ZeoLIFE tested an innovative zeolitite cycle to reduce the use of nitrogen fertilizers and irrigation water, preserving the water resources from the negative effects of intensive agriculture. Zeolitites are rocks containing more than 50% of zeolites, minerals with peculiar properties that can capture nitrogen from aquatic solutions and release it gradually to the crops, preventing water pollution. In three years of open field experiments, significant reductions in nitrogen levels in ground and surface waters were achieved, thanks to the use of zeolitites, as well as reductions in CO2 emissions and the increase of the Ecological Balance.

Context

Ferrara Province’s territory, bordering with the Adriatic Sea, is entirely flat and, for large part, below sea level. A portion of the provincial water, which come form the Burana-Volano basin, is drained directly into the sea.

The Canal Bianco and the Po di Volano, two of the main canals that can be found in the ferrarese water, both flow into the Sacca di Goro, an extensive wetland area communicating with the sea and protected by the presence of the Po Delta Regional Park and Rete Natura 2000.

Wetlands are among the most precious ecosystems on Earth due to their biodiversity and their value i s closely connected with water quality.

 

The Project

Our project, ZeoLIFE, has tested an innovaive zeolitites cycle in order to reduce the use of nitrogen fertilizers and irrigation water in agricolture, so as to reduce nitrate pollution and the excessuve use of water resources.

Zeolitites are rocks containing zeolites, minerals that, when applied in the agricolture field, can release nutrients directly on the plants’ roots thanks to their high cation exchange capacity and reversible dehydration.

The project aims were:

  • protection of the surface waters and groun dwater from pollution from nitrates due to intensive farming;
  • reduction of the nitrogen load transported to the lagoon inlets of the Po Delta;
  • reduction of the amount of chemical ferti lizers used in agriculture;
  • reduction of the amount of water used for irrigation;
  • reduction of the environmental impact of sewage from animal farms;
  • improvement of the pedological and sedi mentological characteristics of silty/clay soils;
  • maintenance of water availability in the soil also during drought periods.

The effectiveness of zeolitites was tested in the field, following cereal crops cultivation over a three-year experimental period.

Results

In recent years we have carried out several tests, both indoors and outdoors, to verify whether zeolitites could actually be used in agriculture.

Below are the results of each of them:

  • Exchange test and prototype: a new type of zeolitite enriched with ammonium (NH4 +) that can be used in the experimentation phase in the open field;
  • Leaching test: the addition of zeolitite increases the amount of water present in the soil and reduces its water retention capacity by 13%;
  • Greenhouse tests: there are two optimal combinations to be applied in the open field to allow plants to grow in perfect health: zeolite enriched with NH4 + and reduction of fertilization by 50% or zeolitite in its natural state and reduction of fertilization by 70%;
  • Open field test: 3 crops (grain sorghum, corn and durum wheat) were grown over 3 years in an experimental field using laboratory test results as an example. Reductions in fertilization have been foreseen in the sections supplemented with zeolitite. Irrigation was carried out only during the second year of cultivation on corn. The harvest was weighed individually and in all three years of use of the zeolitites yields were higher or substantially equal to the average of the controls, up to a maximum of over 21%.

A sorghum cultivated field of the ZeoLIFE project