Abstract

Many parts of the world are investigating the efficacy of recycling nutrient resources to agriculture from different industry and domestic sectors as part of a more circular economy. The complex nature of recycled products as soil amendments coupled to the large diversity of soil types and their inherent properties make it difficult to optimize the benefits and minimize the risks from potentially toxic elements often present in recycled materials. Here we investigated how wheat grain cadmium (Cd) concentration was affected by soil amendments, namely human urine and biogas digestate compared to traditional farm manures and mineral fertilizers. We show that Cl- inadvertently added to soils with e.g. urine or biogas digestate strongly increased crop Cd concentrations, largely by mobilizing inherent soil Cd. This resulted in wheat grain Cd levels that could result in exceeding recommended WHO limits for dietary intake. This was evident even in soils with low inherent Cd content and when Cd inputs were low. The future of a circular economy that helps to underpin global food security needs to ensure that the effects of applying complex materials to different types of agricultural land are fully understood and do not jeopardize food safety. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Cadmium mobility; Chloride complexation; Circular economy; Human health; Nutrient recovery; Wastes

Published in

Science of the Total Environment
2016, Volume: 554-555, pages: 349-357
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

SLU Authors

• Dahlin, Sigrun

  • Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Eriksson, Jan

  • Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Campbell, Colin

  • Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • The James Hutton Institute

• Öborn, Ingrid

  • Department of Crop Production Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)

Sustainable Development Goals

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns


UKÄ Subject classification

Soil Science
Agricultural Science


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.02.049

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/80770