he CREAF and the Catalan Waste Agency (ACR) We are carrying out a restoration test of soils degraded by vehicle use on the C-15 road, between Igualada and Villafranca. Catalonia has more than 40 thousand hectares of degraded land Much of it can be recovered. Areas affected by wildfires, abandoned quarries, closed landfills, and spaces near roads are some of the most common examples in our home. It is possible to rehabilitate these spaces and turn them into high-quality fertile land, forests or pastures, you just need to find a way to do it that is profitable and respects nature. This is the goal of the CREAF research center and the Catalan Waste Agency, two entities that have teamed up to prove it Restoration with compost is a strategy that can respond to this need And that it now has great potential in Catalonia. It is World Fertilizer Week, and the two bodies have taken the opportunity to reveal this experiment using a material abundant in Catalonia, “which is already helping to regenerate our most damaged soils,” according to the funds.
Catalonia It produces more than 300 thousand tons of fertilizer annually Coming from the organic portion of municipal waste, sewage sludge, livestock excrement, vegetable residues and other organic waste. This compound is mostly used in agriculture, but thanks to this type of action, it wants to be positioned as a basic material for soil regeneration. The research, conducted by CREAF at the initiative of ARC, is carried out in different soil regeneration scenarios: Restoration La Falconera Quarry (Al Garraf)The closure of the Graf landfill and the restoration of the C-15 slopes in the section between Igualada and Villafranca del Penedes. In all these cases, CREAF has created an artificial soil (called Technosol in technical terms) based on compost. It is an innovation that has allowed vegetation to recover more quickly and more successfully, creating soil that is more resistant to erosion and drought, sequesters more carbon and hosts more life within it (more animals that feed on the soil).
Made only to order
The research project is working on developing different forms of technosol according to the needs of each region. Each soil is made by mixing mineral materials with compost, in different thicknesses and proportions of organic matter. The goal is to recreate healthy soil similar to the soil that was there before.
In the Falconera area, for example, soils have been created capable of sustaining forests, preserving Mediterranean trees, or forming a meadow, an open space essential for preserving the biodiversity of bees and butterflies. a graff landfill, Soil from construction rebates was used which was mixed with compost from the organic fraction of municipal waste, but also compost from the agri-food industry, sewage sludge, and digestate of different, biologically stable origins. Following different recipes, it has become possible to create different technologies that allow the landfill to be restored with a green and resistant cover. In the A pilot test of C-15 using compost to restore slopes has also been done On both sides of the road. In this case, it was possible to restore 4 hectares of slopes using about 200 tons of fertilizer.
More economical and resilient in the face of climate change
Restoration with compost is an ideal option, whether you want to save costs or if you want a landscape that is more resilient to climate change. For example, it is cheaper to use compost than chemical fertilisers, as these commercial products are very expensive and are made from petroleum, so their price will continue to rise. Likewise, soil restored with compost is easier to maintain because it is not eroded as much by heavy rain, a phenomenon that is on the rise due to climate change. On the other hand, when compost is applied to degraded soil, its structure improves and the resulting soil is able to sequester more carbon. Specifically, CREAF studies demonstrated that soil was restored using organic amendments They retain three times more carbon on average (With some examples of soils that have increased carbon sequestration up to 9 times). Finally, landscapes restored with compost are more drought-resistant, because the resulting soil is more spongy, with pores where water is retained longer.
“With this project, we are proving that compost is a very valuable material that can be used in the restoration of various spaces. It is necessary to work with producers to obtain organic amendments of higher quality, as well as with potential users in order to open new horizons for application.” concludes Vicenes Carabassa.
To expand its use, CREAF with ARC has been demonstrated Technical paper It explains in detail what it is, how to apply it, and its benefits. This document is part of From a series of symbols Which explains different types of organic amendments such as compost, sewage sludge, compost or products derived from anaerobic digestion of domestic and industrial wastes among others.
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