- The structural degradation of agricultural soils is an increasing problem of our times caused by intense land use. The treatment of soils with organic amendments shall maintain and improve long-term soil fertility. Solid residues from anaerobic digestion of municipal organic waste are rich in nutrients and organic matter and have a promising potential to be used as soil amendment. Less is known about characteristics of solid residues from organic waste digestion as composting of organic waste materials is still common. Before digestion residues can be applied to soils they need to be conditioned as they have a high impurity content (especially plastic bags and packaging materials) and need to meet the requirements of German regulation on biowaste (Bioabfallverordnung). Our research is investigating on conditioning methods for solid residues of municipal organic waste digestion with regard to the potential effect of products on soil structure, soil water regime and nutrient supply. Investigations have been made with different digestionThe structural degradation of agricultural soils is an increasing problem of our times caused by intense land use. The treatment of soils with organic amendments shall maintain and improve long-term soil fertility. Solid residues from anaerobic digestion of municipal organic waste are rich in nutrients and organic matter and have a promising potential to be used as soil amendment. Less is known about characteristics of solid residues from organic waste digestion as composting of organic waste materials is still common. Before digestion residues can be applied to soils they need to be conditioned as they have a high impurity content (especially plastic bags and packaging materials) and need to meet the requirements of German regulation on biowaste (Bioabfallverordnung). Our research is investigating on conditioning methods for solid residues of municipal organic waste digestion with regard to the potential effect of products on soil structure, soil water regime and nutrient supply. Investigations have been made with different digestion residues from lab scale, semi-industrial and industrial scale biogas plants. Conditioning methods have been tested using our in-lab treatment facilities consisting of a drying, composting, sieving and pelletizing unit. Preliminary results show that drying and pelletizing measures influence hydrophobicity of digestion residues. As water repellency directly affects water flow and soil moisture this is a determining parameter regarding the amendment performance of conditioned products.…