Short-term effects of sewage sludge application on phosphatase activities and available P fractions in Mediterranean soils

The aim of this study was to investigate factors regulating phosphatase activities in Mediterranean soils subjected to sewage sludge applications. Soils originating from calcareous and siliceous mineral parent materials were amended with aerobically digested sewage sludge, with or without physico-chemical treatment by ferric chloride. Sludge amendments, ranging from 6.2 to 10 g kg⁻¹ soil, were carried out in order to provide soil with a P total quantity equivalent to 0.5 g P₂O₅ per kg of soil. Bacterial density, phosphatase activities (i.e. acid and alkaline phosphomonoesterases and phosphodiesterases) and available P (i.e. P Olsen and P water) were measured after 25 and 87 days of incubation. Results showed significant effects of sewage sludge application and incubation period. Sewage sludge effect resulted in an increase in phosphatase activities, microbial density and available P. Incubation period increased available P while decreasing phosphatase activities. This study also revealed that the origin of sludge and its chemical characteristics may show different effects on certain variables such as phosphodiesterases or bacterial density, whereas mineral parent materials of soils did not show any significant effects.     

Dynamics of phosphatase activities in a cork oak litter (Quercus suber L.) following sewage sludge application

As part of a study of the processes involved in litter biodegradation following sewage sludge (SS) addition, the variations over 14 months of phosphatase activities in a cork oak litter (Quercus suber L.) were investigated. A field experimental design was carried out using the litter-bag method on both a fertilized plot receiving SS applications (twice ) and a control plot. Acid (APH) and alkaline (BPH) phosphatases were measured, along with several biotic and abiotic variables potentially involved in the regulation of these enzymes. These included moisture, temperature, pH, water-extractable inorganic P (P_W), culturable heterotrophic bacteria and fungi. Sludge addition had significant effects on all the variables measured. Indeed, sludge increased significantly BPH activities, available P_W, microbial densities (i.e. bacteria and fungi) and pH in the fertilized plot. In contrast, APH activities decreased significantly following sludge addition. As a consequence, the BPH/APH ratio increased markedly and immediately in the fertilized plot, but only after the 1st amendment. Following the 1st preconditioning SS amendment, the 2nd fertilization had fewer effects on biological variables, because of summer dryness. The different properties examined varied significantly with incubation time, and most were significantly related to the seasonal patterns of litter moisture in this Mediterranean forest ecosystem. Hence, sewage sludge application modified the intensity of microbial responses to environmental factors, but biological patterns regulating P turn-over were maintained.     

Long-term amendment of four different compost types on a loamy silt Cambisol: impact on soil organic matter,nutrients and yields

This study investigated the long-term effects of different composts (urban organic waste compost (OWC), green waste compost (GWC), cattle manure compost (MC) and sewage sludge compost (SSC)) compared to mineral fertilisation on a loamy silt Cambisol, after a 7-year start-up period. The compost application rate was 175 kg N ha^?1, with 80 kg mineral N ha^?1 and without. Soil characteristics (soil organic carbon (SOC), carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio and soil pH), nutrients (nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K)) and crop yields were investigated between 1998 and 2012. SOC concentrations were increased by compost applications, being highest in the SSC treatments, as for soil pH. N contents were significantly higher with compost amendments compared to mineral fertilisation. The highest calcium-acetate-lactate (CAL)-extractable P concentrations were measured in the SSC treatments, and the highest CAL-extractable K concentrations in the MC treatments. Yields after compost amendment for winter barley and spring wheat were similar to 40 kg mineral N ha^?1 alone, whereas maize had comparable yields to 80 kg mineral N ha^?1 alone. We conclude that compost amendment improves soil quality, but that the overall carbon (C) and N cycling merits more detailed investigation.     

