Abstract
Repeated applications of organic waste products (OWP) are a source of trace elements (TE) inputs to agricultural topsoils. The present study aimed at (i) assessing the effects of repeated OWP inputs on the chemical properties of topsoils in two long-term field experiments (13 and 15 years; calcareous and non-calcareous soils), (ii) evaluating TE phytoavailability and their transfer to grain (winter wheat and maize) and (iii) identifying the underlying factors causing alterations of TE phytoavailability. In both field experiments, receiving compliant or slightly high doses of OWP in compliance with regulations, OWP and soil physicochemical properties and TE concentrations in soils and grains were determined. In situ phytoavailability of TE was assessed at two juvenile crop growth stages by analyzing TE concentrations in shoot plantlets. Depending on the OWP input amount, results showed that compared to the soil receiving no organic amendment, repeated OWP inputs significantly increased soil organic carbon content, pH, cation exchange capacity, total soil Cu, Mo and Zn concentration and the phytoavailability of Mo, while the phytoavailability of Cd, Mn, Ni and Tl was significantly reduced. No notable effect was observed for Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn phytoavailability. Statistical approaches suggested that due to the repeated OWP applications, increased soil organic carbon content and pH, were likely responsible for decreased TE phytoavailability (e.g., Cd).
Highlights
In the perspective of circular economy, the recycling of residual organic matter and nutrients should be generalized [1]
The nine organic waste products (OWP) treatments applied in QualiAgro and PROspective field experiments differed in their physicochemical properties
The highest pH was found for farmyard manure (FYM), compost of farmyard manure (CFYM) and compost of biowastes (BIOW), while the lowest was found in sewage sludge (SLU), compost of green waste and sewage sludge (GWS) and compost of residual municipal solid waste (MSW)
Summary
In the perspective of circular economy, the recycling of residual organic matter and nutrients should be generalized [1]. Soil organic matter (OM), cation exchange capacity (CEC), clay and Fe/Mn hydroxides are considered as important soil factors governing TE mobility/availability, and the TE chemical speciation in soil and soil-solution [17,21,24,25,26,27] These properties can be altered by OWP application, especially. A number of studies have examined the role of OWP, especially sewage sludge, as a source of TE contamination of soil, but only limited works reported the beneficial effect of organic amendments as a way for reducing TE mobility in soils [22] These studies focused mostly on contaminated soils [28,29], but rarely on uncontaminated agricultural soils at the field scale [12,30]. Is located within the Plateau des Alluets (Yvelines, France), on a silt loam Luvisol, according
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