The Use of Macroelements from Municipal Sewage Sludge by the Multiflora Rose and the Virginia fanpetals

Abstract

Municipal sewage sludge contains many valuable nutrients which can be used in the cultivation of energy crops. Application of large doses of sewage sludge can be a cause of environmental pollution, especially with nutrients. The multiflora rose and the Virginia fanpetals are plants with high nutritional requirements. The use of municipal sewage sludge in the cultivation of energy crops will allow recycling the nutrients from this organic waste. The aim of the study was to evaluate the use of macroelements from municipal sewage sludge by the multiflora rose var. "Jatar" (Rosa multiflora Thunb. ex Murray) and the Virginia fanpetals (Sida hermaphrodita Rusby). Four levels of sewage sludge fertilization were applied in the 6-year field experiment: 0, 10, 20, 40, 60 Mg DM sludge • ha-1. Sewage sludge was applied once before planting energy crops. Due to the low potassium content in sewage sludge, a single supplementary fertilization with 100 kg K • ha-1 in the form of 40% potassium salt (KCl) was applied on each plot. The study involved the evaluation of the yield, uptake and use by energy plants of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and Na from sewage sludge. It was found that the increasing doses of sewage sludge significantly raised the multiflora rose and the Virginia fanpetals biomass yields. The yield of the Virginia fanpetals was one and a half times higher than that of the multiflora rose. The increasing doses of sewage sludge significantly raised the contents and uptake of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and Na by these plants. The highest uptake of macronutrients by the multiflora rose and the Virginia fanpetals crops was determined for 60 Mg DM • ha-1 fertilization dose. The results show that the Virginia fanpetals used N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and Na from the sewage sludge to a greater extent than the multiflora rose. The analyses indicate that due to the greater yields, bioaccumulation and uptake of macronutrients, Virginia fanpetals is more effective in the 'purification' of the substrate from excess nutrients that may pose a threat to the environment.

The possibility of using sewage sludge for energy crop cultivation exemplified by reed canary grass and giant miscanthus

“…Our research revealed that the lower the dose of sewage sludge, the lower the uptake of macronutrients with the yield of reed canary grass and giant miscanthus biomass. The lower amount of macronutrients uptaken results from the amount of yield and the 'dilution effect' of these nutrients in the plant biomass, which finds confirmation in other studies (Antonkiewicz et al 2018, Berglund et al 2019, Biel et al 2017. The study by Berglund et al (2019) also confirms that reed canary grass utilizes macronutrients well and, compared to other species of grasses, it takes up more of them with the yield compared to the amounts introduced with fertilizers.…”

“…Only available forms of these nutrients can be taken up by plants (Tkaczyk et al 2017, Symanowicz et al 2018 in the authors' own research presumably resulted from the lower yield, and thereby from a higher 'concentration' of nutrients in the plant biomass. Other authors' studies confirm that plants with higher yields are characterized by the 'dilution effect', hence the lower content of the analyzed elements in the plant biomass can be explained (Antonkiewicz et al 2018, Pogrzeba et al 2018, Witkowicz et al 2015. The value of the concentration index (CI) indicates that reed canary grass took up Na and Ca from sewage sludge more intensely.…”

“…Apart from heavy metals, municipal sewage sludge constitutes a potential source of macronutrients for crops, particularly for energy crops with high nutrient requirements (Antonkiewicz et al 2018, Kiciñska and Mamak 2017, Ozdemir et al 2018. The study by Ozdemir et al (2018) confirms that sewage sludge applied under energy crops caused an increase in the content of macronutrients in the plant biomass.…”

“…An important part of rational use of sewage sludge is optimal utilization of macronutrients from this waste introduced to soil (Huygens and Saveyn 2018;Saletnik et al 2018). The research shows that, compared to the multiflora rose and the Virginia fanpetals, reed canary grass and giant miscanthus utilized macronutrients more (Antonkiewicz et al 2018). The higher utilization of Na, K and Ca by the plants indicates that reed canary grass and giant miscanthus can be used for remediation of saline soils, which finds confirmation in other studies (Loser and Zehnsdorf 2002).…”

Mineral nitrogen content in hydrographic areas of Poland depending on land use

“…Detailed information put into agrophysical models may constitute a new quality in research on how crop production will change in the conditions of a changing climate (Pirttioja et al, 2015;Fronzek et al, 2018) and how different cultivation and fertilization methods will impact this production . The balance of NPK also depends on the root system of the plant species and the level of mineral and organic fertilization (Antonkiewicz et al, 2018;Watros et al, 2018). The content of mineral nitrogen in the soil is also impacted by the biological activity of the soil, which in turn may be influenced by soil moisture (Wnuk et al, 2017) or N fertilization (Walkiewicz et al, 2018), and by atmospheric conditions.…”