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Data extracted in January 2021
Fiche created in December 2023
Note to the reader: This general fiche summarises all the environmental and climate impacts of ORGANIC FERTILISATION found in a review of 32 synthesis papers[1]. These papers were selected from an initial number of 185 obtained through a systematic literature search strategy, according to the inclusion criteria reported in section 4. The impacts reported here are those for which there is scientific evidence available in published synthesis papers, what does not preclude the farming practice to have other impacts on the environment and climate still not covered by primary studies or by synthesis papers.
The synthesis papers review a number of primary studies ranging from 10 to 238. Therefore, the assessment of impacts relies on a large number of results from the primary studies, obtained mainly in field conditions, or sometimes in lab experiments or from model simulations.
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE FARMING PRACTICE
- Description:
- Organic fertilisation is the application to soils of plant or animal-derived materials containing organic forms of nutrients that microorganisms in the soil decompose, making them available for use by plants.[2]
- Key descriptors:
- This review includes the application of organic fertilisers from different animal (cattle, pig, sheep, poultry, earthworms), plant and mixed (municipal and agro-industrial waste) sources used both as composted and non-composted manures.
- When organic fertilisation was combined with mineral fertilisation and compared to mineral fertilisation, we only included results in which: i) the intervention and the comparator had the same mineral fertilisation strategy; ii) the organic fertilisation partially substituted the mineral fertilisation in the intervention. Since organic fertilisation alone did not show different qualitative effects than organic fertilisation combined with organic fertilisation, we pooled both types of interventions as “organic fertilisation”.
- Green manure (the use of a cover crop to fertilise the soil for the following crop) and crop residues were excluded, as their impacts are assessed in separate sets of fiches.
2. EFFECTS OF THE FARMING PRACTICE ON CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
We reviewed the impacts of organic fertilisation (alone or in combination with mineral fertilisation) compared to either mineral fertilisation or no fertilisation.
The table below shows the number of synthesis papers with statistical tests reporting i) a significant difference between the Intervention and the Comparator, that is to say, a significant statistical effect, which can be positive or negative; or ii) a non-statistically significant difference between the Intervention and the Comparator. In addition, we include, if any, the number of synthesis papers reporting relevant results but without statistical test of the effects. Details on the quality assessment of the synthesis papers can be found in the methodology section of this WIKI.
Out of the 32 selected synthesis papers, 29 included studies conducted in Europe, and 31 have a quality score higher than 50%.
Table 1: Summary of effects. Number of synthesis papers reporting positive, negative or non-statistically significant effects on environmental and climate impacts. The number of synthesis papers reporting relevant results but without statistical test of the effects are also provided. When not all the synthesis papers reporting an effect are of high quality, the number of synthesis papers with a quality score of at least 50% is indicated in parentheses. Some synthesis papers may report effects for more than one impact, or more than one effect for the same impact.
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| Statistically tested | Non-statistically tested | ||
Impact | Metric | Intervention | Comparator | Significantly positive | Significantly negative | Non-significant | |
Decrease Air pollutants emissions | NH3 emissions | Organic fertilisation | Mineral fertilisation | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Decrease Air pollutants emissions | NO emissions | Organic fertilisation | No fertilisation | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Increase Carbon sequestration | Soil organic carbon | Organic fertilisation | Mineral fertilisation | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Organic fertilisation | No fertilisation | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Decrease GHG emissions | Soil CH4 emissions | Organic fertilisation | Mineral fertilisation | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Organic fertilisation | No fertilisation | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
Decrease GHG emissions | Soil N2O emissions | Organic fertilisation | Mineral fertilisation | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
Organic fertilisation | No fertilisation | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | ||
Decrease Nutrient leaching and run-off | N leaching and run-off | Organic fertilisation | Mineral fertilisation | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Increase Plant nutrient uptake | Nutrient use efficiency | Organic fertilisation | Mineral fertilisation | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Increase Soil biological quality | Soil biological quality | Organic fertilisation | Mineral fertilisation | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Organic fertilisation | No fertilisation | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
Increase Soil nutrients | Soil nutrients | Organic fertilisation | Mineral fertilisation | 4 (3) | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 |
Organic fertilisation | No fertilisation | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
Increase Crop yield | Crop yield | Organic fertilisation | Mineral fertilisation | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Organic fertilisation | No fertilisation | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
3. FACTORS INFLUENCING THE EFFECTS ON CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
The factors significantly influencing the size and/or direction of the effects on the impacts, according to the synthesis papers included in this review, are reported below. Details about the factors can be found in the summaries of the meta-analyses available in this WIKI.
Table 2: List of factors reported to significantly affect the size and/or direction of the effects on environmental and climate impacts, according to the synthesis papers reviewed. The reference number of the synthesis papers where those factors are explored is given in parentheses.
