Surveys and supervision of irrigation application with low quality and reclaimed waters (KYA 145116/11) and fertigation with olive mill wastewaters (KYA 135207/1801/17). Surveys for the use of treated rural and urban solid wastes in the agriculture.
Soil fertility is directly connected with the soil structure and the availability of nutrients in the soil. Intensive agriculture, the overuse of inorganic fertilizers and agrochemicals for plant health protection, the frequent and deep soil plowing and the over-irrigation have decreased considerably the soil fertility as well as the populations of micro-organisms that constitute catalysts of fertility and soil structure making the soil most vulnerable to erosion.
The application organic soil conditioners in order to increase the organic matter, like the compost from urban solid wastes, can contribute considerably in the re-establishment of fertility of the soil and the increase of yields.
The main factor that plays an important role and is related with the impacts of environmental changes and all soil functions is the soil organic carbon content. The proper management of soil in order to increase soil carbon content could have immediate positive results.
These benefits include increased productivity due to the increase of availability of nutrients in the soil, the increase of organic matter and the increase of soil ability to withhold water. It is also supported that the ecosystem productivity is increased due to carbon capture and the greenhouse gases emission is moderated (van Noordwijk et al., 2015). Moreover, the organic carbon plays important role in many soil functions including food production, water infiltration, nutrient transformation and maintenance of dwellings and biodiversity. Particularly important is the contribution of organic matter in the creation of stable aggregates. Soil aggregates provide natural protection and regulation of populations on all sizes of living organisms, increase the availability of nutrients due to improved drainage and soil aeration, since they facilitate the benefit of energy for the microbial processes and increase underground biodiversity. The synergy above mentioned natural, chemical and biological characteristics leads to higher soil fertility and crop productivity. The stable aggregates and the good proper structure improve the buffering capacity of the soil (Banwart et al., 2015; van Noordwijk et al., 2015).