Changes in the microbial activity of an arid soil amended with urban organic wastes

Changes produced in the biological characteristics of an arid soil by the addition of various urban wastes (municipal solid waste, sewage sludge and compost) at different doses, were evaluated during a 360-day incubation experiment. The addition of organic materials to the soil increased the values of biomass carbon, basal respiration, biomass C/total organic C ratio and metabolic quotient (qCO₂), indicating the activation of soil microorganisms. These biological parameters showed a decreasing tendency with time. Nevertheless, their values in amended soils were higher than in control soil, which clearly indicates the improvement of soil biological quality brought about by the organic amendment. This favorable effect on soil biological activity was more noticeable with the addition of fresh wastes (municipal solid waste or sewage sludge) than with compost. In turn, this effect was more permanent when the soil was amended with municipal solid waste than when it was amended with sewage sludge. Received: 28 May 1996     

污泥与施污土壤重金属生物活性及生态风险评价

将城市污泥以不同质量比施于土壤中构成污泥混合土壤,研究各污泥配比土壤中重金属的生物活性,并采用三种重金属评价方法(地累积指数法、潜在生态风险指数法、综合毒性指数模型)和黑麦草对重金属的吸收富集效果来对施污土壤中重金属具有的生态风险性进行评价。结果表明:污泥的添加使土壤中生物活性态Cd、Cu和Zn含量显著增加,对三种重金属具有活化作用,但对Pb却起到钝化作用。生态风险评价结果表明:污泥的添加使土壤中Pb呈现无污染和低生态风险;Cu和Zn呈现中度污染和低生态风险;Cd达到强度污染和重度生态风险,重金属潜在生态风险(RI)总体处于强度生态风险水平。当污泥添加比例大于6:10(污泥S3处理)时,施污土壤中重金属的综合毒性指数高于土壤对照。黑麦草对Cd、Pb、Cu和Zn的富集浓度与施污土壤中对应重金属的生物活性态含量存在显著正幂指数关系,同时黑麦草对施污土壤中Cd、Cu和Pb的富集能力大小与地累积指数法和潜在生态风险指数法对三种重金属具有的生态风险性的评价结果具有一致性。     

Predicting Nitrogen and Carbon Mineralization of Composted Manure and Sewage Sludge in Soil

The capability of organic wastes to release available N in soil varies largely, depending on their source and form of production, or rather on their composition and biodegradability. Our purpose was to predict mineralization rates of different materials using their analyses joined with a simulation model, and to evaluate the influence of soil type and application rate of the organic materials on N and C transformations in soil. Four organic materials, sewage sludge (SS), sewage sludge compost (SSC), cattle manure compost (CMC), hen and cattle manure compost (HCMC), were applied to two soils at rates of 2 and/or 4%. The soils were incubated aerobically for 168 days at 30°C, during which CO₂ evolution rates and mineral-N concentrations were measured periodically. Hot water extractable C and N of all organic amendments correlated well with short term C and N mineralization, except HCMC that immobilized N although its soluble N content was large. NCSOIL, a computer model that simulates C and N cycling in soil with organic amendments, predicted well C and N mineralization of SS, SSC and CMC when considered as three-pool materials that decomposed at specific rates of 0.4, 0.024 and 10^?4 d^?1, using hot water soluble C and N as the labile pool. N immobilization by HCMC could be simulated only if the distribution of N between the labile and resistant pools was derived by optimization of NCSOIL, while hot water soluble C was labile. Laboratory methods to determine an intermediate pool or components that contribute to immobilization are required for improving the predictions of C and N mineralization from organic amendments.     

The quantitative changes of nutrients in two contrasting soils amended with sewage sludge compost evaluated by various statistical tools

Introduction: The application of organic fertilisers to replenish soil organic matter and improve soil fertility and productivity has become common agricultural practice.

Aim of the study: This research deals with the effects of soil amendment with sewage sludge compost (SSC) on organic carbon, nitrogen total, nitrogen mineral and available P, K, S and Mg mineralisation in two contrasting soils. The various statistical tools used in this study have allowed us to present another conceptualisation of nutrient increments or losses as an effect of SSC applied. In order to distinguish groups of nutrients which are similar, a cluster analysis was used. A two-way analysis of variance was applied to compare the increments of the content of nutrients in the soils.

