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Effect of using urban compost as manure on soil contents of some nutrients and heavy metals
Author(s) -
Cabrera Francisco,
Diaz Encarnación,
Madrid Luis
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.2740470203
Subject(s) - compost , nutrient , agronomy , sorghum , phosphorus , potassium , manure , chemistry , heavy metals , environmental science , zinc , environmental chemistry , biology , organic chemistry
The effect of adding annual doses of 14 000 kg ha −1 of urban compost to a soil is compared with the addition of 500 kg ha −1 of a 15–15–15 compound NPK fertiliser. Two rotation cycles of sorghum/wheat were carried out during the experiment, and the crop yields were not significantly affected by treatments. It is observed that compost added in the proportion used does not cause any statistically significant change in the initial level of available phosphorus in the soil, but causes an increase of the potassium potential. Soil total contents of copper and zinc as well as available levels of both metals show noticeable increases, but other metals are scarcely affected by the addition of compost. The results suggest that larger doses could be an important cause of pollution of the soil with heavy metals.