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Article Dans Une Revue Applied Soil Ecology Année : 2019

Response of phosphorus dynamics to sewage sludge application in an agroecosystem in northern France

Résumé

Sewage sludge is a phosphorus (P) source alternative to P fertiliser derived from rock phosphate, but its impact on soil processes driving P cycling in agroecosystems requires further study. In order to optimise the use of sludge for sustainable P fertilisation, we need to elucidate the drivers of P dynamics. The present study aims at determining how different sludges (heated sludge, HS and composted sludge, CS) affect soil P pools and dynamics. A field experiment was established and soil was amended either with sludge or with inorganic P (triple superphosphate, TSP). Soil samples were collected five times during a vegetation period, and analysed for Hedley P fractions, microbial P and phosphatase activity. Phosphorus dynamics in soil was strongly influenced by P concentrations in sludge. About one year after application, sludge with the highest P concentration (HS) was as effective as TSP to improve soil P availability. The P source of TSP was immediately available for plant uptake, but the high phosphatase activity of the HS treatment evidenced that soil microorganisms released phosphatases which can hydrolyse HS-derived organic P compounds. In addition, the high content of microbial P in the HS treatment suggests that soil microorganisms assimilate P into their own biomass. By contrast, sludge with the lowest P concentration (CS) enriched primarily the weakly-soluble soil P fractions, resulting in lower P availability compared with that in the TSP treatment. Our findings suggest that both high P concentration and slow, but continuous microbial breakdown of organic P substrates derived from HS allow using this resource as an important source for plant mineral nutrition. This study stresses the need to both characterise P concentrations and P forms in sludge, prior to their application in the field.
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Dates et versions

hal-02176387 , version 1 (08-07-2019)

Identifiants

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David Houben, Etienne Michel, Cécile Nobile, Hans Lambers, Ellen E. Kandeler, et al.. Response of phosphorus dynamics to sewage sludge application in an agroecosystem in northern France. Applied Soil Ecology, 2019, 137, pp.178-186. ⟨10.1016/j.apsoil.2019.02.017⟩. ⟨hal-02176387⟩
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