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UID:pretalx-soil-health-now-2026-FPNTCU@pretalx.earthmonitor.org
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Athens:20261207T150000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Athens:20261207T151500
DESCRIPTION:Waste4Soil is a European research initiative focused on transfo
 rming food-processing residues and other bio-based waste streams into safe
 \, effective and locally adapted soil improvers. By working through Living
  Labs across different pedoclimatic regions and cropping systems\, the pro
 ject aims to support circular bioeconomy models while improving soil healt
 h\, resource efficiency and the sustainable use of organic amendments in a
 griculture.\n\nWithin the agronomic work of Waste4Soil\, a broad assessmen
 t was conducted to evaluate the effects of selected soil improvers on soil
  properties\, biological activity\, crop performance and nutrient dynamics
 . Soil samples from the Living Labs were analysed for a wide range of phys
 ical\, chemical and biological indicators\, including pH\, electrical cond
 uctivity\, soil organic carbon\, nitrogen\, phosphorus\, potassium\, labil
 e carbon and nitrogen fractions\, enzyme activities\, soil respiration\, m
 icrobial biomass\, functional microbial genes and community-level physiolo
 gical profiles. The results showed that the effects of soil improvers were
  highly site- and product-specific\, reflecting differences in soil type\,
  crop\, climate\, amendment composition and application rate.\n\nSeveral a
 mendments improved key soil health indicators. For example\, compost- and 
 biochar-based products increased soil organic carbon\, labile carbon fract
 ions\, microbial functional diversity or enzyme activities in specific Liv
 ing Labs\, while other responses were neutral or dependent on local condit
 ions. Additional experiments assessed nitrogen mineralisation\, partial re
 placement of commercial fertiliser\, crop performance and disease suppress
 iveness. Selected soil improvers were able to replace part of the nitrogen
  fertiliser without reducing lettuce biomass\, while some biochar and prot
 ein hydrolysate products showed suppressive effects against the soil-borne
  pathogen Globisporangium ultimum. Long-term modelling further indicated t
 hat soil improvers may contribute to increased carbon and nitrogen stocks\
 , particularly when products contain stable organic matter such as biochar
 -rich materials. Overall\, the agronomic work confirms the potential of lo
 cally produced soil improvers to enhance soil health and support sustainab
 le crop production\, while highlighting the need for context-specific reco
 mmendations.
DTSTAMP:20260825T180108Z
LOCATION:Amphitheater III
SUMMARY:Food processing residues as circular soil improvers for soil health
  - Vera Proskynitopoulou
URL:https://pretalx.earthmonitor.org/soil-health-now-2026/talk/FPNTCU/
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