Impact | Factors |
Air pollutants emissions | Duration of treatment (Ref7), N application rate (Ref19), Organic fertiliser application rate (Ref7), Soil C/N ratio (Ref19), Soil mineral N (Ref19), Soil organic carbon (Ref19), Soil pH (Ref19) and Soil texture (Ref19) |
Carbon sequestration | Climate (Ref13, Ref23, Ref27), Cumulative organic fertiliser C input (Ref27), Duration of treatment (Ref13, Ref23), Mineral N fertiliser application rate (Ref13), Organic fertiliser application rate (Ref7, Ref28), Organic fertiliser type (Ref13, Ref27, Ref28), Soil N, P and organic carbon (Ref13), Soil pH (Ref13), Soil texture (Ref5), Soil texture and soil type (Ref13) and Tillage intensity (Ref28) |
GHG emissions | Annual precipitation (Ref31), Climate (Ref8, Ref22), Crop type (Ref8, Ref29), Difference in total N inputs between organic and mineral fertilisers (Ref18), Duration of treatment (Ref7, Ref8), Mean annual temperature (Ref31), N application rate (Ref29), Organic fertiliser application rate (Ref2, Ref7), Organic fertiliser C/N ratio (Ref16, Ref18), Organic fertiliser N content (Ref16), Organic fertiliser type (Ref2), Soil clay content (Ref18), Soil organic carbon (Ref8), Soil pH (Ref22), Soil texture (Ref16, Ref22), Tillage (Ref29), Water filled pore space (Ref8) and Water management (Ref29) |
Nutrient leaching and run-off | Duration of treatment (Ref7) and Organic fertiliser application rate (Ref7) |
Plant nutrient uptake | Organic fertiliser application rate (Ref7), Organic fertiliser C/N ratio (Ref4) and Organic fertiliser mineral N/total N ratio (Ref4) |
Soil biological quality | Climate (Ref5, Ref13, Ref32), Duration of treatment (Ref13), Organic fertiliser C content (Ref24), Organic fertiliser N content (Ref24), Organic fertiliser type (Ref32), Soil pH (Ref13), Soil texture (Ref5, Ref13) and Soil type (Ref13) |
Soil nutrients | Climate (Ref25), Duration of treatment (Ref25), Organic fertiliser application rate (Ref13), Organic fertiliser type (Ref13), Soil Olsen P levels (Ref13), Soil type (Ref5 and Ref25) |
Crop yield | Climate (Ref13, Ref21), Crop type (Ref13, Ref15, Ref21), Duration of treatment (Ref7, Ref13, Ref15), Mineral fertiliser addition (Ref9), Mineral N fertiliser application rate (Ref13), Organic fertiliser application rate (Ref7, Ref15), Organic fertiliser type (Ref9, Ref13, Ref14, Ref21), Plant family (Ref9), Plant functional type (Ref9), Soil N, P and organic carbon (Ref13), Soil organic matter (Ref21), Soil pH (Ref13, Ref15), Soil texture (Ref15), Soil texture and soil type (Ref13), Tillage (Ref15), Time before sowing (Ref15) and Water management (Ref21) |
4. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW SEARCH STRATEGY
Table 3: Systematic review search strategy - methodology and search parameters.
Parameter | Details |
Keywords | WOS: TOPIC: ((organic near/4 fert*) OR (organic near/4 amend*) OR (manure near/4 application) OR (manure near/4 distribution) OR (vermicompost*)) AND TOPIC: ("meta-analy*" OR "systematic* review*" OR "evidence map" OR "global synthesis" OR "evidence synthesis" OR "research synthesis") |
Time reference | No time restriction. |
Databases | Web of Science and Scopus: run on 13 January 2021 |
Exclusion criteria | The main criteria that led to the exclusion of a synthesis paper are: |
5. SYNTHESIS PAPERS INCLUDED IN THE REVIEW
Table 4: List of synthesis papers included in this review. More details can be found in the summaries of the meta-analyses.
