Recent trends and technologies for reduced environmental impacts of fertilizers: a review

Sustainable and at the same time high-yield agriculture are among the recent challenges for this sector. The development of fertilizers that can be better used by plants, as well as the use of alternative sources for fertilization and irrigation of crops are themes on the rise and increasingly present in research. This review addresses techniques that can be applied to optimize the release/absorption of fertilizers by plants, as well as alternative sources for fertilizer production, irrigation and reduction environmental impacts resulting from the unbridled application of fertilizers. Through a bibliometric analysis, articles citing slow-release fertilizers, biochar, vermicomposting and fertigation were sought. Studies show that it is possible to lead more sustainable agriculture to the production of intensive crops. There are still some gaps that need to be studied such as the interaction of new techniques and their influence on the soil microbiota, but overall, promising results are found that encourage the reduction in conventional fertilization with high environmental impact.