Sewage sludges contain high levels of organic N. If these residues are applied in excess to soils, there is the risk of polluting the groundwater with nitrate, a product of N mineralization. For this reason, one of the criteria underlying the determination of the maximum N application rate to soils is the crop available N. This paper presents the results of a 224 day laboratory leaching study on organic N mineralization of anaerobically-digested sewage sludges from two treatment plants, namely Franca […]

In agricultural systems treated with sewage sludge, the management ought to seek an adequate N supply to plants, while avoiding nitrate enrichment because of its potential to pollute subsurface water bodies. Thus, when determining the maximum amounts to be applied to a specific crop, some sewage sludge and soil properties should be known. One is the fraction of organic N of the waste that will be mineralized (NMF) during the crop cycle. This quantity, combined with mineral N in the […]

The high organic matter content in sewage sludge is one of the reasons for its utilization as soil amendment. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of consecutive sewage sludge applications on the amounts of carbon, total and mineral nitrogen, pH, and bulk density in a Latossol. Two soil layers (0-0,1 and 0,2-0,4 m) were evaluated after three corn cultivations in Jaguariúna (São Paulo State, Brazil), between 1999 and 2001. The treatments consisted of three consecutive applications of two sewage […]