Material and Methods: A 3-year pot experiment was conducted, employing a randomised, factorial design with two soils (light and medium) and one amendment treatment as a compost at a rate equivalent to 6 Mg ha^?1. The following parameters of chemical soil properties were determined: contents of organic carbon (Corg), total nitrogen (Ntot), amounts of available P, K, Mg, S and mineral nitrogen (Nmin).

Results: The SSC showed a similar influence on the fertility of both soils. It was affirmed that application of SSC results in a statistically significant increase in the contents of soil organic carbon. The amounts of total and mineral N, as well as available P and S were subjected to different patterns of quantity changes expressed by both increase and loss. Moreover, a statistically significant loss of available K amounts was observed in both soils.

Conclusions: The findings of the study indicated that mature SSC becomes a long lasting fertiliser, slowly subjected to decomposition processes. Therefore, it may influence small increases in nutrient amounts in soils, in relation to the contents obtained for the control soil.     

不同类型的污泥对土壤微生物性质的影响: 地中海退化土的田间试验研究

The recycling of suitable organic wastes can enhance soil fertility via effects on soil physical, chemical and biological properties. To compare the effects of digested (DS), thermally dried (TDS) and composted dewatered (CDS) sewage sludge on soil microbiological properties, an experiment was conducted at field sites for more than one year (401 d) when applied to two Mediterranean degraded soils (loam and loamy sand soils). All three types of sewage sludge had a significant effect on measured parameters. I...     

Nitrogen transformation from three soil organic amendments in a sandy soil

Abstract

A sandy soil was amended with various rates (20 – 320 g air-dry weight basis of the amendments per kg of air-dry soil) of chicken manure (CM), sewage sludge (SS), and incinerated sewage sludge (ISS) and incubated for 100 days in a greenhouse at 15% (wt/wt) soil water content. At the beginning of incubation, NH₄-N concentrations varied from 50 – 280 mg kg^?1 in the CM amended soil with negligible amounts of NO₃-N. Subsequently, the concentration of NH₄-N decreased while that of NO₃-N increased rapidly. In soil amended with SS at 20 – 80 g kg^?1 rates, the NO₃-N concentration increased sharply during the first 20 days, followed by a slow rate of increase over the rest of the incubation period. However, at a 160 g kg^?1 SS rate, there were three distinct phases of NO₃-N release which lasted for160 days. In the ISS amended soil, the nitrification process was completed during the initial 30 days, and the concentrations of NH₄-N and NO₃-N were lower than those for the other treatments. The mineralized N across different rates accounted for 20 – 36%, 16 – 40%, and 26 – 50% of the total N applied as CM, SS, and ISS, respectively.     

Rice yield nutrient uptake as affected by cyanobacteria soil amendments—a pot experiment

Rice production and cyanobacterial N in acid soil can be improved by liming. There is evidence that the organic amendments can increase the soil pH. The aim of this study was to find appropriate combination of soil amendments and cyanobacteria capable for enhancing nutrient uptake and improving rice yield in acidic paddy soil. Three soil amendments (rice straw, sewage‐sludge composts, NPK) with and without inoculation of cyanobacteria were studied for rice plants (Oryza sativa L.) in a pot experiment. The sludge compost had significantly reduced soil acidity from 5.44 to 6.67. The plant N and K uptake increased significantly with sludge and cyanobacteria application. The yield components increased significantly with sludge, but decreased thereafter, an exception was the number of panicles, with straw compost. These characters were also significantly affected by inoculation with cyanobacteria except 100‐grain weight, filled‐grain percentage, and harvest index. The combination of sludge compost and cyanobacteria improved the yield components and consequently grain yield (138 g pot^–1) compared with sludge treatment only (132 g pot^–1). The amount of cyanobacterial N absorbed (N‐difference method) by rice plant under sludge compost was higher than that of soils amended with either rice straw or NPK treatments. Therefore, the addition of sewage sludge to acid paddy soil not only amended the soil properties but also activated the cyanobacteria and consequently improved rice plant nutrition and grain yield.     

