According to a new study, adopting a Precision Compost Strategy (PCS) in large-scale agriculture can limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by diverting biowaste from landfills.
Key points
- The study by the University of Queensland was published in Nature Food September 05, 2022.
- Compost is a carbon-rich fertiliser. It is derived from organic materials, livestock manures and other mixed materials.
- Using compost can improve crop yield and deliver significant environmental benefits, the study says. PCS could improve crop yield and soil health, and would keep biowaste from ending up in the landfill where it releases harmful greenhouse gases.
- Precision Compost Strategy (PCS) is based on the optimised management of inputs in a field according to crop needs.
- It requires understanding the characteristics of compost and its interactions with the biophysical settings.
- Soil plays a crucial role in ensuring global food security. But currently 30 percent of the world’s agricultural soil is classified as degraded, with projections that this could rise to 90 percent by 2050.
- Precision compost could boost the annual global production of major cereal crops by 96 million tons.
- Applying a precision compost strategy to large-scale agriculture could help mitigate climate change.
- More than 2,000 examples of compost use in the agricultural sector across the globe were analysed as part of the PCS study.
