Changes in organic matter and enzymatic activity of an agricultural soil amended with metal-contaminated sewage sludge compost
1998
Moreno, J.L. | Garcia, C. | Hernandez, T.
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 of their degree of metallic contamination. Both crop type and metallic contamination contained in the organic materials added influenced phosphatase and beta-glucosidase activity.
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