An organic matter database (OMD): consolidating global residue data from agriculture, fisheries, forestry and related industries

Abstract

Agricultural, fishery, forestry and agro-processing activities produce large quantities of residues, by-products and waste materials every year. Inappropriate disposal and inefficient use of these resources contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and non-point pollution, placing significant environmental and economic burdens on society. Since many nations do not keep statistics on these materials, it has not been possible to accurately quantify the amounts produced, their competing uses and the quantities potentially available for recycling at a local level. Therefore, the objectives of the present work were to provide (1) definitions, typologies and methods to aid consistent classification, estimation and reporting of the various residues and by-products, (2) a global organic matter database (OMD) of residues and by-products from agriculture, fisheries, forestry and related industries and (3) regional and global estimates of residues and by-products potentially available for use in a circular bio-economy. To the best of our knowledge, the OMD is the first of its kind to consolidate quantities and nutrient concentrations of residues and by-products globally from agriculture, fisheries, forestry and related industries (available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10450921; Sileshi et al., 2024). The OMD will be updated continuously as new production data are published in FAOSTAT and country-specific conversion coefficients become available. This information is expected to contribute to evidence-based policies and actions in support of sustainable utilization and the transition towards a circular economy. The database could be used for a variety of purposes, including estimation of residue availability for soil amendment, livestock feed, bioenergy and other industrial applications as well as assessment of the environmental impacts of residue management practices such as soil application and burning. The estimates in the OMD are only available at the national level. Due to the lack of a uniform methodology, conversion coefficients and data on competing uses across countries, it was difficult to accurately estimate the quantities of all agricultural, fishery and forestry residues and by-products. Therefore, we strongly recommend investment in the inventory of agricultural, fishery and forestry residues as well as by-products and wastes at the national and sub-national levels for use in a circular bio-economy.