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Contribution of sewage sludge to erosion control in the rehabilitation of limestone quarries
Author(s) -
Sort X.,
Alcañiz J. M.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
land degradation and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1099-145X
pISSN - 1085-3278
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-145x(199603)7:1<69::aid-ldr217>3.0.co;2-2
Subject(s) - environmental science , erosion , infiltration (hvac) , sewage sludge , hydrology (agriculture) , erosion control , vegetation (pathology) , soil science , environmental engineering , sewage treatment , geology , geotechnical engineering , geography , medicine , paleontology , pathology , meteorology
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of high doses of municipal sludge on soil aggregation and to assess its value for soil erosion reduction, both under natural and in simulated rainfall conditions. Doses of 200 and 400 Mg ha −1 sewage sludge (dry weight) were applied to the soil of experimental plots situated on a 28 degree slope. Two sludge application procedures were tested: pre‐mixing into the soil before disposal on the slope, and direct application on the soil surface. Sheet erosion was measured by collecting the sediment carried down to a Gerlach trough situated at the base of the plots. Simulated rainfall, with an intensity of 64 mm h −1 , was applied to evaluate soil erodibility. When the soil had no vegetation, the erosion measured on plots treated with sludge represented less than 10 per cent of the erosion from the control plot. Even when the vegetation was well developed, the erosion was also lower in the plots where sludge had been applied. In simulated rainfall, the soil loss was inversely proportional to the sludge dose, and when sludge was applied directly on the soil surface the erosion rates and particle mobilization caused by raindrop impact were minimal. Sludge amendments increase infiltration rates and improve soil structure, increasing the mean weight diameter of aggregates and their water resistance.