Peat as a Raw Material for Plant Nutrients and Humic Substances

Abstract

The ever-increasing intensity of agriculture is causing irreversible qualitative changes in the soil. Soil conservation and improvement is a priority of EU agro-environmental policy. However, this is also one of the most difficult challenges for agriculture. Various ways for sustainable agriculture have been proposed. One way to provide arable soil with humic substances is through the use of humic extracts. The aim of this work is to create a humic product for soil improvement from local raw materials, i.e., Lithuanian peat. Lithuanian peat samples from various peatlands with a different degree of humification were studied. The chemical composition of peat was determined using various methods (chemical analysis, AAS, XRD, SEM), and the optimal conditions for obtaining peat extracts were established. After examination of the chemical composition and properties of the peat extracts produced using 0.5 N KOH, it was determined that the sample with the highest degree of humification, (H8) Ezerelio JCS “Klasmann-Deilmann” (EKD), contained: 0.7% N; 0.1% P2O5; 25.87% humic acids and 0.76% fulvic acids. It had a density of 1015 kg·m−3, dynamic viscosity of 1.490 mPa·s, electrical conductivity of 33.3 mS·cm−1 and pH of 12.9.

Eco-Friendly and Effective Diatomaceous Earth/Peat (DEP) Microbial Carriers in the Anaerobic Biodegradation of Food Waste Products

“…The SEM image in Figure 4c (see Figure 4c; magnification 500 and 10 µm) shows an irregular and porous/rough microstructure. A similar peat morphology was presented by Paleckiene et al (2021) [39]. This structure is more similar to a spongy fibrous structure (poorly decomposed peat) than to a fibrous specific structure (moderately decomposed peat).…”

“…This structure is more similar to a spongy fibrous structure (poorly decomposed peat) than to a fibrous specific structure (moderately decomposed peat). The spongy structure is formed by the undecomposed remains of peat-forming plants, which are easy to identify-these are moss peats [39].…”

“…Depending on which component predominates, peat can vary in structure. The more plant debris, the more fibrous it is [39]. As the humus content increases, it becomes plastic and amorphous.…”

Quantitative and Qualitative Changes in the Genetic Diversity of Bacterial Communities in Anaerobic Bioreactors with the Diatomaceous Earth/Peat Cell Carrier

“…This is a microscopic image of powder, obtained by drying and grinding peat. Its irregular microstructure, observed in the image, confirms the results presented in other publications [ 37 ].…”

A Flashforward Look into Solutions for Fruit and Vegetable Production

“…However, this technic suffers from low efficiency. To reduce soil damage in agriculture, investigations on clay-humic complexes, which control the mobility of toxic metals and the nutrient availability for plants [ 45 , 46 ], led to the development of humic products [ 47 , 48 , 49 ] or biostimulants [ 50 ]. Technologies such as alternative fertilizers, e.g., biochar and brown coal waste, are also being tested with promising results [ 51 , 52 , 53 ].…”