Circular economy approach in phosphorus fertilization based on vivianite must be tailored to soil properties

Abstract

Although there is relevant knowledge based on the effect of soil properties on the efficiency of common commercial fertilizers, this effect remains poorly understood for the use of vivianite from water purification as an innovative P fertilizer meeting a circular economy approach. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of soil properties on the efficiency of vivianite recovered from water purification as a P fertilizer and to provide practical recommendations for its effective use. Vivianite and a soluble mineral P fertilizer (superphosphate) were compared at two P application rates (50 and 100 mg P kg−1) in soils ranging widely in properties in a pot experiment using wheat. Soluble P fertilizer provided the best results in terms of dry matter (DM) yield, P uptake, and Olsen P in soils, while vivianite led to the best results of DTPA extractable Fe in soils after crop harvest. The application of vivianite as a P fertilizer was more efficient in acidic soils (pH < 6.6). The effect of vivianite on dry matter (DM) yield was equivalent on average to 26 or 40 %, depending on the rate, of the same amount of soluble fertilizer in these acidic soils (i.e., P fertilizer replacement value - PFRV - on DM basis), it being around 50 % in some cases. The effect on Olsen P in soil was equivalent, on average, to 49 or 61 %, depending on the rate, of the same amount applied as soluble mineral fertilizer in acidic soils. This can be explained by the increased solubility of this fertilizer product under acidic conditions, supported by the highest increase in DTPA extractable Fe in these soils. Acidic soils were those with initial Olsen P below the threshold value for fertilizer response (TV). However, PFRV on different approaches (DM, P uptake, and Olsen P) decreased more consistently with increased values of the difference between initial Olsen P and TV (46 % to 87 % of the variance explained) than with increased pH. This reveals that, besides soil pH, a low P availability to plants can trigger plant and microbial mobilization mechanisms, leading to increased efficiency of vivianite as a P fertilizer. These results are promising for the use of vivianite from wastewater treatment as a P fertilizer, the application of which should be adapted to the soil properties, and is especially recommended for acidic P-deficient soils.