PhD Oral Defence: Evaluation and development of lime-based products to reduce phosphorus loss from agricultural soils
PhD Oral Defence of Faezeh Eslamian, Bioresource Engineering
Phosphorus loss from agricultural fields is one of the main contributors to the rapid eutrophication of lakes and rivers. Eutrophication is the over-enrichment in nutrients, and it is often accompanied by excessive algal growth and hypoxia, which will consequently endanger aquatic life and cause negative impacts to the ecosystem. The application of phosphorus-immobilizing soil amendments could be an effective measure to reduce phosphorus release into downstream water bodies. There exists a great need for cost-effective novel materials to reduce phosphorus loss. The main objective of this Ph.D. research was to evaluate the effectiveness of lime-based products on reducing phosphorus concentration in the leachate from common agricultural soils without interfering with crop growth as well as to develop a novel, cost-effective lime-based product to increase soil phosphorus adsorption capacity in the soil.