Summary
Published in Canadian Journal of Soil Science 95: 187-199. https://doi.org/10.4141/CJSS-2014-048
After 16 to 19 yr, we revisited four experimental trials set up in the early 1990s to evaluate the long-term impact of municipal biosolids applied in forest plantations. Tree growth and the soil were sampled to determine the effects of a single application of biosolids applied at (liquid equivalent) rates of 0, 130, 200, and 400 m3 ha-1. Tree radial growth responded markedly to biosolids in the young plantations, increasing from 18% for Pinus resinosa to 62% for Picea glauca, and up to 700% for Quercus sp. Increases in phosphorus (P) concentrations in the tree foliage in response to biosolids could still be detected in the conifer trials. In the top 0-5 cm soil layer, organic carbon (C), total nitrogen (N), P, and copper (Cu) concentrations and pools increased, while soil compaction and bulk density decreased. In the deepest soil layer sampled (20-40 cm depth), the total N and calcium (Ca) pools were reduced by the biosolids treatments, while the pool of exchangeable acidity increased. Our observations indicate that a single application of liquid biosolids up to 400 m3 ha-1 (30 t ha-1 DM) in young forest plantations is a sustainable practice without undue risk to such podzolic soils.
Sector(s):
Forests
Categorie(s):
Scientific Article
Theme(s):
Ecosystems and Environment, Forestry Research, Forests
Departmental author(s):
Author(s)
OUIMET, Rock, Anne-Pascale PION and Marc HÉBERT
Year of publication :
2015
Format :
PDF available upon request
How to get the publication :
Keywords :
biosolides municipaux, bilan de masse pédologique, matière organique du sol, plantation forestière, écosystèmes et environnement, podzols, article scientifique de recherche forestière, ecosystems and environment, municipal biosolids, forest plantation, pedological mass balance, soil organic matter
