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Influence of Plant Growth on Degradation of Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate in Sludge‐Amended Soil
Author(s) -
Mortensen G.K.,
Egsgaard H.,
Ambus P.,
Jensen E.S.,
Gr⊘n C.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq2001.3041266x
Subject(s) - hordeum vulgare , daucus carota , chemistry , agronomy , sewage sludge , brassica , soil water , greenhouse , sewage , horticulture , poaceae , environmental science , biology , environmental engineering , soil science
Widespread application of sewage sludge to agricultural soils in Denmark has led to concern about the possible accumulation and effects of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) in the soil ecosystem. Therefore, we have studied the uptake and degradation of LAS in greenhouse pot experiments. Sewage sludge was incorporated into a sandy soil to give a range from very low to very high applications (0.4 to 90 Mg dry wt. ha −1 ). In addition, LAS was added as water solutions. The soil was transferred to pots and sown with barley ( Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Apex), rape ( Brassica napus L. cv. Hyola 401), or carrot ( Daucus carota L.). Also, plant‐free controls were established. For all additions there was no plant uptake above the detection limit at 0.5 mg LAS kg −1 d.w, but plant growth stimulated the degradation. With a growth period of 30 d, LAS concentrations in soil from pots with rape had dropped from 27 to 1.4 mg kg −1 dry wt., but in plant‐free pots the concentration decreased only to 2.4 mg kg −1 dry wt. When LAS was added as a spike, the final concentration in soil from planted pots was 0.7 mg kg −1 dry wt., but in pots without plants the final concentration was much higher (2.5 mg kg −1 dry wt.). During degradation, the relative fraction of homologues C10, C11, and C12 decreased, while C13 increased.