How does organic fertilizer affect the environment and ecology?
Without fertilizer, soils are not as productive and crops do not grow as quickly since fertilizers give more productive soils and faster growing crops. Fertilizer is therefore key to ensuring enough produce is grown to feed populations on a large scale. However, applying excessive amounts of fertilizer leads to the release of harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and the eutrophication of our waterways.
Basically organic fertilizer such as Urea and Calcium Cynamide (amide fertilizers) are mainly manufactured by chemical process and it possesses inorganic in nature but it contains some amount of carbon to these fertilizers are termed as organic fertilizers. During the hydrolysis of urea soil acidity will developed. But due having carbon content in these fertilizers improves carbon status in some extent and less harmful to soil microorganisms in comparison to pure chemical fertilizers. @Rk Naresh
When manure or commercial fertilizers enter surface water, the nutrients they release stimulate microorganism growth. The growth and reproduction of microorganisms reduce the dissolved oxygen content of the water body. Without sufficient dissolved oxygen in surface water, fish and other aquatic species suffocate.
https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/publications/environment-natural-resources/environmental-implications-of-excess-fertilizer-and-manure-on-water-quality
Also, kindly check:
Article Environmental impacts of organic fertilizers usage in agriculture
And kindly check:
Article Effect of different organic fertilizers application on growt...
Application of any of the organic fertilizers/ manures in the soil fasten microbial proliferation as organic matter is considered as energy house for microorganisms survival and multiplication..These microorganisms attack on the organic matter converting complex compounds into simpler substance while making good soil aggregation with friability and appreciable distribution of pores (pore size distribution) in the soil mass as these microbial mass secretes polysaccharide, mucilages and other binding substance which itself bind soil colloids that is sand silt and clay in an optimum fasion, resulting in favourable conditions for nutrients and water retention and use by the crop, higher cation exchange capacity, high soil organic carbon, improving soil fertility and productivity... organic manure also improve all the physical chemical and biological properties of the soil resulting in sustainable soil environment with ecological balances..... Addition of organic manure maintain soil biodiversity which helps to reduce environment hazards; ecological imbalances, equilibrium of the energy by regulating nutrients cycles and even food cycle also...
I believe that organic fertilizer encourages soil fauna and flora, improving soil formation and structure and creating more stable systems. In turn, nutrient and energy cycling is increased and the retentive abilities of the soil for nutrients and water are enhanced, compensating for the non-use of mineral fertilizers. Organic fertilizers are not only biodegradable; these products are also environmentally friendly, sustainable, and renewable. Organic farming can help reduce the amount of new reactive nitrogen being introduced into the global system, helping to combat nitrogen pollution. Fertilizer can be converted to nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 300x more powerful than CO2 in contributing to the greenhouse effect. Compared with conventional agriculture, organic farming uses fewer pesticides, reduces soil erosion, decreases nitrate leaching into groundwater and surface water, and recycles animal wastes back into the farm. These benefits are counterbalanced by higher food costs for consumers and generally lower yields. Some of these impacts include algae blooms causing the depletion of oxygen in surface waters, pathogens and nitrates in drinking water, and the emission of odors and gases into the air. Nutrients from manure and fertilizers enter lakes and streams through runoff and soil erosion. Organic farming is widely considered to be a far more sustainable alternative when it comes to food production. The lack of pesticides and wider variety of plants enhances biodiversity and results in better soil quality and reduced pollution from fertilizer or pesticide run-off. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are hazardous chemicals that threaten human health and the planet's ecosystems. POPs remain intact for a long time, widely distributed throughout the environment, accumulate and magnify in living organisms through the food chain, and are toxic to both humans and wildlife. Fertilization is considered as one of the main sources of pollution of water bodies caused by agriculture. When high fertilizer rates are applied which are not in line with the codes of good agricultural practice, nutrient losses, e.g. by surface run- off, take place which pollute land-based and aquatic ecosystems.
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