README file
Data Set Title: “Sustainable Fertilizer from slaughterhouse digested sludge”
Data Set Authors: Andrea Ciurli (Department of agricultural and food sciences, University of Bologna), ORCID 0000-0002-6913-8943; Giampaolo Di Biase (Department of agricultural and food sciences, University of Bologna), ORCID 0009-0004-9948-8639; Luciano Cavani (Department of agricultural and food sciences, University of Bologna), ORCID 0000-0002-2612-7857
Data Set Contributor: Claudio Ciavatta (Department of agricultural and food sciences, University of Bologna) ORCID 0000-0002-7914-4394
Data Set Contact Person: Andrea Ciurli (Department of agricultural and food sciences, University of Bologna), ORCID 0000-0002-6913-8943, email: andrea.ciurli3@unibo.it 
Data Set License: this data set is distributed under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 License, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  
Publication Year: 2024
Project Info: EIT FOOD “Sustainable fertilizer from beef slaughtering biogas digested sludge. Digested sludge upgrading and converting into a recognised fertilizer”, co-funded by European Union, EIT FOOD Program, project number 21173, https://www.eitfood.eu/projects/sustainable-fertiliser.  
Data set Contents
The data set consists of:
•	1 tabular quantitative file saved as .xlsx format “SustainableFertilizer_EITFOOD_WP02.xlsx” with the following sheets:
o	“nitrogen_release”
o	“phosphorus_release” 
o	“data_end incubation” 
o	“CLPP” 
o	“CLPP_AWCD”
•	1 README file “SustainableFertilizer_EITFOOD_WP02_README.rtf”
Data set Documentation
Abstract
This dataset contains data related to the evaluation of the fertilizing potential of a dried anaerobic digestate produced from slaughterhouse residues, generated in the framework of the “Sustainable fertilizers” EIT FOOD project. The fertilizing potential was assessed through a short-term (42 days) soil incubation experiment using two different soils, Clay-Loam cambisol soil (CC) and Fulvic cambisol soil (FC). The effect of the dried anaerobic digestate (DD) application was compared with other fertilizers: i) diammonium phosphate (MIN); ii) digested manure (DM); iii) cattle manure (CM), and a negative control as unfertilized soil (CTR). Each fertilizer was added to each soil in a dose of 100 mg_N/kg of dry soil. During the incubation period, ammonium-nitrogen, nitrate/nitrite-nitrogen and phosphorus release were monitored. At the end of the incubation, biochemical (extractable carbon and nitrogen, microbial biomass carbon, enzyme activities) and chemical (pH, electric conductivity, exchangeable Mg, K and Ca) were assessed. Moreover, community level physiological profiling (CLPP) analysis was performed through Biolog® with ECO-plates.
Methodologies
The sheets “nitrogen_release” and “phosphorus_release” contain the data acquired weekly during the 42 days of incubation. In the sheet “data_end incubation” are reported the data acquired after the incubation period, of which the variables “EC, pH, Mg_exc, K_exc, Ca_exc” were analysed on dry soil samples; whereas the other variables were acquired on fresh soil samples. The sheet “CLPP” contains the data acquired after 120 hours of incubation in Biolog® ECO-Plates grouped for each category of substrate (refer to “List of Variables”). The sheet “CLPP_AWCD” reports elaborated raw data acquired after 120 hours of incubation in Biolog® ECO-Plates.
Fertilizers and soils used in this trial were analysed for their principal physico-chemical characteristics that are reported in the following tables (refer to “list of variables” for the description of the physico-chemical parameters and other acronyms).

Properties | Unit | DD | DM | CM
Total solids | % fw | 88.5 | 89 | 92.1
Volatile solids | % dw | 81.4 | 82 | 71.2
pH (water) | | 7.3 | 9.75 | 7.1
Electr. conductivity | dS/m | 2.5 | 3.5 | 9.4
Total organic C | %C dw | 40.3 | 42 | 33.9
Total N | %N dw | 5 | 2 | 3.2
NH_4^+ N | %N dw | 0.6 | 0.04 | 0.44
Organic N | %N dw | 4.4 | 1.9 | 2.8
C/N ratio | | 8 | 21.3 | 10.6
Total P | % dw | 2.4 | 0.9 | 1.2
H_2O-P Fraction | g/kg fw | 6.6 | n.d. | n.d.
NaHCO_3-P Fraction | g/kg fw | 0.35 | n.d. | n.d.
NaOH-P Fraction | g/kg fw | 0.7 | n.d. | n.d.
HCl-P Fraction | g/kg fw | 6.35 | n.d. | n.d.
P Recovery | % | 59.7 | n.d. | n.d.
Total K | % dw | 0.2 | 1.5 | 1.9
Total Mg | % dw | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.7
Total Ca | % dw | 3.2 | 1.9 | n.d.
Total S | % dw | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.6
Total As | mg/kg dw | 4 | n.d. | n.d.
Total Cd | mg/kg dw | 0.3 | 0.4 | <0.1
Total Cr_VI | mg/kg dw | <0,2 | <0.2 | <0.2
Total Cu | mg/kg dw | 49 | 59 | 91
Total Hg | mg/kg dw | 0.03 | 0.2 | 0.2
Total Ni | mg/kg dw | 8.8 | 11 | 13
Total Pb | mg/kg dw | 5.3 | 6 | 5
Total Zn | mg/kg dw | 354 | 242 | 326
Oxygen uptake rate | mmol O_2 h^-1 kg^-1 VS | 18.9 | n.d. | n.d.
Escherichia coli | cfu/g | 20 | <10 | <10
Salmonella spp. | MNP/25 g | absent | absent | absent