Plant availability of heavy metals in a soil amended with a high dose of sewage sludge under drought conditions

The objective of this research was to study the effect of water deficit on soil heavy metal availability and metal uptake by ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) plants grown in a soil amended with a high dose of rural sewage sludge. Three fertility treatments were applied: sewage sludge (SS), mineral fertilizer (M), and control (C); unamended). The levels of irrigation were: well-watered (W) and water deficit (D). Microbial respiration decreased the total organic C (TOC) in sludge-treated soils, but this did not enhance soil DTPA-extractable heavy metal concentrations. Indeed, Zn, Cu, Mn and Ni availability decreased during the experiment. C- and M-treated soils showed either no changes or increases of some trace element concentrations during the incubation. In the plant experiment, ryegrass dry matter (DM) yield, relative water content (RWC) and leaf water potential (_w) decreased in drought conditions. Sludge addition increased metal concentrations in plants. However, in some instances, SS-treated plants showed either similar or lower transfer coefficient (Tc) values than did plants in the C and M treatments. Water deficit decreased the concentration and the Tc of some metals in roots of M and SS plants. Results indicate that sludge-borne heavy metals were maintained in chemical forms of low availability. The lower metal uptake by SS and M plants under dry conditions cannot be attributed to a lower availability of these elements in soil.     

Sorption of s-Triazine Herbicides in Organic Matter Amended Soils: Fresh and Incubated Systems

Fresh amendment of soil with sewage sludge and composted sewage sludge resulted in increased sorption of three s-triazine herbicides: atrazine, ametryn and terbuthylazine. The extent of increased sorption (as evaluated by sorption coefficients K_d or K_f) was a function of soil type, such that sorption in amended organic carbon-poor soil (0.4% OC) was more enhanced than in amended organic carbon-rich soil (1.55% OC). Despite significant differences between the organic amendments in terms of humic and fulvic acid content, humin content, soluble organic matter content, total organic matter content, and H/C and O/C atomic ratios, organic matter composition had no discernible effect on either sorption distribution coefficients or on isotherm linearity in amended soils. Soils amended with composted sludge had the same sorption potential as did soils amended with the analogous uncomposted sludge. After incubating soil-sludge mixtures for a year at room temperature, organic matter content decreased to original pre-amendment levels. Sorption coefficients for the three compounds similarly decreased to initial pre-amendment values. Organic carbon normalized sorption coefficients (K_oc) were essentially identical in the soils, amended soils, and incubated amended soils, indicating that sludge and compost derived organic matter does not have a significantly different sorption capacity as compared with the original soils, despite compositional differences.     

Growth and Heavy-Metal Uptake by Lettuce Grown in Soils Applied with Sewage Sludge Compost

A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of sewage sludge compost (SSC) alone and applied with chemical fertilizer on growth and heavy-metal accumulations in lettuce grown on two soils, a Xanthi-Udic Ferralosol and a Typic Purpli-Udic Cambosol. The treatments included control; nitrogen–phosphorus–potassium (NPK) fertilizer; sewage sludge compost applied at the rates of 27.54 (SSC), 82.62 (3SSC), 165.24 (6SSC) t hm^–2; and coapplication treatment (1/2 SSC + 1/2 NPK), where the N, P, and K inputs from NPK fertilizer, SSC, and coapplication treatments were normalized to the local recommend rates. The SSC application increased the biomass; copper, zinc, and lead contents in lettuce; and soil total and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA)–extractable metals. However, SSC alone at the recommended rate caused less plant biomass than NPK fertilizer alone. Coapplication treatment obtained greater or similar biomass to NPK fertilizer alone and did not increase heavy-metal accumulation in soils and plants. The results demonstrated that SSC should be applied to soils with chemical fertilizers.     

