Introduction
Agricultural production is highly dependent on soils structure and fertility. For centuries, farmers all over the world have relied on wastewater biosolids to enhance soil structure and improve their yields. Essentially, biosolids are organic matter obtained through the treatment of wastewater and used for beneficial agricultural purposes. Biosolids provide a safer, cheaper, and easily accessible soil enhancer, which is a viable alternative for inorganic fertilizers. Over the years, agriculture has suffered from a severe resource strain, especially in terms of fertilizers and groundwater, calling for environmental-friendly measures to address these deficiencies. Although inorganic fertilizers have been used widely, they are harmful to users necessitating the search for an alternative. In the era of global warming and climate change, there is an emphasis on environmental conservation while ensuring human health is not jeopardized. This essay demonstrates that biosolids are safe, beneficial to the environment, and essential for enhancing the soil structure while providing a better alternative to inorganic fertilizers.
Soils Structure Enhancement
Biosolids enhance soils structure properties such as texture and water-holding capacity. Soil texture serves man purposes such as determining the type of crops grown. One of the key determinants of crop growth is the ability of roots to hold firmly to the ground, failure to which they can be uprooted by wind resulting in significant losses. According to Chow and Pan (2020), biosolids are essential in the agricultural sector due to their role in adding and replenishing lost soil nutrients, improving soil structure. Soil organic matter is the main component that holds soil particles together, giving the soil a good texture suitable for plants’ growth.
The application of biosolids enhances soil’s water-holding capacity and minimizes soil erosion, which is crucial for plant growth, especially in terrestrial lands. One of the effects of global warming is long durations of sunlight that increase the chances of soil losing water. In many terrestrial lands, the ability of soil to retain moisture is the most crucial factor that determines whether crops grow or not. In some cases, crops die even in heavy rains because soils lose up to 50 % of water through evapotranspiration, a challenge that can be mitigated by application of biosolids in drylands (Barbarick et al., 2017). By holding soil particles together, biosolids enable soils to retain their humus and water, providing long-term support for plant growth.
Environmental Sustainability and Human Health
Biosolids pose negligible risks to human health and contribute to environmental protection and sustainability. Exposure to chemical pollutants is a major health hazard that contributes to many illnesses and complications. Through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation, biosolids are deemed safe due to minimal pollutant concentration. In their study, Verslycke et al. (2016) found that biosolids exposure does not pose a health hazard. The limitation on the number of metal pollutants makes biosolids safe for use in agricultural lands and no significant risks have been reported on human interactions with biosolids from manufacturing to the point of use.
In addition to limiting the number of pollutants for human health safety, biosolids contribute to environmental sustainability by limiting environmental pollution through wastewater management. Kumar et al. (2017) show biosolids manufacturing includes minimal gaseous emission to the environment, estimated at (-26 and-23MgCO2e100Mg-1biosolids (drywt.). Their research also showed that biosolids are effective air cleansers by converting methane gas to carbon dioxide (Kumar et al., 2017). This makes biosolids safe for humans and essential for environmental protection.
Impacts on Crop Yield and Sustainable Agriculture
Long-term application of soil nutrient enhancers significantly affects soil quality and crop yield. In research conducted by Nicholson et al. (2018) biosolids’ long term-effect on soil quality and productivity revealed that they can be used in agricultural lands for many years without negative effects on the soil. With the continued use of biosolids, soil fertility is increased, translating to high crop yields (Ippolito et al., 2021). Since they are low on metallic compounds, biosolids provide an effective means of enhancing soil quality for sustainable agriculture. The future of agriculture depends on limited chemical additives and mitigation of environmental pollution, which are the key benefits of biosolids. Biosolids’ manufacture through wastewater management is crucial for resource management and energy conservation following their uncomplicated production process.
Conclusion
In conclusion, biosolids constitute organic, high-nutrient compounds derived from water-water management. They are used in agriculture to enhance soil structure by improving its texture and increasing water-retention capacity. Biosolids hold soil particles together, thereby enabling roots to hold firmly to the ground, a crucial factor for crop growth. In contrary to chemical fertilizers, biosolids are regulated to include a minimal amount of metal pollutants and avoid exposure to groundwater, minimizing health risks. In addition, biosolids facilitate environmental conservation by reducing the number of greenhouse gases. They effectively convert harmful methane gas to carbon dioxide used in crop production. In comparison to chemical fertilizers, biosolids do not harm the soil quality when applied continuously for many years. Biosolids are cheaper than chemical fertilizers, do not harm the crops when used in large quantities, and their manufacturing process uses less energy and results in less waste. Since the future of agriculture depends on sustainable practices, biosolids are safe for humans and essential for agricultural production.
References
Barbarick, K., Ippolito, J., & McDaniel, J. (2017). Meta-analyses of biosolids effect in dryland wheat agroecosystems.Journal of Environmental Quality, 46(2), 452-460. Web.
Chow, H., & Pan, M. (2020). Fertilization value of biosolids on nutrient accumulation and environmental risks to agricultural plants.Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, 231(12). Web.
Ippolito, J., Ducey, T., Diaz, K., & Barbarick, K. (2021). Long-term biosolids land application influences soil health.Science of the Total Environment, 791, 148344. Web.
Kumar, V., Chopra, A., & Kumar, A. (2017). A review on sewage sludge (biosolids) a resource for sustainable agriculture.Archives of Agriculture and Environmental Science, 2(4), 340-347. Web.
Nicholson, F., Bhogal, A., Taylor, M., McGrath, S., & Withers, P. (2018). Long-term effects of biosolids on soil quality and fertility.Soil Science, 183(3), 89-98. Web.
Verslycke, T., Mayfield, D., Tabony, J., Capdevielle, M., & Slezak, B. (2016). Human health risk assessment of triclosan in land-applied biosolids.Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 35(9), 2358-2367. Web.