Abstract
The objective of the investigation was to determine the effectsof sewage sludge application on nutrient concentrations in soil and plant biomass fractions in Scots pine forests (Pinus sylvestris, L.), situated on sandy soils with low pH, in a south to north temperature gradient in Sweden. Twenty tons dw ha-1 of sewage sludge was applied in 50 to 60 yr old pine forests at foursites from Brösarp in South Sweden to Jukkasjärvi in thenorthern parts of the country.Application of 20 ton dw ha-1 of sewage sludge significantlyincreased the concentrations of extractable N, P, K, Ca, Mg and Na, in both the mor layer and in the upper 10 cm of the mineral soil. Three years after sludge application K concentrations were only significantly increased in the upper 10 cm of the mineral soil. After 11 yr the concentrations of P were still at the samelevel in the mor layer as after three years. The concentrations of Ca, Mg and Na had slightly decreased only in the mor layer. There was, in most cases, a statistically significant positive correlation between the amount of applied sludge and nutrientconcentrations in the soil, as well as in pine needles and in leaves of Vaccinium vitis-idaea.In all sites, Mg concentrations in the mor layer was positivelyand significantly correlated with Mg concentrations in current-year pine needles. Similarly, concentrations of Ca, Mg,and P in the mor layer were correlated with concentrations of these elements in current-year shorts of Vaccinium vitis-idaea.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Balsberg, A. M. (ed.): 1975, Handledning I Kemiska Metoder vid Växtekologiska Arbeten. Meddelanden Avdelningen för Ekologisk Botanik, Lunds Universitet, 3(2), 1–95.
Bergkvist, B.: 1986, 'Leaching of Metals from a Spruce Forest Soil as Influenced by Experimental Acidification', Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 31, 901–916.
Bramryd, T.: 1994a, 'Effects of Sewage Sludge Application on Tree Productivity in Boreal Pine (Pinus Sylvestris, L.) Forests. In: Effects on Growth and Nutrition After Sewage Sludge Application in Acid Pine Forests (Pinus Sylvestris, L.) in a Temperature Gradient in Sweden', Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Lund, Sweden.
Bramryd, T.: 1994b, 'Nitrogen Mineralization after Sewage Sludge Application in Boreal Pine Forests (Pinus Sylvestris, L.) in Sweden. In: Effects on Growth and Nutrition After Sewage Sludge Application in Acid Pine Forests (Pinus Sylvestris, L.) in a Temperature Gradient in Sweden', Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Lund, Sweden.
Bremner, J. M.: 1965, 'Total Nitrogen', in C. A. Black (ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 2, American Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wisconsin, pp. 1149–1178.
Brockway, D. G.: 1983, 'Forest Floor, Soil, and Vegetation Responses to Sludge Fertilization in Red and White Pine Plantations', Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 47, 776–784.
Chang, A. C. and Page, A. L.: 1983, 'Hydrologic Management: Trace Metals', in A. L. Page, T. L. Gleason III, J. E. Smith Jr., I. K. Iskander and L. E. Sommers (eds), Proceedings of the 1983 Workshop on Utilization of Municipal Wastewater and Sludge on Land, University of California, Riverside, pp. 107–124.
Furrer, O. J. and Bollinger, R.: 1981, 'Phosphorus Contents of Sludge from Swiss Sewage Treatment Plants, 91–98', in T. W. G. Hucker and G. Catroux (eds), Phosphorus in Sewage Sludge and Animal Waste Slurries, Reidel Publishing Company, 443 pp.
Ingestad, T.: 1979, 'Mineral Nutrition Requirements of Pinus Sylvestris and Picea Abies Seedlings', Physiol. Plant. 45, 373–380.
Kirkham, M. B.: 1974, 'Disposal of Sludge on Land. Effect on Soils', Plant and Ground Water. Compost Sci. 15, 6–10.
Mckim, H. L., Sopper, D. W., Cole, D. W., Nutter, W. L., Urie, D. H., Schiess, P., Kerr, S. N. and Farquhar, H.: 1982, Waste Water Application in Forest Ecosystems, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory Report 82–19. Hanover, New Hampshire.
Mclaughlin, S. B.: 1984, 'Land Application of Sewage Sludge: Phosphorus Considerations', South African J. Plant Soil 1, 21–29.
Mengel, K. and Kirby, E. A.: 1982, Principles of Plant Nutrition, 3rd ed., Int. Potash Inst., Bern, Switzerland, 655 pp.
Myers, R. J. K. and Mcgarity, J. W.: 1971, 'Factors Influencing High Denitrifying Activity in the Subsoil of Solodized Solonetz', Plant and Soil 35, 145–160.
Sokal, R. R. and Rohlf, F. J.: 1981, Biometry. The Principles and Practice of Statistics in Biological Research, W. H Freeman and Co, New York, 859 pp.
Sommers, L. E.: 1977, 'Chemical Composition of Sewage Sludges and Analysis of Their Potential Use as Fertilizers', J. Environ. Qual. 6, 225–232.
Terry, R. E., Nelson, D. W. and Sommers, L. E.: 1979, 'Carbon Cycling During Sewage Sludge Decomposition in Soils', Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 43, 494–499.
Wells, C.G., Mcleod, K.W., Murphy, C.E., Jensen, J.R., Corey, W.H., Mckee, W.H.and Christensen, E. J.: 1984, 'Response of Lobolly Pine Plantations To Two Sources of Sewage. Sludge', in 1984 TAPPI Research and Development Conference, Appleton, Wisconsin, Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry, Technology Park, Atlanta, Georgia, pp. 85–94.
Williams, E. G.: 1959, 'Influences of Parent Material and Drainage Conditions on Soil Phosphorus Relationships', Agrochimica 3, 279.
Williams, J. J. and Coker, E. G.: 1981, 'Phosphorus in Sewage Sludge an its Behavior in Soil', pp. 291–308, in T. W. G. Hucker and G. Catroux (eds), Phosphorus in Sewage Sludge and Animal Waste Slurries, Reidel Publishing Company, 443 pp.
Zasoski, R. J., Cole, D. W. and Bledsoe, C. S.: 1983, 'Municipal Sewage Sludge Use in Forests of the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A. Growth Responses', Waste Manage. Resear. 1, 103–114.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bramryd, T. Impact of Sewage Sludge Application on the Long-Term Nutrient Balance in Acid Soils of Scots Pine (Pinus Sylvestris, L.) Forests. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 140, 381–399 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020142311652
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020142311652