Editing Lignite (section)

===In agriculture {{anchor|in agriculture}} ===
An environmentally beneficial use of lignite is in agriculture. Lignite may have value as an environmentally benign [[soil amendment]], improving cation exchange and phosphorus availability in soils while reducing availability of heavy metals,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kim Thi Tran |first1=Cuc |last2=Rose |first2=Michael T. |last3=Cavagnaro |first3=Timothy R. |last4=Patti |first4=Antonio F. |title=Lignite amendment has limited impacts on soil microbial communities and mineral nitrogen availability |journal=Applied Soil Ecology |date=November 2015 |volume=95 |pages=140–150 |doi=10.1016/j.apsoil.2015.06.020|bibcode=2015AppSE..95..140K }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Changjian |last2=Xiong |first2=Yunwu |last3=Zou |first3=Jiaye |last4=Dong |first4=Li |last5=Ren |first5=Ping |last6=Huang |first6=Guanhua |title=Impact of biochar and lignite-based amendments on microbial communities and greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural soil |journal=Vadose Zone Journal |date=March 2021 |volume=20 |issue=2 |doi=10.1002/vzj2.20105|bibcode=2021VZJ....2020105L |doi-access=free }}</ref> and may be superior to commercial K humates.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lyons |first1=Graham |last2=Genc |first2=Yusuf |title=Commercial Humates in Agriculture: Real Substance or Smoke and Mirrors? |journal=Agronomy |date=28 October 2016 |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=50 |doi=10.3390/agronomy6040050|doi-access=free |bibcode=2016Agron...6...50L }}</ref> Lignite fly ash produced by combustion of lignite in power plants may also be valuable as a soil amendment and fertilizer.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ram |first1=Lal C. |last2=Srivastava |first2=Nishant K. |last3=Jha |first3=Sangeet K. |last4=Sinha |first4=Awadhesh K. |last5=Masto |first5=Reginald E. |last6=Selvi |first6=Vetrivel A. |title=Management of Lignite Fly Ash for Improving Soil Fertility and Crop Productivity |journal=Environmental Management |date=September 2007 |volume=40 |issue=3 |pages=438–452 |doi=10.1007/s00267-006-0126-9|pmid=17705037 |bibcode=2007EnMan..40..438R |s2cid=1257174 }}</ref> However, rigorous studies of the long-term benefits of lignite products in agriculture are lacking.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Patti |first1=Antonio |last2=Rose |first2=Michael |last3=Little |first3=Karen |last4=Jackson |first4=Roy |last5=Cavagnaro |first5=Timothy |title=Evaluating Lignite-Derived Products (LDPs) for Agriculture – Does Research Inform Practice? |journal=EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts |year=2014 |page=10165 |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014EGUGA..1610165P |access-date=4 May 2021 |bibcode=2014EGUGA..1610165P |archive-date=11 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411073905/https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014EGUGA..1610165P |url-status=live }}</ref>

Lignite may also be used for the cultivation and distribution of [[biological control]] microbes that suppress plant pests. The carbon increases the [[soil organic matter|organic matter in the soil]] while the biological control microbes provide an alternative to chemical pesticides.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jones|first1=Richard|last2=Petit|first2=R|last3=Taber|first3=R|title=Lignite and stillage:carrier and substrate for application of fungal biocontrol agents to soil|doi=10.1094/Phyto-74-1167|journal=Phytopathology|date=1984|volume=74|issue=10|pages=1167–1170}}</ref>

''[[Leonardite]]'' is a soil conditioner rich in [[humic acid]]s that is formed by natural oxidation when lignite comes in contact with air.<ref name ="Youngs">{{Cite web|url=http://www.anl.gov/PCS/acsfuel/preprint%20archive/Files/07_1_CINCINNATI_01-63_0012.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.anl.gov/PCS/acsfuel/preprint%20archive/Files/07_1_CINCINNATI_01-63_0012.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Youngs, R.W. & Frost, C.M. 1963. Humic acids from leonardite – a soil conditioner and organic fertilizer. Ind. Eng. Chem., 55, 95–99|access-date=30 June 2022}}</ref> The process can be replicated artificially on a large scale.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gong |first1=Guanqun |last2=Xu |first2=Liangwei |last3=Zhang |first3=Yingjie |last4=Liu |first4=Weixin |last5=Wang |first5=Ming |last6=Zhao |first6=Yufeng |last7=Yuan |first7=Xin |last8=Li |first8=Yajun |title=Extraction of Fulvic Acid from Lignite and Characterization of Its Functional Groups |journal=ACS Omega |date=3 November 2020 |volume=5 |issue=43 |pages=27953–27961 |doi=10.1021/acsomega.0c03388|pmid=33163778 |pmc=7643152 }}</ref> The less matured xyloid (wood-shaped) lignite also contains high amounts of humic acid.<ref Name="Mackie"/>