was carried out in a quarry restoration area in the southeast of Spain, where experimental plots were designed and fertilized with different amendments (commonly used inorganic fertilizer N-K-P, pig slurry, pruning waste and urban solid wastes) with the objective of studying ways to improve the restoration of the soil by using these residues and increase the soil fertility before planting. The treatments applied were evaluated in the short term (two and four months from their addition to topsoil) and medium term (nine months) in order to determine if the restored soils will be adequate for agriculture based on nutrients’ availability. The results showed that in all the treatments, the pH exceeded 8.5 due to the nature of the soil matrix, but after 9 months of the application, in the plots treated with NPK and pig slurry, the pH decreased. In general, with the application of the treatments, soil macro- (N, P, K, Na, Ca and Mg) and micro-nutrients (Fe and Cu) were increased. However, pig slurry and urban solid waste favored N and P, respectively.https://www.mdpi.com/2624-7402/5/3/99circular economyorganic amendmentspig slurryrecycled wastesoil restaurationsemi-arid ecosystems |
| spellingShingle | María Ángeles Peñaranda Barba Virginia Alarcón Martínez Ignacio Gómez Lucas Jose Navarro-Pedreño Restoration Techniques Applied in Open Mining Area to Improve Agricultural Soil Fertility AgriEngineering circular economy organic amendments pig slurry recycled waste soil restauration semi-arid ecosystems |
| title | Restoration Techniques Applied in Open Mining Area to Improve Agricultural Soil Fertility |
| title_full | Restoration Techniques Applied in Open Mining Area to Improve Agricultural Soil Fertility |
| title_fullStr | Restoration Techniques Applied in Open Mining Area to Improve Agricultural Soil Fertility |
| title_full_unstemmed | Restoration Techniques Applied in Open Mining Area to Improve Agricultural Soil Fertility |
| title_short | Restoration Techniques Applied in Open Mining Area to Improve Agricultural Soil Fertility |
| title_sort | restoration techniques applied in open mining area to improve agricultural soil fertility |
| topic | circular economy organic amendments pig slurry recycled waste soil restauration semi-arid ecosystems |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2624-7402/5/3/99 |
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