Content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil in a multi-annual fertilisation regime

Abstract

The study assessed changes in the total 16 PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) content of soil which occurred in 1998–2009, during a multi-annual, manure-mineral and mineral fertilisation experiment, carried out in Bałcyny near Ostróda (Poland), according to a design unchanged since 1986 The study focused on the impact of multi-annual, diversified mineral fertilisation (N, P, K, Mg and Ca) compared to manure applied every two years at a dose of 40 t/ha. The four plants used in the crop rotation included sugar beet, spring barley, maize and spring wheat. The content of the total 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was significantly higher in the manure-fertilised soil than in the soil fertilised with mineral fertilisers only. Under the regular manure fertilisation conditions, liming of the soil significantly increased the total 16 PAH content, and the lowest dose of nitrogen significantly decreased its PAH content. The lowest nitrogen dose had an opposite effect in the soil fertilised with mineral fertilisers only, where it caused a significant increase in the content of the PAHs. However, the increased doses of nitrogen also resulted in an increase in the PAH content in the soil fertilised with manure and without this fertiliser.

Bioremediation of Agriculture Soil Contaminated by Organic Pollutants

“…It can be concluded that nitrogen deficiency in the soil increases the degradation of PAHs compared to the addition of Spill-Sorb alone. A similar observation was also found by MaCkiewicz-Walec [20] and Acuña et al [5]. The incorrect dosage of applied nitrogen may lead to an inappropriate effect of the degradation of organic pollutants.…”

“…Another very common method is the application of nitrogen fertilization to contaminated soils. Nitrogen improves the efficiency of organic pollutant degradation by serving as an initiator for oildestroying microorganisms [2,20]. Nitrogen as an essential nutrient maintains the microbial population in the soil and consequently increases the rate of hydrocarbon degradation [17].…”

Validation of a Method Scope Extension for the Analysis of POPs in Soil and Verification in Organic and Conventional Farms of the Canary Islands

“…Something similar occurred in our series with PAHs; although they were frequently detected, this was mainly due to the high sensitivity of the analytical method, because the concentrations detected were very low (mean ∑PAHs = 2.9 ± 7.2 ng g −1 , median = 0.0 ng g −1 ). These concentrations are considerably lower than those reported in highly industrialized countries or regions, in the order of 70 [63] to 50,000 times [64] lower. However, the levels of two contaminants (p,p'-DDE and p,p'-DDD) did attract our attention, not so much because of the frequency of detection, which was similar to that reported in other studies (>70% of the samples), but because of the high concentrations detected.…”

“…Something similar occurred in our series with PAHs; although they were frequently detected, this was mainly due to the high sensitivity of the analytical method, because the concentrations detected were very low (mean ∑PAHs = 2.9 ± 7.2 ng g −1 , median = 0.0 ng g −1 ). These concentrations are considerably lower than those reported in highly industrialized countries or regions, in the order of 70 [ 63 ] to 50,000 times [ 64 ] lower.…”

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Soil at Different Depths under a Long-Term Experiment Depending on Fertilization

“…Long-term studies on changes in the PAH content in agricultural soils as a function of long-term fertilization in an unchanged system, both with mineral fertilizers and in combination with manure, are very scarce in the literature. The previously published findings by Krzebietke et al [ 18 ] and Mackiewicz-Walec and Krzebietke [ 19 ] confirmed that manure was also a source of PAHs, especially in an area with a relatively low PAH contamination from air pollutants accumulating in the dust and eventually depositing on the soil surface [ 20 ]. Most studies, mainly of a monitoring nature, concern the impact of large urban agglomerations on the contamination of neighboring soils [ 21 , 22 , 23 ] or the management of waste containing PAHs.…”