APPLICATION OF NITROGEN MINERALIZATION METHOD WITH LEACHING TO SOIL AMENDED WITH SEWAGE SLUDGE AND ORGANIC COMPOST

作者：Moretti Sarah Mello Leite^*; Bertoncini Edna Ivani; Abreu Junior Cassio Hamilton

来源：Revista Brasileira de Ciencia do Solo, 2013, 37(3): 622-631.

• sanitary sludge
• composting
• decomposition
• nitrogen forms

The determination of the nitrogen (N) mineralization rate in waste-treated soils is important to calculate the residue rates to be applied, supplying plants with mineral N to at the appropriate time, without leaching losses. Most studies on residue-treated soils use the technique without leaching of mineral forms and the volumetric determination method. The repeatability of the test is however poor and the sensitivity of the determination method low, especially in soils amended with sewage sludge and organic compost. In this study we adopted the not very well-known leaching method, with determination of N-mineral forms by spectrophotometer methods. In columns filled with soil taken from a depth of 0.20 m of an alic, loamy soil Hapludox, the following residues doses (Mg ha(-1) - wet basis) were incorporated: Sewage sludge - L1 = 3.6; L2 = 7.2; L3 = 14.4; and Organic compost (sewage sludge + tree cuttings) - C1 = 7.2, C2 = 14.4, C3 = 28.8. Columns were incubated and periodically leached with a 0.01 mol(-1) L KCl solution, and the N-mineral forms were determined colorimetrically. High mineralization rates at lower sludge and compost rates were observed, indicating a priming effect, which is undesirable in soil management under tropical conditions. Lower N-mineralization rates were observed at L2 and C2, close to those suggested by the Brazilian legislation that regulates sewage sludge application to agricultural soils, but falling short of the N requirement, while higher mineralization rates were observed at the lower and higher doses, suggesting that the current legislation should be reviewed. Generally, the N mineralization rates were higher for organic compost than for sewage sludge, while the degradation speed was lower for the organic compost, indicating a greater distribution of the available N forms over time. The mineralization leaching method with determination of mineral-N forms by colorimetry proved to be fast and efficient, and more studies should test different soils and organic wastes for validation for routine use.

• 出版日期2013-6