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.
Highlights
It is used to produce peat substrates enriched with fertilizers; yet, in scientific literature there is no data on the chemical processing of Lithuanian peat
Low pH indicates that organic materials in the soil have reached the stage where the released ammonia is nitrified to nitrates [27]
Peat extraction conditions were experimentally uanian peatlands,Ni it was determined with the highest degree of humification
Summary
Academic Editors: Christophe Waterlot, Nadège Oustriere and Bertrand Pourrut. 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. This is one of the most difficult challenges for agriculture. In order to avoid the negative effect of intensive farming, the aim is to keep organic matter in the soil and to maintain properties of soil quality, such as microbiological activity, erosion resistance and soil, air and moisture regime. Various ways for sustainable agriculture have been proposed. Synthetic fertilizers and chemical products for plant protection are partially replaced with their biological counterparts, because fertilizers must be effective and environmentally friendly [1]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