Ref Num | Author(s) | Year | Title | Journal | DOI |
Ref1 | Cao, Y; He, Z; Zhu, T; Zhao, F | 2021 | Organic-C quality as a key driver of microbial nitrogen immobilization in soil: A meta-analysis | GEODERMA, 383, 114784. | 10.1016/j.geoderma.2020.114784 |
Ref2 | Shakoor, A; Shakoor, S; Rehman, A; Ashraf, F; Abdullah, M; Shahzad, SM; Farooq, TH; Ashraf, M; Manzoor, MA; Altaf, MM; Altaf, MA | 2021 | Effect of animal manure, crop type, climate zone, and soil attributes on greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural soils—A global meta-analysis | JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION, 278, 124019. | 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124019 |
Ref3 | Yang, L; Deng, Y; Wang, X; Zhang, W; Shi, X; Chen, X; Lakshmanan, P; Zhang, F | 2021 | Global direct nitrous oxide emissions from the bioenergy crop sugarcane (Saccharum spp. inter-specific hybrids) | SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, 752, 141795. | 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141795 |
Ref4 | Huygens, D; Orveillon, G; Lugato, E; Tavazzi, S; Comero, S; Jones, A; Gawlik, B; Saveyn, HGM | 2020 | Technical proposals for the safe use of processed manure above the threshold established for Nitrate Vulnerable Zones by the Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC). | EUR 30363 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg | 10.2760/373351 |
Ref5 | Liu, S; Wang, J; Pu, S; Blagodatskaya, E; Kuzyakov, Y; Razavi, BS | 2020 | Impact of manure on soil biochemical properties: A global synthesis | SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, 745, 141003. | 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141003 |
Ref6 | Morugán-Coronado, A; Linares, C; Gómez-López, MD; Faz, Á; Zornoza, R | 2020 | The impact of intercropping, tillage and fertilizer type on soil and crop yield in fruit orchards under Mediterranean conditions: A meta-analysis of field studies. | AGRICOLTURAL SYSTEMS, 178, 102736. | 10.1016/j.agsy.2019.102736 |
Ref7 | Wei, ZB; Ying, H; Guo, XW; Zhuang, MH; Cui, ZL; Zhang, FS | 2020 | Substitution of Mineral Fertilizer with Organic Fertilizer in Maize Systems: A Meta-Analysis of Reduced Nitrogen and Carbon Emissions | AGRONOMY, 10, 1149. | 10.3390/agronomy10081149 |
Ref8 | Xia, F; Mei, K; Xu, Y; Zhang, C; Dahlgren, RA; Zhang, MH | 2020 | Response of N2O emission to manure application in field trials of agricultural soils across the globe | SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, 733, 139390. | 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139390 |
Ref9 | Blouin, M; Barrere, J; Meyer, N; Lartigue, S; Barot, S; Mathieu, J | 2019 | Vermicompost significantly affects plant growth. A meta-analysis | AGRONOMY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, 39, 34. | 10.1007/s13593-019-0579-x |
Ref10 | Luo, GW; Sun, B; Li, L; Li, MH; Liu, MQ; Zhu, YY; Guo, SW; Ling, N; Shen, QR | 2019 | Understanding how long-term organic amendments increase soil phosphatase activities: Insight into phoD- and phoC-harboring functional microbial populations | SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY, 139, 107632. | 10.1016/j.soilbio.2019.107632 |
Ref11 | Luo, WQ; O'Brien, PL; Hatfield, JL | 2019 | Crop Yield and Nitrous Oxide Emissions following Swine Manure Application: A Meta-Analysis | AGRICULTURAL & ENVIRONMENTAL LETTERS, 4(1), 190024. | 10.2134/ael2019.07.0024 |
Ref12 | Ti, C; Xia, L; Chang, SX; Yan, X; | 2019 | Potential for mitigating global agricultural ammonia emission: A meta-analysis | ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION, 245, 141-148. | 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.10.124 |
Ref13 | Chen, YS; Camps-Arbestain, M; Shen, QH; Singh, B; Cayuela, ML | 2018 | The long-term role of organic amendments in building soil nutrient fertility: a meta-analysis and review | NUTRIENT CYCLING IN AGROECOSYSTEMS, 111, 103-125. | 10.1007/s10705-017-9903-5 |
Ref14 | Fabio, ES; Smart, LB | 2018 | Effects of nitrogen fertilization in shrub willow short rotation coppice production - a quantitative review | GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY BIOENERGY, 10(8), 548-564. | 10.1111/gcbb.12507 |
Ref15 | Lin, Y; Watts, DB; Van Santen, E; Cao, G. | 2018 | Influence of poultry litter on crop productivity under different field conditions: A meta-analysis | AGRONOMY JOURNAL, 110(3), 807-818. | 10.2134/agronj2017.09.0513 |
Ref16 | Charles, A; Rochette, P; Whalen, JK; Angers, DA; Chantigny, MH; Bertrand, N | 2017 | Global nitrous oxide emission factors from agricultural soils after addition of organic amendments: A meta-analysis | AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT, 236, 88-98. | 10.1016/j.agee.2016.11.021 |
Ref17 | Dai, SY; Wang, J; Cheng, Y; Zhang, JB; Cai, ZC | 2017 | Effects of long-term fertilization on soil gross N transformation rates and their implications | JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE AGRICULTURE,16, 2863-2870. | 10.1016/S2095-3119(17)61673-3 |
