Title: Effects of bone meal on physiochemical soil properties of a fertilized reclamation site in Iceland

The need for restoration of degraded lands has become necessary to ensure sustainable living. Fertilization has been applied to improve soils in order to enhance vegetation growth. Application of different organic fertilizers has shown varied effects on soil physiochemical properties. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of bone meal on soil physiochemical properties in a sandy loam soil in Iceland. No significant effect was observed for bone meal on nitrate, bulk density, porosity, pH and electrical conductivity (P>0.05). Furthermore, total nitrogen, total carbon and carbon: nitrogen (C/N) ratio were not affected by the bone meal treatment. However, significant effects of bone meal were observed on organic matter content and water holding capacity of the treated soil (P<0.05). The treated area had 10.9% more water retention capacity than the control.