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Pathogen and Nutrient Transfer Through and Across Agricultural Soils

Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings - With ISBN/ISSNChapter

Published
Publication date2013
Host publicationEnvironmental Toxicology: Selected Entries from the Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology
EditorsEdward A. Laws
Place of PublicationNew York
PublisherSpringer
Pages403-439
Number of pages37
ISBN (electronic)978-1-4614-5764-0
ISBN (print)978-1-4614-5763-3
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

Human activity can place heavy stress on agricultural soils across the world. Soil systems are continually manipulated in order to support the increase in crop yields and accommodate more intensive livestock production and thus provide the planet’s ever-growing population with a diverse array of ecosystem services, among which food production features highly. The recycling of livestock manures to land provides a sustainable solution to support the ecosystem services that soils provide and a host of benefits both in terms of improving soil structure and also soil fertility. However, livestock manures and feces may contain a high number of fecal microorganisms that pose a threat to human well-being and potentially large concentrations of nutrients harmful to the ecology of freshwater systems that the soils often buffer.