Institut für Pflanzenbau und Bodenkunde
The use of bio-based recycled and commercial fertilisers is a key component of a circular economy, enabling nutrients to be recovered from residual materials and returned to the nutrient cycle. It is not only the nutrients that are important, but also the organic matter, as it supports soil life and the formation of humus. Compost, manure, digestate, sewage sludge and sewage sludge compost are all being studied. There are various concerns about the use of sewage sludge and its derived products, particularly because of possible contamination. However, manure and digestate can also be contaminated. In order to understand the positive and negative aspects of these fertilisers compared with mineral fertilisers, pot and long-term field trials are being set up and the effects of the fertilisers are being evaluated using a number of parameters. In addition to plant health and the effect of the fertiliser, changes in carbon content, possible accumulation of heavy metals and antibiotics as an example of drug residues, and the development of soil biodiversity over a period of 10 years will be studied.
Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture
