Sustainability Assessment after Twenty Years of Sewage Sludge Application on Calcareous Soil Following N or P Criterion
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Author
Lavaquiol, Bernat
Bosch-Serra, Àngela Dolores
Molina, Maria Gabriela
Publication date
2024-03-11ISSN
2071-1050
Abstract
Sewage sludge is a valuable source of nutrients when applied to the soil. Research on its agricultural use has been focused on chemical parameters to prevent heavy metal buildup. However, soil quality includes a wider spectrum of indicators. Our aim was to evaluate the impacts of sludge application on the biological and physical soil properties of calcareous soil when sludge is applied in maize monoculture using fertilization dosage criteria determined by N input or soil P thresholds. A control based on mineral fertilization was also included. After 20 years, no differences were found in the biological indicators: earthworm and soil oribatid mite abundances. Five oribatid species were identified, but three predominated: Acrotritia ardua americana, Oribatula (Zygoribatula) excavata and Tectocepheus sarekensis. The latter two showed a maximum number of individuals five months after maize stalks were buried in soil, independent of fertilization treatment. Sludge significantly increased water-stable aggregates (up to 30%), but there was no difference in macroporosity (apparent pore diameter > 30 μm). Under irrigated calcareous soil, sewage sludge applied as fertilizer is a sustainable option, independent of the threshold criterion (N or P) used. Nevertheless, as the P threshold criterion allows for reduced P inputs, it is more sustainable over the long term.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
633 - Field crops and their production
Pages
13
Publisher
MDPI
Is part of
Sustainability
Citation
Camps-Sagué, Francesc, Bernat Lavaquiol, Àngela D. Bosch‐Serra, María Gabriela De Los Angeles Molina, and Francesc Domingo‐Olivé. 2024. “Sustainability Assessment After Twenty Years of Sewage Sludge Application on Calcareous Soil Following N or P Criterion.” Sustainability 16 (6): 2304. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16062304.
Grant agreement number
INIA/ /RTA2017-88-C3-3/ES/ /
Program
Cultius Extensius Sostenibles
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- ARTICLES CIENTÍFICS [2555]
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/