Amélioration de la Fertilité des sols dans les régions arides et semi-arides en utilisant des résidus de palmiers locaux – ISFERALDA

The ISFERALDA project is divided in six work packages:
- WP1 Project coordination and management (resp.: URCA)
- WP2 Initial assessment of existing agricultural waste upcycling technologies; Survey of their socio-economic impact (Co-resp.: HAO-ITDAS)
- WP3 Site identification and characterization (resp.: IRA)
- WP4 development of OA from date palm residues + process (Resp.: UMKB)
- WP5 Evaluation of the influence of OA on soil properties and agricultural practices (resp.: URCA)
- WP6 Communication and results dissemination (resp.: UB)

The ISFERALDA project will thus focus on biochar and compost produced from local products (animal manure, bentonite) and more particularly date-palm residues, which are not recovered nowadays, following the principles of the circular economy. A socio-economic analysis based on surveys and cost/ benefit analyses will familiarize farmers with the economic interest of the production and use of the proposed OA. Furthermore, the impact of the OAs on soil quality will be assessed (physical, chemical and biological parameters).
The positioning of ISFERALDA project in the spectrum ‘from lab to market’ goes from a validation in laboratory of the proposed OA to a demonstration in an operational environment (Technological readiness Level 4 to 7).
The production and the amelioration of the different OA will be done in laboratory or following ancestral methods. Date palm residues compost with or without additional compounds like animal manure and/or bentonite will be prepared and checked in the laboratory of the project partners. Biochar will be produced in laboratory, under controlled conditions with the collaboration of the company Palm Compost, which aims to develop the production of biochar in Algeria, or with the ancestral method. The latter method is cheaper and easier to use by local farmers. The different properties of every OA will be measured in laboratory, to validate the quality of the amendments before applying on soils. These amendments will be tested in different environment:
- in laboratory under controlled conditions to test different properties and mechanisms, like the quality of organic matter, the evolution of soil microbiological properties or soil water retention,
- in the field, in agricultural plots of oases, which represent the operational environment where the influence of these amendments on changes in yields and different soil properties linked to fertility and soil quality will be analysed. These experiments will be conducted in different areas representative of the arid and semi-arid regions, with replicates.
Therefore, our system will be demonstrated in an operational environment consisting in the plots of the Algerian and Tunisian farmers in the study sites.

At mid-project, the work progressed well, even if the delay in funding for Algerian partners involved the delay of certain tasks.
A state of the art of date palm residue recycling was performed. It was found that compost or biochar applications are highly recommended to improve soil fertility in arid zones.
In total, 7 study sites were selected. Based on analyses of the topsoil, all soils are alkaline, with low organic matter contents and a fairly high salinity. Agricultural surveys performed around study sites show that, even though few farmers actually use compost, almost 2/3 of them agreed with the use of compost made from date palm residues, under conditions. Biochar is currently not used and not known by the farmers.
Compost was produced for the field and laboratory trials of the two first crop seasons. The biochar needed for the 2022-2023 crop year was produced using artisanal processes but with different processes depending on the site.
Laboratory and field experiments were performed, many of them are still in progress. The benefits of compost over a control soil on barley production have been shown. The increase in soil water retention following the application of compost or biochar was quantified on different soils.
For the communication and dissemination of the results, a Data Management Plan has been written in order to respect the Open Research Data Pilot. Different activities were carried out according to the Plan for the Exploitation and Dissemination of Results: a logo, the website, accounts on social networks, flyers, goodies. The project and the first results have been presented during international conferences. Due the delay in funding, only one information and awareness event was held in Algeria. As this day was a success, several other similar days will be organised in the second part of the project.

From a scientific point of view, the quantification of the increase of soil water retention as a function of their sand content and the organic amendments (OAs) applied is innovative. The experiments are not yet completed but are sufficiently advanced to quantify the increase.
The experimentation on the mineralization of carbon and nitrogen on a soil amended with different OAs and in particular biochar enriched in contact with compost is an innovation of this project. The experimentation is in progress and we hope that this treatment will give promising results.
At the societal level, during the field trials, the project promotes a currently little used OA, the compost of date palm residues. This compost and biochar were presented by 2 project partners to local agricultural policy makers and farmers during an information day. The audience was very interested and asked for more information. This represents an innovative and encouraging approach because these products are little or not used by farmers who currently prefer manure.
The expected results are to find the best combination of compost and biochar optimizing both soil quality and oasis productivity. For that, we hope to be able to carry out trials during 3 cropping seasons to have the most representative results possible. We plan to evaluate the environmental, soil fertility and barley productivity impacts of each OA tested in order to draft crop sheets that are readable by local stakeholders.
The use of the studied OAs by farmers, if their benefits are proven, will improve the quality and fertility of their soils, and this with their own crop residues produced on their plots. This is rewarding for the farmers and good for the environment. In addition, it could help make these farmers less dependent on chemical fertilizer sellers and increase their satisfaction.

3 Presentations :
- Morvan X., Boumaraf B., Kavvadias V., Moussa M., Lamine H., Sbih M., Bendjeddou F., Zaakir A., Gommeaux M., Karbout N., Zoghlami I.R., Le Guyader E., Miconnet V., Guimeur K., Tirichine A., Adelfettah A., Marin B. and the ISFERALDA
project teams, 2022. ISFERALDA Project, Using organic amendments based on date palm residues to enhance soil fertility in oases agroecosystems. European Geosciences Union, 23-27 May 2022, Vienna, Austria. Short communication.
- Le Guyader E., Morvan X., Gommeaux G., Miconnet V., Marin B., Moussa M., Karbout N., Zoghlami I.R., Intrigliolo D., Delgado M.J., 2022. Impact of organic amendments from date palm residues on water retention properties of two coarse texture soils. International Conference on: “Soil & Water Resources Management for Combating Desertification in Drylands under Climate Change”, 14-17 June 2022, Djerba Island, Tunisia. Oral Communication
- Morvan X., Boumaraf B., Kavvadias V., Moussa M., Lamine H., Sbih M., Bendjeddou F., Zaakir A., Gommeaux M., Karbout N., Zoghlami I.R., Le Guyader E., Miconnet V., Guimeur K., Tirichine A., Adelfettah A., Marin B. and the ISFERALDA project teams, 2022. ISFERALDA Project, Using organic amendments based on date palm residues to enhance soil fertility in oases agroecosystems. Second International Symposium on Climate Resilient Agri Environmental Systems , 28-31 August 2022, Dublin, Ireland. Poster