Abstract

CHILON CAMACHO, Eduardo  and  CHILON MOLINA, Jhoselyne. Altoandino compost, food security, climate change and soil recuperation . CienciAgro [online]. 2015, vol.1, n.1, pp. 43-56. ISSN 2072-1404.

The most vulnerable populations of the Andes of South America are being seriously affected by the global climate change, a scanty precipitation and its irregular distribution, as well as the increasing erosion of soils, making visible with enormous alert, the high risk in which are food security and survival of our peoples. The Andean space, since ancient times sheltered a large indigenous population, characterized by a cultural matrix of respect to the soil or cosmic belly, which had to take care and "to feed" to ensure continuity and reproduction of life. The present investigation is one more phase of the project of "High-Andean Composting" that develops in constant form for several years, and that has like strategic objective of regional and world scope, contribute to the global climate change adaptation, conservation of soil fertility, production of food, and biorecuperation of polluted soils. It was evaluated the influence of the environmental conditions of the cold period (April - June, 2014) and warm period (September - December, 2014) on properties and quality of the compost, as well as the compost effect on the production of crops, and on soil properties. It was found that conditions of cold and hot periods do not have a significant influence in the thermal process of compost, which verifies the efficiency of the high-Andean composting method with biological local activators. By their quality three groups were identified, the compost of good quality and quick development, integrated by the compost with activator: local ferment (T4C-ACH), compost with activator: broth of earthworm humus (T2C-AHL), and compost with activator: yogurt (T1C-AY); group compost of moderate quality, integrated by the compost with activator: Milk (T5C-AL) and compost with activator: yeast (T3C-ALEV); finally the control compost without activator (T6C1-TE) of minor quality and of slow development; in the determination of the quality of compost, limitations in the methods of chemical analysis of laboratory were identified. About the effects of compost with activator: local ferment (T4C-ACH), in the potato crop (Solanum tuberosum), were obtained yields/hectare that overcame even in four times the national average, product of the improvement of fertility and microorganisms activity of soil, the contribution of organic substances as enzymes, hormones and vitamins and available nutrients for the plant. Besides were achieved excellent results with high-Andean compost application in the biorecuperation of polluted soils with hydrocarbons, making possible the validation the method and the standardization of bio recuperation technique. These results constitute the base, for the design of more delicate research phases, which corresponds to the identification and characterization of the microorganisms of the high-Andean compost and of its biosynthesized substances, offering potentials for food production, biotechnology, health and environment.

Keywords : Compost; organic composting; microorganisms of soil; fertility of agricultural soils; ecologic production; bioremediation of soils and climatic change adaptation.