The reports of Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change indicate that the growing emission of greenhouse gases, produced from the combustion of fossil fuels, mainly carbon dioxide, leads to negative climate changes. Therefore, the methods of mitigating the greenhouse gases emission to the atmosphere, especially of carbon dioxide, are being sought. Numerous studies are focused on so-called geological sequestration, i.e. injecting carbon dioxide to appropriate geological strata or ocean waters. One of the methods, which are not fully utilized, is the application of appropriate techniques in agriculture. The plant production in agriculture is based on the absorption of carbon dioxide in the photosynthesis process. Increasing the plant production directly leads to the absorption of carbon dioxide. Therefore, investigation of carbon dioxide absorption by particular crops is a key issue. In Poland, ca. 7.6 mln ha of cereals is cultivated, including: rye, wheat, triticale, oat and barley. These plants absorb approximately 23.8 mln t C annually, including 9.8 mln t C/yr in grains, 9.4 mln t C/yr in straw and 4.7 mln t C/yr in roots. The China, these cereals are cultivated on the area over 24 mln ha and absorb 98.9 mln t C/yr, including 55 mln tC/yr in grains, 36 in straw, and 7.9 mln t C/yr in roots. The second direction for mitigating the carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere involves substituting fossil fuels with renewable energy sources to deliver primary energy. Cultivation of winter cereals as cover crops may lead to the enhancement of carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere in the course of their growth. Moreover, the produced biomass can be used for energy generation.

The present studies aimed at comparing the effect of the potassium monoionic form (prepared from a model spent ion exchanger) and a conventional potassium fertilizer (KCI) on plant vegetation after addition to depleted soil. To achieve the study aim a pot experiment using orchard grass (Dacrylis glomerata L.) as the test plant was carried out. The vegetation cycle lasted seven weeks. The plants were grown on four series of media: on untreated soil, on soil with added monoionic K form, on soil with added KCI and on soil with Biona-312 substrate added (2% v/v). Biona-312 served as the control fertilizer containing all macro- and microelements. The application of monoionic potassium form positively influenced orchard grass vegetation. The addition of K form into soil increased stem wet and dry biomass, root dry biomass and total dry yield by 15, 10, 13 and 12%, respectively. Bearing in mind that the amount of dry plant matter as source material for humus formation is crucial in soil reclamation, the effectiveness of potassium monoionic form was found to be similar to that of the mineral fertilizer - KCI. Biona-312 was the most efficient fertilizer used in the study, resulting in the greatest yield of Dactylis glomerata L.

Reviewing the current state of knowledge on sustainable production, this paper opens the Special Section entitled “Sustainability in production in the context of Industry 4.0”. The fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0), which embodies a vision for the future system of manufacturing (production), focuses on how to use contemporary methods (i.e. computerization, robotization, automation, new business models, etc.) to integrate all manufacturing industry systems to achieve sustainability. The idea was introduced in 2011 by the German government to promote automation in manufacturing. This paper shows the state of the art in the application of modern methods in sustainable manufacturing in the context of Industry 4.0. The authors review the past and current state of knowledge in this regard and describe the known limitations, directions for further research, and industrial applications of the most promising ideas and technologies.