Transformation of a Landfill Covering Amended with Municipal Waste Compost, Perugia, Italy

Abstract

This research deals with the transformation of an anthropomorphous landfill covering composed of a fill soil mixed with mechanically separated municipal waste compost. The study site was a municipal landfill near Perugia, Italy. Throughout the years, waste disposal in the landfill was performed by burial in horizontal layers, each one representing a yearly disposal. The external front of the landfill thus represented the yearly disposal over a 10-yr period starting in 1993. Temporal changes in the anthropomorphous soil over this period were studied by examining and describing soil profiles, and by collecting and analyzing soil samples from the 1993, 1994, 1997, and 2001 disposals. The samples were subjected to a series of physical, chemical, and biochemical analyses. The results obtained suggest that over a 10-yr period the top layer gained a pedological structure (subangular blocky and/or crumb) giving rise to an A horizon. Improved soil structure was confirmed by an increase in macroporosity, particularly for pores larger than 50 microm, measured by image analysis of soil thin sections. Total extractable carbon showed an increase in the content of humic substances, evidenced by parameters of humification. Enzymatic activities in the A and C1 horizons were also indicative of soil evolution and may serve as a valid indicator for monitoring the evolution of anthropogenic soils containing municipal waste compost.

Pores Reconfiguration in Compacted Bernam Series Soil

“…Pores with diameters greater than 500 µm are useful for root penetration and water, as well as air movement (Pagliai et al, 1980;1983;Ferrini et al, 2005;Businelli et al, 2007). Most of the measured pore diameters ranged from 2-500 µm.…”

“…The proportion of pores ranging from 30-500 µm is considered the most important both in soilwater-plant relationship and in maintaining a good soil structure. Those larger than 500 µm are important for soil aeration and drainage and for root penetration (Pagliai et al, 1980;1983;Ferrini et al, 2005;Businelli et al, 2007).…”

Modifications of the structural characteristics of new soil forming on industrial waste colonized by woody plants

“…Compared with the vast amount of results on the chemical and biological aspects of phytoremediation, only scarce (Businelli et al, 2007) or rather vague references are available on the physical characteristics (Pulford and Watson, 2003;Clemente et al, 2006) and on the ability of physical properties to recover the original state (Scholz and Schnabel, 2006). This paper partially fills this gap in knowledge by providing quantitative information on how much and to what depth the original waste material was rendered practically indistinguishable from natural forest soil by the autochthonous vegetation developed at the same industrial disposal site.…”

“…They are widely used in soil physics (Pagliai and Vignozzi, 2003;Businelli et al, 2007) and have been used successfully in previous phytostabilization experiments (Rizzi et al, 2004a,b). The actual representation of the soil pore system can only be achieved through the use of undisturbed samples.…”

Organic matter dynamics in a compost‐amended anthropogenic landfill capping‐soil

“…Amendment of the superficial layer was carried out with an application ratio of 1:2 v/v (compost to excavation material) except for the oldest depositional layer (1993), in which a greater MWC application of 1:1 v/v was applied. Chemical properties of the substrates used as landfill capping‐materials are reported in Table 1, while more detailed pedological descriptions have been provided elsewhere (Businelli et al , 2007).…”