An assessment of the guidelines in Victoria, Australia, for land application of biosolids based on plant-available nitrogen

Abstract

In the application of biosolids to land for agricultural purposes, the supply of plant-available nitrogen (PAN) should match the crop requirements. This ensures that the crop yield is maximised while minimising the environmental risk from over-application. In Victoria, the amount to be applied is usually calculated according to the State EPA guidelines using the nitrogen limited biosolids application rates (NLBAR). These guidelines specify the mineralisation rates to be used in the NLBAR calculation for different types of biosolids. However, these rates have not been validated for Victorian soils and agricultural production systems. To test the veracity of these rates, this study quantified the amount of PAN for two different biosolids (anaerobically digested biosolids, ANDB; and aerobically digested biosolids, ADB) added to two types of soils, a sandy loam at Lara and a clay loam at the Melton Recycled Water Plant, Surbiton Park, Melton. The PAN was calculated by determining the N fertiliser equivalence of the biosolids. To achieve this, two field calibration plots were prepared, one for the biosolids and one for urea as the N fertiliser. Biosolids were applied based on total N at six rates (0, 68, 136, 204, 340 and 510 kg N ha–1); urea was applied at six rates (0, 60, 120, 180, 240 and 280 kg N ha–1). Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) was planted 1 day after the application of biosolids and harvested after 120 days. The calculated amount of mineralisable organic N in ANDB was estimated to be 41% and 39% when applied to the clay loam and sandy loam soils, respectively; for ADB, it was 12% and 9%, respectively. These values indicate that the organic N mineralisation rates provided in the EPA Victoria guidelines (15% for ANDB and 25% for ADB) might not always be applicable. Also of note is that the values obtained for the each of the biosolids appear to be independent of the soil type.