Abstract
The use of human excreta in agricultural settings has the potential to meet crop nutrient requirements and improve soil health, while also providing a sustainable end use for fecal material. Previous reviews have focused on sewage sludge biosolids from wastewater treatment plants, but with on-site sanitation systems overtaking sewers as the leading sanitation system worldwide, greater attention to fecal sludge is warranted. This systematic Review is the first to compile the results of crop trials which utilized fecal amendments from on-site sanitation systems and includes 47 experiments. Overall, fecal amendments increased crop growth compared to unamended control plots and also produced comparable yields to synthetic fertilizers. Biological and physical soil parameters were underrepresented in the literature, which made a holistic assessment of soil health impossible. However, some improvements in chemical characteristics were observed, most notably for soil organic carbon. Inconsistent experimental design made aggregation of results and detailed statistical analysis difficult, highlighting the need for a more standardized approach for testing the efficacy of amendments and reporting results. Regardless, this Review compiles our collective existing knowledge to provide tentative results for the effect of fecal amendments on crop growth and soil health and offers recommendations for future work.
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