Source-separated municipal solid waste compost application to Swiss chard and basil

• Published in: Journal of environmental quality 2004-03, Vol.33 (2), p.542-552
• Main Authors: Zheljazkov, V.D, Warman, P.R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Applied sciences; basil; Beta; Beta vulgaris; Beta vulgaris - chemistry; bioaccumulation; Bioavailability; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Availability; Cadmium; chard; chemical concentration; chemical constituents of plants; Chromium; Composting; Composts; Copper; Crops; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics; Essential oils; Exact sciences and technology; Exchange; Flowering; fractionation; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Heavy metal content; Heavy metals; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Lead; Lead (metal); Magnesium; Manganese; Metals, Heavy - pharmacokinetics; MSW composts; Municipal solid waste; Nickel; Ocimum basilicum; Ocimum basilicum - chemistry; Plants (organisms); Pollution; Pollution, environment geology; Power plants; Refuse Disposal; Resistivity; Sandy loam; sandy loam soils; Sandy soils; Sewage - chemistry; Soil (material); Soil amendment; soil amendments; Soil conditioners; Soil pH; Soil Pollutants - pharmacokinetics; soil pollution; Soils; Solid wastes; Swiss chard; trace elements; Trace Elements - pharmacokinetics; Zinc
• ISSN: 0047-2425; 1537-2537; 1537-2537
• DOI: 10.2134/jeq2004.0542

A growth room experiment was conducted to evaluate the bioavailability of Cu, Mn, Zn, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, P, S, As, B, Cd, Co, Cr, Hg, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, and Se from a sandy loam soil amended with source-separated municipal solid waste (SSMSW) compost. Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) and Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L.) were amended with 0, 20, 40, and 60% SSMSW compost to soil (by volume) mixture. Soils and compost were sequentially extracted to fractionate Cu, Pb, and Zn into exchangeable (EXCH), iron- and manganese-oxide-bound (FeMnOX), organic-matter (OM), and structurally bound (SB) forms. Overall, in both species, the proportion of Cu, Pb, and Zn levels in different fractions followed the sequence: SB > OM >> FeMnOX > EXCH for Cu; FeMnOX = SB > OM > EXCH for Pb; and FeMnOX > SB = EXCH >> OM for Zn. Application of SSMSW compost increased soil pH and electrical conductivity (EC), and increased the concentration of Cu, Pb, and Zn in all fractions, but not EXCH Pb. Basil yields were greatest in the 20% treatment, but Swiss chard yields were greater in all compost-amended soils relative to the unamended soil. Basil plants in 20 or 40% compost treatments reached flowering earlier than plants from other treatments. Additions of SSMSW compost to soil altered basil essential oil, but basil oil was free of metals. The results from this study suggest that mature SSMSW compost with concentrations of Cu, Pb, Mo, and Zn of 311, 223, 17, and 767 mg/kg, respectively, could be used as a soil conditioner without phytotoxic effects on agricultural crops and without increasing the normal range of Cu, Pb, and Zn in crop tissue. However, the long-term effect of the accumulation of heavy metals in soils needs to be carefully considered.