Effects of a cadmium-contaminated sewage sludge compost on dynamics of organic matter and microbial activity in an arid soil

 An incubation experiment lasting 120 days was carried out to ascertain the effect on the soil microbial activity and organic matter mineralization of adding a sewage sludge compost contaminated with two different levels of Cd to an arid soil. Two composts, with a low (2 mg kg^–1) and high (815 mg kg^–1) Cd content, respectively, were used in this experiment. Both composts increased the total organic C, humic substance and water-soluble C contents, the beneficial effects still being noticeable after 120 days of incubation. The most labile C fraction (water-soluble C) was the most sensitive to the high Cd content. The high Cd concentration decreased soil microbial biomass C and stimulated the metabolic activity of the microbial biomass, the metabolic quotient (qCO₂) revealing itself to be a very sensitive index of the stress that the incorporation of a Cd-contaminated sewage sludge compost causes in a soil. The effect of Cd contamination on enzyme activities (urease, protease that hydrolyse N-α-benzoil-l-arginamide, phosphatase, and β-glucosidase) depended on the enzyme studied. Received: 10 September 1997     

THE IMPACT OF ORGANIC AMENDMENTS ON FOREST SOIL PROPERTIES UNDER MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATIC CONDITIONS

Restoring the native vegetation is one of the most effective ways to control soil degradation in Mediterranean areas, especially in very degraded areas. In the initial months after afforestation, vegetation cover establishment and soil quality could be better sustained if the soil was amended with an external extra source of organic matter. The goal of this study was to test the effect of various organic amendments on select soil properties [soil organic carbon (SOC), pH, and electrical conductivity (EC)] over a 24‐month period. Four amendments were applied in an experimental set of plots: straw mulching (SM), mulch with chipped branches of Aleppo Pine (Pinus halepensis L.; PM), sheep manure compost (SH), and sewage sludge (RU). Plots were afforested following the same spatial pattern, and amendments were mixed with the soil at the rate 10 Mg ha⁻¹. Organic amendments helped maintain SOC over the initial 6 months after the afforestation. However, only the SM and PM treatments had increased SOC values after 24 months. Decreases in EC were found after the addition of SM, PM, and SH amendments. However, RU increased EC values 24 months after the afforestation. Variations in pH values were not sufficient to establish differences among the various treatments. Furthermore, the results show that forest soils with or without organic amendments responded similarly to the seasonal changes in Mediterranean conditions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Short-term effects of organic municipal wastes on wheat yield,microbial biomass,microbial activity,and chemical properties of soil

The objectives of this work were to (a) investigate the short-term effects of applications of mineral fertilizer, municipal solid waste (MSW) compost, and two sewage sludges (SSs) subjected to different treatments (composting and thermal drying) on microbial biomass and activity of soil by measuring microbial biomass C, adenosine 5′-triphosphate content, basal respiration, and dehydrogenase, catalase, urease, phosphatase, β-glucosidase, and N-α-benzoyl-l-argininamide-hydrolyzing activities and (b) explore the relationships between soil microbiological, biochemical, and chemical properties and wheat yields under semiarid field conditions by principal component analysis. The additions of MSW compost, SS compost, and thermally dried SS did not affect significantly soil microbial biomass, as compared to mineral fertilization and no amendment. However, microbial activity increased in organically amended soils, probably due to the stimulating effect of the added decomposing organic matter. Changes in soil microbiological and biochemical properties showed no significant relationships with wheat yields, probably because plant growth was primarily water-limited, as typically occurs in semiarid regions.     

Effects of Sewage Sludge and Acacia dealbata Composts on Soil Biochemical and Chemical Properties

We studied the effects of different composts made of different mixtures of sewage sludge and Acacia plants on the soil biochemical and chemical properties. The proportions of mixed acacia plant and sewage sludge were: AL1/1 (50% acacia/50% sewage sludge), AL1/2 (33.3% acacia/66.6% sewage sludge), and AL1/3 (25% acacia/75% sewage sludge). Composts were added to the soil at a rate of 2%. Soil samples were collected during 150 days and analyzed for soil enzyme activities and chemical properties. An unamended soil was used as the control. Compared to the AL1/1 treatment, soil dehydrogenase, urease, phosphatase and β-glucosidase activities decreased respectively by 14.6%, 15.4%, 12.5%, and 19.3% for AL1/2 treatment and by 20.7%, 25.6%, 23.7%, and 28.4% for AL1/3 treatment. Soil water-soluble carbohydrates and polyphenols were the greatest in AL1/1. The lowest contents of heavy metals in the AL1/1 compost may be responsible for the increase of soil biochemical and chemical properties.     

