Integrated Use of Biostimulants, Biofertilizers, and Organic Waste Management for Sustainable Remediation of Degraded and Contaminated Soils: A Critical Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17140/phoj.11.01.377Keywords:
Biofertilizers, Biostimulants, Contaminated soils, Organic waste, Soil degradation, Soil remediation, Sustainable agriculture, Waste valorizationAbstract
Soil degradation and contamination caused by industrialization, intensive agriculture, and improper waste disposal threaten global food security and ecosystem sustainability. Environmentally compatible approaches such as biostimulants, biofertilizers, and organic waste amendments have emerged as viable tools for restoring soil health and mitigating contaminants. This review synthesizes findings from recent original research to evaluate the effectiveness of these biological interventions in improving soil physicochemical properties, enhancing microbial activity, and facilitating pollutant immobilization or degradation. Biostimulants, including humic substances and seaweed extracts, improve plant resilience and nutrient uptake, while biofertilizers such as nitrogen-fixing and phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms contribute to nutrient cycling and soil fertility. Organic waste management practices, including composting and biochar application, play a critical role in reducing toxicity and enhancing carbon sequestration. The integration of these strategies demonstrates synergistic effects in remediating degraded soils and supporting sustainable agriculture. However, variability in field performance, lack of standardized application protocols, and limited long-term studies remain key challenges. Future research should focus on multi-functional formulations, microbial consortia optimization, and field-scale validation to ensure practical applicability. This review highlights the potential of biologically driven soil remediation strategies as cost-effective and eco-friendly alternatives to conventional methods.
References
Arancon, N. Q., Edwards, C. A., & Atiyeh, R. (2017). Effects of vermicomposts on plant growth and soil fertility. Pedobiologia, 61, 1–7.
Backer, R., Rokem, J. S., Ilangumaran, G., La-mont, J., Praslickova, D., Ricci, E., Smith, D. L. (2018). Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria: Context, mechanisms of action, and roadmap to commercialization. Frontiers in Plant Science, 9, 1473. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2018.01473
Beesley, L., Moreno-Jiménez, E., & Gomez-Eyles, J.L. (2011). Effects of biochar and greenwaste compost amendments on mobility, bioavailabil-ity and toxicity of inorganic and organic contami-nants. Environmental Pollution, 159, 3269–3282.
Begum, N., Qin, C., Ahanger, M. A., Raza, S., Khan, M. I., Ashraf, M., Zhang, L. (2019). Role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in plant growth regulation and abiotic stress toler-ance. Frontiers in Plant Science, 10, 1068. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2019.01068
Bender, S.F., Wagg, C., & van der Heijden, M.G.A. (2016). An underground revolution: biodiversity and soil ecological engineering for agricultural sustainability. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 31(6), 440–452.
Bhattacharyya, P. N., & Jha, D. K. (2016). Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR): Emer-gence in agriculture. World Journal of Micro-biology and Biotechnology, 28(4), 1327–1350. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-011-0979-9
Bonanomi, G., Lorito, M., Vinale, F., & Woo, S.L. (2017). Organic amendments, beneficial mi-crobes, and soil microbiota: toward a unified framework. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 107, 1–13.
Canellas, L. P., Olivares, F. L., Aguiar, N. O., Jones, D. L., Nebbioso, A., Mazzei, P., Piccolo, A. (2015). Humic and fulvic acids as biostimulants in hor-ticulture. Scientia Horticulturae, 196, 15–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2015.09.013
Colla, G., Hoagland, L., Ruzzi, M., Cardarelli, M., Bonini, P., Canaguier, R., Rouphael, Y. (2017). Biostimulant action of protein hydrolysates: Un-raveling their effects on plant physiology and microbiome. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8, 2202. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.02202
Diacono, M., & Montemurro, F. (2010). Long-term effects of organic amendments on soil fer-tility. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 30, 401–422.
du Jardin, P. (2015). Plant biostimulants: defini-tion, concept, and regulation. Scientia Horticul-turae, 196, 3–14.
Glick, B.R. (2010). Using soil bacteria to facilitate phytoremediation. Biotechnology Advances, 28, 367–374.
Glick, B. R. (2018). Plant growth-promoting bacteria: Mechanisms and applications. Scientifica, 2018, 9634012. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/9634012
Hargreaves, J. C., Adl, M. S., & Warman, P. R. (2018). A review of the use of composted municipal solid waste in agriculture. Agricul-ture, Ecosystems & Environment, 123(1–3), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2007.07.004
Khan, S., Hesham, A.E.L., Qiao, M., Rehman, S., & He, J.Z. (2013). Effects of biochar on soil biota. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 20, 3787–3799.
Lal, R. (2015). Restoring soil quality to mitigate soil degradation. Sustainability, 7, 5875–5895.
Lal, R. (2020). Soil degradation and restoration in agricultural systems. Sustainability, 12(9), 3874. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093874
Lehmann, J., & Joseph, S. (2015). Biochar for Environmental Management. Routledge.
Lehmann, J., et al. (2020). Biochar in soil systems. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 1, 1–14.
Lehmann, J., & Joseph, S. (2021). Biochar for en-vironmental management: Science, technology and implementation (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Pandey, V., Shukla, A., & Singh, S. (2020). Integrated nutrient management for sus-tainable agriculture: A review. Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 20(3), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-020-00210-5
Rouphael, Y., & Colla, G. (2018). Biostimu-lants in agriculture: Definition, concept, and regulation. Scientia Horticulturae, 196, 3–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2015.09.021
Rouphael, Y., & Colla, G. (2020). Biostimulants in agriculture. Frontiers in Plant Science, 11, 40.
Ruzzi, M., & Aroca, R. (2015). Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria act as biostimulants in horticulture. Sci-entia Horticulturae, 196, 124–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2015.08.042
Shukla, P. S., Mantin, E. G., Adil, M., Bajpai, S., Critchley, A. T., & Prithiviraj, B. (2019). Ascophyllum nodosum-based biostimu-lants: Sustainable applications in agriculture. Journal of Applied Phycology, 31(6), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-018-1680-0
Vessey, J.K. (2003). Plant growth promoting rhi-zobacteria as biofertilizers. Plant and Soil, 255, 571–586.
Vessey, J. K. (2019). Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria as biofertiliz-ers. Plant and Soil, 255(2), 571–586. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026037216893
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All content published in Public Health - Open Journal (PHOJ) is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This license allows anyone to copy, distribute, transmit, and adapt the work — including for commercial purposes — provided appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and source.