Characteristics | Unit | FC | CC
WRB Classification | - | Fulvic cambisol | Clay-loam cambisol
Texture (USDA) | - | Sandy-loam | Loam
Sand | % dw | 60 | 37
Silt | % dw | 26 | 46
Clay | % dw | 14 | 17
pH in water | - | 7.8 | 7.9
Total carbonates | % CaCO_3 | 6.5 | 36
Total organic C | % dw | 2.17 | 1.19
Total N | % dw | 0.215 | 0.119
C/N ratio | - | 10.1 | 10
Cation exchange capacity | cmol_+/kg dw | 23.4 | 19.1
Available P | mg/kg dw | 64 | 5
Full water holding capacity | % dw | 62.1 | 47.3
Notes
The dataset is related to the following publication: Andrea Ciurli et al. “Dried Anaerobic Digestate From Slaughterhouse by-products: Emerging Cues for a Bio-based Fertilization” (in-press), in which the laboratory methods and statistical analyses used to produce the data are listed in detail. 
The preprint version of the publication
Andrea Ciurli, Giampaolo Di Biase, Mario Rossi et al. “Dried Anaerobic Digestate From Slaughterhouse by-products: Emerging Cues for a Bio-based Fertilization”, 31 May 2024, PREPRINT (Version 1) available at Research Square, DOI 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4377162/v1. 
is available at https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4377162/v1.

 List of variables
Abbreviation | Description | Measure Unit (where applicable)
EC | Electric conductivity | uS/cm
pH | soil reaction |
Cd_DTPA | Extractable cadmium in DTPA | mg /kg _dw
Co_DTPA | Extractable cobalt in DTPA | mg /kg _dw
Cr_DTPA | Extractable chromium in DTPA | mg /kg _dw
Cu_DTPA | Extractable cupper in DTPA | mg /kg _dw
Fe_DTPA | Extractable iron in DTPA | mg /kg _dw
Mn_DTPA | Extractable manganese in DTPA | mg /kg _dw
Ni_DTPA | Extractable nikel in DTPA | mg /kg _dw
Pb_DTPA | Extractable lead in DTPA | mg /kg _dw
Zn_DTPA | Extractable zinc in DTPA | mg /kg _dw
Ca_exc | Exchangeable calcium in cobalt hexamine | mg /kg _dw
Na_exc | Exchangeable sodium in cobalt hexamine | mg /kg _dw
Mg_exc | Exchangeable magnesium in cobalt hexamine | mg /kg _dw
K_exc | Exchangeable calcium in potassium hexamine | mg /kg _dw
Next | Extractable nitrogen in K_2SO_4 | mg N/kg _dw
Cext | Extractable carbon in K_2SO_5 | mg C/kg _dw
MBC | Microbial biomass carbon with fumigation-extraction method | mg C/kg _dw
PAC | Acid phosphatase | mmol PNP  kg^-1 _dw h^-1
PAL | Alkalin phosphatase | mmol PNP  kg^-1 _dw h^-2
BGLU | Beta glucosidase | mmol PNP  kg^-1 _dw h^-3
DEHY | Dehydrogenase | mmol INTF  kg^-1 _dw h^-4
NAG | Chitinase | mmol PNP/kg
TYR | Tyrosinase | mmol DOPA  kg^-1 _dw h^-1
UR | Urease | mmol N kg^-1 _dw h^-1
NO_3-N | Nitrite/nitrate nitrogen | mg N/kg _dw
NH_4-N | Ammonium nitrogen | mg N/kg _dw
AWCD 120 | Average well colour development after 120 h | OD 590 nm
Carb | Carbohydrates |
Carb_Ket | Caboxylic & ketoacids |
AA | Aminoacids |
Poly | Polymers |
Am_Am | Amines & amides |
CC | Clay-Loam cambisol soil |
FC | Fulvic cambisol soil |
CTR | Control |
MIN | Mineral fertilizer |
DD | Dried anaerobic digestate |
DM | Digested manure |
CM | Cattle manure |