Effects of Agricultural Management of Spent Mushroom Waste on Phytotoxicity and Microbiological Transformations of C, P, and S in Soil and Their Consequences for the Greenhouse Effect

Abstract

The huge volumes of currently generated agricultural waste pose a challenge to the economy of the 21st century. One of the directions for their reuse may be as fertilizer. Spent mushroom substrate (SMS) could become an alternative to manure (M). A three-year field experiment was carried out, in which the purpose was to test and compare the effect of SMS alone, as well as in multiple variants with mineral fertilization, and in manure with a variety of soil quality indices—such as enzymatic activity, soil phytotoxicity, and greenhouse gas emissions, i.e., CO2. The use of SMS resulted in significant stimulation of respiratory and dehydrogenase activity. Inhibition of acid phosphatase and arylsulfatase activity via SMS was recorded. SMS showed varying effects on soil phytotoxicity, dependent on time. A positive effect was noted for the growth index (GI), while inhibition of root growth was observed in the first two years of the experiment. The effect of M on soil respiratory and dehydrogenase activity was significantly weaker compared to SMS. Therefore, M is a safer fertilizer as it does not cause a significant persistent increase in CO2 emissions. Changes in the phytotoxicity parameters of the soil fertilized with manure, however, showed a similar trend as in the soil fertilized with SMS.

Assessment of the impact of spent mushroom substrate on biodiversity and activity of soil bacterial and fungal populations based on classical and modern soil condition indicators

“…The meteorological conditions during the months of soil sample collection in June and September were as follows: monthly precipitation and average monthly temperature were 74.8 mm and 16.3°C, and 54.7 mm and 14.7°C, respectively, in 2018; 11.2 mm and 22.9°C, and 33.5 mm and 16.3°C, respectively, in 2019; 170.3 mm and 17.9°C, and 128.5 mm and 15.6°C, respectively, in 2020. Detailed meteorological data have been published in previous studies (Joniec et al, 2022;Kwiatkowska and Joniec, 2022).…”

“…As reported by Alkorta et al (2003), enzymes can respond to various types of changes much earlier (within months to 1 to 2 years) than other soil properties. Furthermore, enzymatic activity often exhibits strong correlations with critical soil quality parameters, such as organic matter, physico-chemical properties of the soil, biomass, and microbial activity (Song et al, 2017;Furtak and Gałązka, 2019;Joniec et al, 2022;Kwiatkowska and Joniec, 2022). In addition, assays determining enzymatic activity are relatively inexpensive, simple and provide high reproducibility of results (Utobo and Tewari, 2015).…”

“…An attempt was also made to verify the usefulness of these indicators for monitoring the condition of the soil environment and evaluating the effectiveness of the applied fertilization practices. These studies are part of a comprehensive research project, lasting several years, aimed at assessing the trend, intensity and persistence of changes in soil microbial activity (Joniec et al, 2022;Kwiatkowska and Joniec, 2022). The research will improve existing knowledge regarding the selection of appropriate microbiological indicators for soil monitoring in the coming years.…”