To effectively contribute to climate change mitigation, agronomists are increasingly focused on minimizing the application of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides while ensuring that crop yield and quality are not compromised. Plant biomass and organic fertilizers are known to improve soil quality, boost plant growth, and suppress diseases. However, their overall effectiveness remains limited, hence the need for further research to enhance their agricultural performance. This study aims to explore the potential application of two natural sources (manure digestate and crop Artemisia dubia) for crop fertilization and protection. During the growing season, winter wheat was fertilized twice (21-25 BBCH and 30-35 BBCH) with synthetic, organic (pig manure digestate), and combined synthetic-organic fertilizers. Artemisia dubia biomass was incorporated before sowing and planted in strips. The soil chemical composition, crop overwintering, weediness, and diseases were assessed after two years of the respective treatments. The results showed that the organic carbon content increased by 1-5% after fertilizing winter wheat with pig manure digestate and combining fertilizers (organic and synthetic). Additionally, fertilizer or pesticide use had a significant effect on the soil pH process. Combining synthetic and organic fertilizers increased the amount of mobile phosphorus in the soil by 38%. In conclusion, combining synthetic fertilizers with organic fertilizers is the most effective approach to maintain healthy soil conditions and prevent damage to sprouts in the soil. Overall, our findings offer more opportunities for organic and sustainable agricultural processes by integrating pig manure digestate and Artemisia dubia biomass as a natural approach to minimizing synthetic fertilizer and pesticide use.

The problem of chemical soil pollution after military actions on the territory of Ukraine is becoming quite urgent in terms of ecological risks. The aim of the article was to establish the level of ecological safety of soils after the application of biosorption technology and to substantiate its ecological and economic feasibility. Within the scope of the study, three scenarios were set to evaluate the level of ecological risk under the condition of actual complex contamination of soils with five heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Cd) - Scenario 1 and in the case of biosorption technology application for soil protection - Scenarios 2 and 3. Scenarios 2 and 3 differed in the type of substrate for anaerobic digestion (chicken manure and sewage sludge, respectively) compatible with phosphogypsum to obtain a biocomposite. Innovative approach for ecological risk assessment was improved based on the Bayes' theorem and developed set of qualitative and quantitative parameters. Based on the theoretical substantiation of the complex formation indicator and the fluorescent properties of digestate organic matter, the efficiency of heavy metal immobilisation in the soil was evaluated, which contributed to the reduction of ecological risk from moderate to low level for both scenarios. The results of the risk assessment based on Bayes' theorem showed a decrease in the level of risk from high to medium. Ecological and economic efficiency was assessed according to methodology of ecological damage after hostilities. The economically effective technology developed can be recommended for the comprehensive soil restoration scheme due to the obtained results.

In engineering projects involving expansive clay, its mechanical and chemical properties are enhanced through soil stabilization using various admixtures such as fly ash, lime, and cement. Considering the admixture's limitation in recent years, the employment of waste materials in stabilizing such soils is highly encouraged. This study investigates the efficacy of digestate ash as a soil stabilizer under diverse temperature conditions (100 degrees C to 800 degrees C) through an unconfined compressive strength test at an optimal stabilizer content. The Atterberg's limits and compressive strength test were performed on the clay with and without additives at room temperature through various curing times (0 and 28 days). The digestate ash was used at 0 to 25% (by dry clay weight) as an additive along with the initial consumption of lime as an activator at 4.5% (by dry soil weight). The maximum unconfined compressive strength value of 336 kPa was observed when using 15% digestate ash obtained at 560 degrees C for a curing period of 28-days. The significant alteration in mineralogical and chemical composition was identified when the DA-modified clay underwent X-ray diffraction and fourier transform infrared examinations. This research facilitates better understanding of digestate ash-based soil stabilization in different thermal conditions, aiding sustainable soil improvement in civil engineering and environmental remediation.

Acidification of slurry is a promising approach for reducing ammonia emissions during the application procedure. Since only a few studies have been conducted focusing on ammonia emissions during the application of liquid organic fertilizers on the soil surface, a suitable incubation system was developed to evaluate the effects of acidification under controlled conditions. This incubation system was used to measure the ammonia emissions of various liquid organic fertilizers. The substrates were acidified with sulfuric and citric acid to different pH values to determine both the influence of the pH value of the substrates and of the type of acid on the ammonia emissions. The emissions decreased with declining pH value, and the reduction in emissions compared to the initial pH of the substrate was over 86% for pH 6.5 and over 98% for pH 6.0 and below. At the same pH value, the ammonia emissions did not differ between substrates acidified with citric acid and sulfuric acid, although more than twice as much 50% citric acid was required compared to 96% sulfuric acid to achieve the same pH value. Overall, our results demonstrate that the incubation system used is suitable for measuring ammonia emissions from surface-applied liquid organic fertilizers. The system allows for the differentiation of emission levels at various pH levels and is therefore suitable for testing the effectiveness of additives for reducing ammonia emissions from liquid organic fertilizers.