Metabolic diversity in a soil amended with biosolids.

Author(s)

Elizabeth Barretto de Menezes Lopes

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Piracicaba. , gráficos, ilustrações, tabelas.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALA/BC)
• Defense date: 2002-01-21

Examining board members

Marcio Rodrigues Lambais; Elke Jurandy Bran Nogueira Cardoso; Tsai Siu Mui

• Advisor: Marcio Rodrigues Lambais
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy
• Indexed in: Banco de Dados Bibliográficos da USP-DEDALUS; Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações - USP
• Location: Universidade de São Paulo. Biblioteca Central da Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz; ESALQ-BC/t628.3; L864d; 78190

Abstract

The use of biosolids in agricultural and/or forestry soils has been an acceptable practice to dispose as well as to improve physical, chemical and biological soil properties. However, the impacts of biosolids application on microbial community structures and metabolic diversity in agricultural soils are relatively unknown. The aim of this work was to determine quantitative and qualitative alterations in the metabolic diversity of a clay soil upon treatment with biosolids. A clay soil was amended with the equivalent to 6, 12, 24 and 48 Mg ha-1 of biosolids from the City of Franca (SP) Sewage Treatment Plant. A control without biosolids was also used. Four repetitions per treatment were used, totalizing 20 sub-parcels. Sub-parcels were incubated for 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 weeks, after incorporating the biosolids, totaling 120 microcosms. After the incubation period, soil samples were collected to determine pH, Basal Respiration (BR), Substrate Induced Respiration (SIR), C-biomass, Metabolic Quotient (qCO2) and Metabolic Diversity. A transient increase in soil pH was observed in the treatments with the higher concentrations of biosolids, compared to the control without biosolids. After 16 weeks of incubation, the pH of soils with biosolids was lower than in the control without biosolids. The C-biomass also showed a transient increase in soils with biosolids at early time points, and did not statistically differ from the control at late time points. Transient increases in metabolic activities, based on BR, SIR and AWCD (Average Well Color Development), were observed in soils with the higher concentrations of biosolids at early time points. Higher values of qCO2 in soils with higher concentrations of biosolids at the earliest and latest time points suggests stressing conditions to the microbial community and alterations in microbial community structure. The utilization of C-substrates by the soil microbial community was greatly affected by the concentration of biosolids added and by the incubation time. Higher values of Substrate Richness (S) and Metabolic Diversity (H) in the soils with the higher concentrations of biosolids at early time points indicate that biosolids stimulate the activity of soil microorganisms and contribute with new activities. The similarities between the C-sources utilization profiles in the soil amended with biosolids and the control were lower in soils with the higher concentrations of biosolids. The similarities of C-source utilization profiles in the soils with biosolids and the control increased during the incubation time. Soils amended with the higher concentrations of biosolids showed metabolic activities not observed in the control soil at the early time points. The ability to use several C-sources was lost at the latest time point. In general, the results suggest that the incorporation of biosolids to the clay soil disturbs soil microbial physiology and that the successive application of biosolids to the soil may significantly alter the soil metabolic activities. (AU)