Long-term effects of farmyard manure and sewage sludge on some soil biochemical characteristics

 Changes in some soil biochemical properties were investigated following repeated applications of aerobically digested sewage sludge (SS) under field conditions over 12 years, and compared with those of an adjacent soil cultivated and amended with 5 t ha^–1 year^–1 (dry weight) farmyard manure (FYM) for at least 40 years, as well as with those of an adjacent uncultivated soil, in order to ascertain changes in soil quality. A short-term aerobic incubation was used to determine the potential of the samples to mineralize the organic C supplied. Results indicated that cultivation caused a reduction in total, humified and potentially mineralizable organic C, total N, light-fraction (LF) C, total and water-soluble carbohydrates, phenolic compounds, cation-exchange capacity (CEC), microbial biomass C, specific respiration, hydrolytic and urease activities, and an increase in the heavy metal content. Total and water-soluble carbohydrates and phenolic compounds expressed as a percentage of total organic C (TOC) were similar in the differently managed plots. Of the two amendments, FYM treatments showed higher amounts of TOC and N, LF-C, total and water-soluble carbohydrates, phenolic substances, CEC, specific respiration of biomass, hydrolytic and urease activities, similar amounts and characteristics of humified organic matter and lower concentrations of Cu, Zn and Cr. Both FYM and SS were inadequate treatments for the restoration of soil organic matter lost as a consequence of cultivation. Received: 20 October 1998     

Changes in organic matter and enzymatic activity of an agricultural soil amended with metal‐contaminated sewage sludge compost

Abstract

The effect of organic amendment with sewage sludge composts of varying heavy metal content on the organic matter content and enzymatic activity of an agricultural soil supporting barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) or lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) crops was studied. The organic amendments did not improved lettuce growth, the contaminated composts having a negative effect on yield. However, all organic amendments improved barley straw yields although they did not affect grain yields. The addition of the organic materials increased the total carbohydrate content of the soil although this content decreased with cultivation. There was a clearly observed effect of crop type and the degree of heavy metal contamination of the amendment on the most labile carbon (C) fractions (water‐soluble C, carbohydrates, and polyphenolics). In general, soil enzymatic activities were stimulated by addition of sewage sludge compost with low heavy metal content. The compost containing high level of cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn) inhibited protease‐BAA activity with respect to the other composts. After cultivation, urease activity increased in soil amended with the high dose of composts, regardless their degree of metallic contamination. Both crop type and metallic contamination contained in the organic materials added influenced phosphatase and ß‐glucosidase activity.     

Effect of organic and mineral fertilizers on soil respiration and enzyme activities of two Mediterranean horticultural soils

The effects of municipal food waste compost addition and mineral fertilization on selected soil microbiological activities were investigated during 3 years of reiterated treatments on two Mediterranean agricultural soils with different organic carbon content. Compost at 15, 30 and 45 t ha⁻¹ (dry matter), mineral (NPK) fertilizers and combined fertilizers with 15 t ha⁻¹ of compost plus two reduced doses of mineral N were applied to both soils. At both sites, organic amendment increased soil respiration, fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis, phosphatase and arylsulphatase activities. The differences in soil microbial activities among treatments, found after 3 years of repeated treatments, were attributable to the variations of soil organic C content and to the impact of soil tillage. Our results show that, in Mediterranean intensively cultivated agroecosystems, annual organic amendments improve the microbial activity of soil and produce cumulative effects, suggesting the usefulness of repeated high-rate compost applications.