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Agriculture
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Harnessing the Potential of Invertebrate Decomposers in Circular Agriculture
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Harnessing the Potential of Invertebrate Decomposers in Circular Agriculture

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Systems and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2023) | Viewed by 8694

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Finbarr Horgan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Centre for Pesticide Suicide Prevention, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
2. BHF Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4TJ, UK
3. EcoLaVerna Integral Restoration Ecology, Bridestown, Kildinan, Cork, Ireland
4. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, Universidad Católica del Maule, Escuela de Agronomía, Casilla 7-D, Curicó, Chile
Interests: herbivory and herbivore ecology; insect ecology; pollinators; dung beetles; conservation; crop and grassland entomology; wildlife-friendly farming
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Decomposers provide an essential ecosystem function by returning nutrients from dead organic matter back into living food chains. Decomposition is therefore a key process in circular agriculture. A diverse range of plant, animal, and microbial organisms are involved in decomposition; however, in recent years, considerable attention has been drawn to the role of invertebrates and their associated microbial endosymbionts in converting industrial and agricultural wastes to useful primary products, such as arthropod proteins and oils. Furthermore, secondary products from arthropod-based decomposition can be used as fertilizers and composts. This Special Issue focuses on the use of decomposer invertebrates, such as soldier flies, mealworms, or aquatic snails in circular economics. Papers addressing novel decomposer food chains as applied to circular agriculture or that address the end-use of decomposer products are particularly welcome. Papers from any region, any industrial or agricultural system, or that address any type of invertebrate decomposers will be considered.

Dr. Finbarr Horgan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • aquaculture
  • black soldier fly
  • brewery wastes
  • circular agriculture
  • decomposers
  • heliciculture
  • insect proteins
  • microbiome
  • organic composts
  • vermiculture

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1045 KiB  
Article
Effects of Intraspecific Competition and Larval Size on Bioconversion of Apple Pomace Inoculated with Black Soldier Fly
by Finbarr G. Horgan, Michael Launders, Enrique A. Mundaca and Eduardo Crisol-Martínez
Agriculture 2023, 13(2), 452; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13020452 - 15 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1550
Abstract
Waste from apple juice and cider industries (pomace) compares poorly against spent grains and other relatively high-nutrient wastes as a substrate for bioconversion by the black soldier fly (BSF: Hermetia illucens). However, global pomace production exceeds 24 million tonnes annually and novel [...] Read more.
Waste from apple juice and cider industries (pomace) compares poorly against spent grains and other relatively high-nutrient wastes as a substrate for bioconversion by the black soldier fly (BSF: Hermetia illucens). However, global pomace production exceeds 24 million tonnes annually and novel management approaches are required to reduce waste to landfill. We examined the effects of BSF inoculation densities (intraspecific competition) and larval size categories on cohort weight gains and apple pomace waste reduction. We found that, by increasing larval densities, cohort biomass and bioconversion rates (BRs) increased; however, at very high densities (overcrowding), BRs declined and cohorts lost weight. Furthermore, larger larval size classes accelerated substrate desiccation, possibly because of greater demands for water by older larvae. Larger larvae have slower relative growth rates and BRs compared to smaller size categories and require comparatively less dry weight substrate. Our results suggest that overcrowding on low-nutrient substrates reduces BRs and could exaggerate differences between BSF relative performances in comparative studies, particularly if intraspecific interference competition for space and exploitation competition for water diminish BSF weight returns at the end of the bioconversion cycle. We make a series of recommendations for the use of BSF in pomace waste reduction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Harnessing the Potential of Invertebrate Decomposers in Circular Agriculture)
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21 pages, 2494 KiB  
Article
Spent Coffee Grounds Applied as a Top-Dressing or Incorporated into the Soil Can Improve Plant Growth While Reducing Slug Herbivory
by Finbarr G. Horgan, Dylan Floyd, Enrique A. Mundaca and Eduardo Crisol-Martínez
Agriculture 2023, 13(2), 257; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13020257 - 20 Jan 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 6414
Abstract
Between 8 and 15 million tons of spent coffee grounds (SCG) are produced as global waste each year. To reduce waste to landfill, SCG are proposed as a carbon and nutrient source for degraded soils. SCG contain caffeine and other toxins that inhibit [...] Read more.
Between 8 and 15 million tons of spent coffee grounds (SCG) are produced as global waste each year. To reduce waste to landfill, SCG are proposed as a carbon and nutrient source for degraded soils. SCG contain caffeine and other toxins that inhibit plant growth. However, they also repel slugs and snails. We examined whether partial decomposition can neutralize SCG to promote plant growth while maintaining anti-herbivore properties. We aged SCG for <1 to 14 months and also produced SCG-derived Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) frass. The aged SCG and frass were applied, either incorporated into soil or as a 1 cm top-dressing, to pots with radish and tomato seedlings. SCG treatments were also examined for direct (repellent) and indirect (plant-mediated) effects on four slug species (Arion ater, Deroceras laeve, Derocerus reticulatum and Lehmannia marginata). SCG of ≤7 months inhibited plant growth and development and reduced herbivory when incorporated into soil, whereas 14-month-old SCG promoted growth but had no effect on herbivory. When applied as a top-dressing, SCG at 7 months promoted growth and reduced herbivory through repellent and host quality effects—including possible systemic effects. Our results indicate that the benefits of SCG for radish and tomato growth and to reduce slug herbivory can be achieved simultaneously by applying partially decomposed SCG (aged for up to 8 months) as a top-dressing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Harnessing the Potential of Invertebrate Decomposers in Circular Agriculture)
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