Ref18 | Han, Z; Walter, MT; Drinkwater, LE | 2017 | N2O emissions from grain cropping systems: a meta-analysis of the impacts of fertilizer-based and ecologically-based nutrient management strategies | NUTRIENT CYCLING IN AGROECOSYSTEMS, 107, 335-355. | 10.1007/s10705-017-9836-z |
Ref19 | Liu, SW; Lin, F; Wu, S; Ji, C; Sun, Y; Jin, YG; Li, SQ; Li, ZF; Zou, JW | 2017 | A meta-analysis of fertilizer-induced soil NO and combined NO+N2O emissions | GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, 23(6), 2520-2532. | 10.1111/gcb.13485 |
Ref20 | Liu, XJA; van Groenigen, KJ; Dijkstra, P; Hungate, BA | 2017 | Increased plant uptake of native soil nitrogen following fertilizer addition - not a priming effect? | APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY, 114, 105-110. | 10.1016/j.apsoil.2017.03.011 |
Ref21 | Wortman, SE; Holmes, AA; Miernicki, E; Knoche, K; Pittelkow, CM | 2017 | First‐Season Crop Yield Response to Organic Soil Amendments: A Meta‐Analysis | AGRONOMY JOURNAL, 109(4), 1210–1217. | 10.2134/agronj2016.10.0627 |
Ref22 | Zhou, MH; Zhu, B; Wang, SJ; Zhu, XY; Vereecken, H; Bruggemann, N | 2017 | Stimulation of N2O emission by manure application to agricultural soils may largely offset carbon benefits: a global meta-analysis | GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, 23, 4068-4083. | 10.1111/gcb.13648 |
Ref23 | Han, PF; Zhang, W; Wang, GC; Sun, WJ; Huang, Y | 2016 | Changes in soil organic carbon in croplands subjected to fertilizer management: a global meta-analysis | SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, 6 27199. | 10.1038/srep27199 |
Ref24 | Liu, T; Chen, XY; Hu, F; Ran, W; Shen, QR; Li, HX; Whalen, JK | 2016 | Carbon-rich organic fertilizers to increase soil biodiversity: Evidence from a meta-analysis of nematode communities | AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT, 232, 199-207. | 10.1016/j.agee.2016.07.015 |
Ref25 | Pecio, A; Jarosz, Z | 2016 | Long-term effects of soil management practices on selected indicators of chemical soil quality. | ACTA AGROBOTANICA, 69, 1–18. | 10.5586/aa.1662 |
Ref26 | Vicente-Vicente, JL; Garcia-Ruiz, R; Francaviglia, R; Aguilera, E; Smith, P | 2016 | Soil carbon sequestration rates under Mediterranean woody crops using recommended management practices: A meta-analysis | AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT, 235, 204-214. | 10.1016/j.agee.2016.10.024 |
Ref27 | Maillard, É; Angers, DA | 2014 | Animal manure application and soil organic carbon stocks: A meta-analysis | GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, 20, 666–679. | 10.1111/gcb.12438 |
Ref28 | Aguilera, E; Lassaletta, L; Gattinger, A; Gimeno, BS | 2013 | Managing soil carbon for climate change mitigation and adaptation in Mediterranean cropping systems: A meta-analysis | AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT, 168, 25-36. | 10.1016/j.agee.2013.02.003 |
Ref29 | Aguilera, E; Lassaletta, L; Sanz-Cobena, A; Garnier, J; Vallejo, A | 2013 | The potential of organic fertilizers and water management to reduce N2O emissions in Mediterranean climate cropping systems. A review | AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT, 164, 32-52. | 10.1016/j.agee.2012.09.006 |
Ref30 | Linquist, BA; Adviento-Borbe, MA; Pittelkow, CM; van Kessel, C; van Groenigen, KJ | 2012 | Fertilizer management practices and greenhouse gas emissions from rice systems: A quantitative review and analysis | FIELD CROPS RESEARCH, 135, 10-21. | 10.1016/j.fcr.2012.06.007 |
Ref31 | Liu, Z; Powers, W | 2012 | Meta-analysis of greenhouse gas emissions from swine manure land application | AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRICULTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERS, 2012 Annual International Meeting, 5, 3829-3843. | 10.13031/2013.41918 |
Ref32 | Kallenbach, C; Grandy, AS | 2011 | Controls over soil microbial biomass responses to carbon amendments in agricultural systems: A meta-analysis | AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT, 144(1), 241-252. | 10.1016/j.agee.2011.08.020 |
Disclaimer: These fiches present a large amount of scientific knowledge synthesised to assess farming practices impacts on the environment, climate and productivity. The European Commission maintains this WIKI to enhance public access to information about its initiatives. Our goal is to keep this information timely and accurate. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them. However, the Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to the information on these fiches and WIKI.
[1] Synthesis research papers include either meta-analysis or systematic reviews with quantitative results. Details can be found in the methodology section of the WIKI.
[2] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2009. Glossary on Organic Agriculture (http://www.fao.org/organicag/en/).