REVIEW article
Front. Soil Sci.
Sec. Soil Biology, Ecosystems and Biodiversity
Volume 5 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsoil.2025.1624486
This article is part of the Research TopicEco-Sustainable Management to Preserve Soil Biodiversity and Ecosystem ServicesView all articles
Vegetable Residue Valorization for Soil Health and Climate Resilience: A Review
Provisionally accepted
Kwesi Ewudzie Quansah1
Richard Asah-Asante1Fan Xudong1Shen Xinran1Li Ming1,2Wenjin Di1
Wang Jizhong1*Gao Miao2*- 1Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huaiyin, China
- 2Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
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Food waste is a critical global challenge, intensified by a 34% population growth, threatening environmental sustainability. Vegetable residue, a key component, are often disposed through harmful methods such as landfilling and incineration which significantly increase resource loss and degrade the ecological system. Sustainable and eco-friendly valorization techniques are solutions needed to address this challenge. This review explores the valorization of vegetable residue within a circular agriculture framework, emphasizing its potential to enhance soil health, reduce reliance on synthetic fertilizers, and support climate resilience. Vegetable residues, rich in organic matter, can be valorized through composting, vermicomposting, anaerobic digestion, biochar production, direct application, or integrated system (biochar + compost) to produce nutrient-rich soil amendments and renewable energy. These approaches enhance soil fertility, microbial activity, water retention, and carbon sequestration. However, challenges persist, including heavy metal contamination, technical constraints, and adoption barriers. Recent advances, such as microbial inoculants, enzyme-based pretreatment, integrated residue management systems, and emerging AI and low energy technologies offer promising solutions to address these limitations. This review systematically synthesizes current practices, emerging innovations, and policy frameworks to advance sustainable residue utilization and agricultural transformation.
Keywords: vegetable residue, Soil health, Circular agriculture, Climate resilience, Residue
Received: 07 May 2025; Accepted: 22 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Quansah, Asah-Asante, Xudong, Xinran, Ming, Di, Jizhong and Miao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Wang Jizhong, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huaiyin, China
Gao Miao, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.