Beach seagrass and fish waste become restoration-ready compost with help from volcanic zeolite
Napoletano M, Bellino A, De Sanctis M, Langella A, Trasacco F
Composting
The dried seagrass wrack you step over on a Mediterranean beach can be turned into compost, and a pinch of zeolite rock in the mix removes the ammonium that burns seedlings in fresh, immature amendments.
Researchers mixed washed-up seagrass with leftover fish market scraps, composted it for six months, then let worms finish the job for one more. They also digested the same material to make biogas and added the leftover liquid back into the compost. Mixing in zeolite, a porous volcanic rock, soaked up the ammonium that would otherwise harm seedlings, so the final product was gentler on plants.
Key Findings
Posidonia oceanica litter and fish market waste were combined at a 3:1 ratio to balance carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, then processed through 6 months of composting plus 1 month of vermicomposting.
pH, electrical conductivity, water content and C/N ratio changed significantly over the 7 months, and all chemical elements showed marked variation, indicating maturation of the amendment.
Zeolite-rich tuff selectively removed ammonium from the soluble fraction and markedly reduced phytoinhibition, though it diluted organic matter and most macronutrients while raising some geogenic elements.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Seagrass litter that piles up on beaches can be turned into a mature, plant-friendly soil amendment by mixing it with fish market waste and processing it through composting, worms, and anaerobic digestion. Adding zeolite-rich volcanic tuff strips out ammonium that would otherwise stunt plant growth, making the product suitable for restoring degraded ground.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Marine waste-derived soil amendments via combined biological treatments and mineral enrichment: Process characterisation and potential for ecological restoration.
Posidonia oceanica litter accumulates along shorelines forming deposits with important ecological functions but also challenging management requirements. With a view to propose an effective managem...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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