Post by Wageningen Environmental Research

🌾New research from Wageningen University & Research, published in 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥, shows that large-scale manure use can lead to the accumulation of cadmium in soils and ultimately in rice, exceeding food quality criteria. In many parts of the world, including China, soil acidification is reducing agricultural yields. Recycling animal manure can help counteract this and is therefore a key component of circular agriculture. However, this approach also has a downside. “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘪𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘶𝘯,” says Dr Donghao Xu (徐东昊), researcher at Earth Systems and Global Change Group – Wageningen University. “𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦-𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦.” 🌏 The findings are relevant far beyond rice systems in Asia. Similar challenges are emerging globally around manure management, soil quality and contamination risks. This highlights how closely agriculture, environmental quality and public health are interconnected. Read the article: https://lnkd.in/eH8gDwce