New Working Group: Composting for Horticultural Applications
A new Working Group: Composting for Horticultural Applications, is now available under the framework of the ISHS Commission Sustainability through Integrated and Organic Horticulture. The new Working Group is chaired by Dr. Michael Raviv.
Mission statement
Modern society is generating an ever-increasing amount of organic wastes and treatment methods such as incineration or land-filling are problematic and unsustainable. Composting, on the other hand, is environmentally the optimal treatment method since it allows for recycling through soil application of much-needed organic matter and nutrients. Conventional intensive horticulture can lead to a gradual depletion of soil organic matter, thus reducing the soil’s potential productivity. Compost application reverses this trend, while enriching soil biodiversity and enhancing protection against soil-borne diseases.
The mission of this new WG is to share currently-available knowledge and to highlight information gaps related to the following subjects:
- Management of specific feedstock types
- Optimization of composting technologies, modeling and process control
- Compost quality assessment including hygienic risks and phytotoxicity
- Application methods
- Compost effects on plant growth
- Compost effects on soil biological, physical and chemical characteristics
- Compost and carbon sequestration
- Assessing the economic, social and environmental aspects of sustainability of composting and compost use, including risk assessment and life cycle analysis
Objectives of the WG
It is our intention to sponsor a symposium (or joint symposium) every other year, so as to maintain relatively continuous stream of knowledge sharing among the members of the WG.
A special effort will be made to communicate our activities to members who cannot attend the regular symposia. This newsletter (or equivalent) will also serve as an arena for free knowledge exchange among members of the WG.
For further details check out the ISHS Scientific Structures page at http://www.ishs.org/science/
Posted: November 4th, 2009 under Composting for Horticultural Applications.