Successive sewage sludge fertilization: Recycling for sustainable agriculture

Abstract

Sewage sludge (SS) is widely used in agriculture in several countries around the world. However, the impact of successive applications of SS on soil and the risks of nutrient leaching are often neglected. In this study, corn was grown on a constructed wetland for four crop cycles (two years), in which the wetland was subjected to successive SS applications. The objective of this study was to evaluate how the successive applications of SS affect the availability and leaching of nutrients in the soil profile, after two years of cultivation. Experiments were performed using a randomized block design with repeated measurements in time, that is, soil was sampled in each harvest. Six treatments were tested: four fertilizations based on sewage sludge, resulting from biological and anaerobic treatment, calculated to provide 25 (SS25), 50 (SS50), 75 (SS75), and 100% (SS100), of the N required for corn production (140 kg ha−1); a mineral fertilization (NPK) (140 kg ha−1 N, 70 kg ha−1 of P2O5 and 40 kg ha−1 of K2O) and a control (without fertilization). The results showed that four consecutive applications of SS100 for two years caused significant accumulation of nutrients and organic matter in the superficial layers of the soil. The electrical conductivity and the concentration of NO3– in the soil solution were higher than those permitted by Brazilian legislation. The adoption of domestic SS in Brazilian agriculture can be a viable alternative in the search for an environment-friendly and economically feasible method for SS disposal.