Soil plays a key role in sustainable land management and food production. The objective of the field experiment was to evaluate the subsequent effect of 10-year winter wheat and sugar beet cultivation under conventional and organic systems on selected physicochemical and biochemical properties and enzymatic pH index of lessive soil developed from loess under climatic conditions of Southeastern Poland. The experiment was set up by using the split-plot design, with three replications, on plots of 30 m². In order to evaluate the soil value of sites cultivated in 2010–2019 in two systems—conventional agriculture and organic agriculture—spring wheat was sown as a test crop in 2020. Fertilization and pesticide applications (herbicides, fungicides and insecticides) were foregone in the cultivation of this crop due to the desire to capture the subsequent impact of 2010–2019. This resulted in soil properties shaped solely by the previous 10 years of cultivation. The obtained results indicate that the organic farming system contributed to the improvement of soil pH_KCl compared to the conventional system, with statistically significant differences recorded only for winter wheat cultivation. Compared to the conventional system, in the organic farming system, improvements were recorded in the chemical indicators of loess soil quality (TOC, TN and TOC/TN) and P content, as well as acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase activities. However, statistically significant differences were found only for winter wheat cultivation. Research on the impact of an organic system of growing different species in rotation should be continued, and the results should be implemented.

The composting of sewage sludge and maize straw mixtures was investigated in this study. The aim was to analyze the influence of different proportions of sewage sludge and maize straw in the mixtures on composting process dynamics (expressed by heat production) and gas emissions. The results showed that all examined mixtures reached a strong thermophilic phase of composting; however, the lowest dynamic of temperature growth was observed in the case of the biggest sewage sludge content (60% of sewage sludge in the composting mixture). The ammonia concentration inside bioreactor chambers was directly related to the content of sewage sludge in the composted mixture. Excessive contents of sewage sludge had a considerable effect on very low C/N ratios and high losses through ammonia emissions. Tests were carried out in reactors with a capacity of 160 dm³ under controlled conditions. All mixtures were aerated by the average air-flow of about 2.5 dm³∙min⁻¹, i.e., the minimum air-flow that allows a temperature of about 70 °C to be reached and a sufficiently long thermophilic phase, which ensures proper composting.

Mining leads to serious degradation of the ecological values of the landscape. After mining is completed, degraded areas should be reclamated in order to mitigate the destructive effects of mining activities. Effective reclamation aims to initiate soil-forming processes. The paper evaluates the effects of land reclamation in post-mining areas 12 to 14 years after the reclamation process. The assessment was based on a determination of the activity of selected enzymes. Municipal sewage sludge compost (SSC) and compost with a composition of 70% municipal sewage sludge + 30% fly ash (SSFAC) were used as an external source of organic matter in the reclamation. The activity of dehydrogenases, phosphatases, and urease was determined. The fertilization of reclaimed soil with compost caused a significant increase in the activity of the assessed enzymes. Significantly higher dehydrogenase activity was found in the soil treated with SSC. The soil treated with SSFAC was characterized by higher activity of phosphatase and urease. The one-time application of composts from sewage sludge and sludge with fly ash, and the introduction of a mixture of grasses, allow for a permanent reclamation effect. An additional ecological advantage of this reclamation model is waste management, which is part of the circular economy strategy.

Post-mining areas require reclamation. The main aim of reclamation is to restore the soil as a basic element of the terrestrial ecosystem. This paper presents the results of an evaluation of the enzymatic activity of soils formed on an afforested heap from an opencast sulphur mine. Six research sites were selected on the overburden heap of the Piaseczno sulphur mine, afforested 50 years ago. They differed in the type of soil in the subsoil and in the species composition of the stand. The activity of dehydrogenases, phosphatases, urease, total organic carbon, and total nitrogen was determined and statistical analysis of the obtained results showed that the activity of the evaluated enzymes in the soils formed in the reclaimed areas was significantly dependent on the type of substrate and the species composition of the plants. The activity of the evaluated enzymes was significantly positively correlated with the content of total nitrogen and the C/N ratio, and the activity of phosphatases and urease with the total organic carbon content. Within soils developed on the same texture, the influence of stand species was revealed. In soils formed on clay, the soils under the beech stand and under the birch stand were characterized by higher activity of enzymes. The soil developing under the stands of European larch and red oak was characterized by higher enzymatic activity on weakly clayey sands. On loose sands, the activity of dehydrogenases and urease was significantly higher under acacia robinia than under hornbeam.

The aim of the research was to assess the quality of organic matter contained in sewage sludge composting products and their co-composting with fly ash and mineral wool. The object of the research were composts produced using stabilized sewage sludge from the municipal sewage treatment plant...

Emerging demand for food coupled with increasing agricultural use of hazardous chemicals is propelling development of environmentally sustainable nanotechnologies. Nanoscale materials derived from green sources like plants and microbes could transform agriculture via nanosensors detecting toxins,...