Effects of compost produced from town wastes and sewage sludge on the physical properties of a loamy and a clay soil
Introduction
The continuous decomposition of organic matter in cultivated soils of arid and semiarid regions may lead to soil degradation with a consequence of inability to ensure a sustainable production. The application of organic wastes, and particularly composted municipal refuse and sewage sludge, could be a way of solving two problems, the waste disposal and the correction of the low organic matter content of many agricultural soils. Using wastes in agriculture is an economical disposal of these materials, and it is interesting from an ecological point of view as it reduces negative effects on the environment. However, it could lead to phytotoxic levels of heavy metals in soils.
Among the publications related to waste application on land only a small percentage deals with the improvement of soil physical properties. There are references to improving soil water content (Epstein, 1975, Epstein et al., 1976, Kelling et al., 1977), soil water retention capacity (Gupta et al., 1977, Morel et al., 1978, Kladivko and Nelson, 1979, Kumar et al., 1985), saturated hydraulic conductivity (Epstein, 1975, Kumar et al., 1985), compactibility (Ohu et al., 1985, Ekwue, 1990, Stone and Ekwue, 1993), aggregation (Pagliai et al., 1981), total porosity and pore size distribution (Walter, 1977, Kladivko and Nelson, 1979; Pagliai et al., 1981; Mathan, 1994), soil crusting (Pagliai et al., 1983) and penetration resistance of the soil (Kumar et al., 1985).
The (partial) reference by several authors to improving only some of the physical properties at any one time gave the reason for the present work to be conducted. Therefore, in this work, an attempt was made to investigate the potential soil improvement related to the waste application and taking into consideration almost all physical properties.
Section snippets
Methods
The compost used was produced from a mixture of 17% sawdust, 21% sewage sludge and 62% town wastes by volume, following the Beltsville Aerated Pile Method (Wilson et al., 1980). The cured compost was passed through a 5 mm mesh screen before soil incorporation. The contents of cadmium, zinc, copper, lead, nickel and chromium were, respectively, 2.3, 1100, 450, 60.6, 104 and 798 ppm. These were below the safe levels for plant growth. The germination of seeds (Lepidium sativum L.) test was done
Results and discussion
Chemical properties of the soils were affected directly by the compost amendment (Table 1). Organic matter, pH and CEC were increased with the compost rates. Physical properties should be affected indirectly through the improvement of soil structure.
The effects of the treatments on the bulk density of the two soils are shown in Table 2. Compost significantly reduced the bulk density of the soils (P=0.05). The highest reduction was 19.7% and 16.7% for the 300 m3 ha−1 compost addition rate in the
Conclusions
The amendment compost improved all physical properties under consideration in the two soils. The improvement was proportional to the compost rate. The results supported the following conclusions:
Bulk density and penetration resistance were reduced. The reduction was greater in the loamy soil than in the clay soil.
Total porosity and saturated hydraulic conductivity were increased. The increase of total porosity was greater in the loamy soil than in the clay soil, and saturated hydraulic
References (34)
Studies on the influence of long-term municipal sewage-effluent irrigation on soil physical properties
Bioresource Technol.
(1994)Effects of organic amendments on some physical properties of tropical Utisol
Biol. Wastes
(1989)- et al.
Changes in surface structure (crusting) after application of sewage sludge and pig slurry to cultivated agricultural soils in northern Italy
Geoderma
(1983) - Aggelides, S., 1987. Pore size distribution of soils as determined from soil characteristic curves using non-polar...
- et al.
Moisture and density effect on cone index
Trans. ASSAE
(1982) - Blake, G.R., K.H. Hartge, 1986. Bulk density. In: Klute, A. (Ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1. Am. Soc. Agron.,...
Hydrometer method for making particle analysis of soil
Agron. J.
(1962)- Bradford, J.M., 1986. Penetrability. In: Klute, A. (Ed.), A Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 1. Am. Soc. Agron.,...
A compact rotary sieve and the importance of dry sieving in physical soil analysis
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc.
(1962)- Childs, E.C., 1969. An Introduction to the Physical Basis of Soil Water Phenomena. Wiley, London, pp....
Effect of organic matter on splash detachment and the processes involved
Earth Surface Processes
Organic matter effect on the strength properties of compacted agricultural soils
Trans. ASAE
Effect of sewage sludge on some soil physical properties
J. Environ. Quality
Effects of sewage sludge and sludge compost applied to soil on some soil physical and chemical properties
J. Environ. Quality
Hydraulic and thermal properties of a sandy soil as influenced by incorporation of sewage sludge
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.
Studies in the physical properties of soil
J. Agric. Sci.
On the calculation of hydraulic conductivity
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc.
Cited by (376)
Organic fertilizer sources improve the yield and quality attributes of maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids by improving soil properties and nutrient uptake under drought stress
2023, Journal of King Saud University - ScienceOrganic amendment management: impact on carbon dynamics, sugarcane quality, and productivity
2023, Agricultural Soil Sustainability and Carbon ManagementImpact of short-term organic amendments incorporation on soil structure and hydrology in semiarid agricultural lands
2022, International Soil and Water Conservation Research