Rozalija Cvejic (Slovenia)
University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical faculty
Department of Agronomy
I am an agricultural scientist. My leading research focuses on introducing water-saving approaches and tools into everyday urban (and rural) farming from a participation and value perspective. By engaging society in the planning and managing urban green spaces through urban agriculture, I co-design innovative products, such as the recently developed fermentation-based organic fertilizer from invasive Japanese Knotweed, used to facilitate community engagement in urban agriculture. Through my research, I contribute to understanding how society and ecology interact in an urban environment and how food production is the medium to connect the two. Key references in the field of urban farming: Cvejić et al., 2021: Invasive Plants in Support of Urban Farming: Fermentation-Based Organic Fertilizer from Japanese Knotweed: https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11061232 van der Jagt et al., 2019: Co-creating urban green infrastructure connecting people and nature: A guiding framework and approach: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.09.083 Glavan et al., 2016: Urban Gardening: From Cost Avoidance to Profit Making — Example from Ljubljana, Slovenia: DOI: 10.5772/62301

Presenter of 1 Presentation

 Conference Calendar

INVASIVE PLANTS IN SUPPORT OF URBAN FARMING: ORGANIC FERTILISER FROM JAPANESE KNOTWEED

Session Name
0330 - Pecha Kuchas - Circular 01: Biobased materials and products, energy & food (ID 61)
Session Type
Pecha Kuchas
Date
02/23/2022
Session Time
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Room

Hall B

Presenter
Lecture Time
02:00 PM - 02:05 PM

Abstract

Abstract Body

Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica (Houtt.) Ronse Decr) is an invasive species that causes significant structural and functional changes in urban ecosystems and substantial economic damage in the US, UK and Europe. Is there any benefit of Japanese knotweed in cities and could it somehow be used in urban farming? In this research, the aboveground parts of Japanese knotweed were considered as an alternative local resource for the production of organic fertilizer (OF). To obtain an average yield of 5 kg/m2 for the selected crops and cover 100 % crop N requirement an application of 2 kg/m2 OF would be required; the application covers two thirds of P crop requirements and almost ninety percent of K crop requirements. The results indicate OF from Japanese knotweed has a potential to fuel urban food production. Such use could serve as a complementary method to existing approaches for managing Japanese knotweed in cities. The OF production is DIY friendly (replicable by small urban farmers) and has the potential to be replicated on a larger scale, e.g. by waste management companies. Further research should focus on different soil types, a wider variety of plants, and consider possible reluctance of farmers to use OF made from invasive plant.

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