Effect of biosolids compost on two NSW coastal soils used to grow vegetables

Soil Research ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 761 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Sarooshi ◽  
G. C. Cresswell ◽  
L. Tesoriero ◽  
P. J. Milham ◽  
I. Barchia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
Nutrient Status ◽  
Exchange Capacity ◽  
Nutrient Loss ◽  
Vegetable Production ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Coastal Soils ◽  
C And N ◽  
Initial Difference ◽  
Biosolids Compost

The study compares the effects of biosolids compost (BC) and inorganic fertiliser (IF) on the nutrient status of a clay loam at Rydalmere in Western Sydney, and an earthy sand at Somersby, 85 km north of Sydney. The soils represent the textural range used for vegetable production in the Sydney Basin of New South Wales. The soils had been under permanent sod (Rydalmere) or native vegetation (Somersby) for at 40 years prior to the experiment. There were 3 treatments during February 1994: IF, fallow (F), and BC. The same plots were treated again during September 1994 to give the combinations: IF followed by IF (IF + IF); F by BC (F + BC); BC by BC (BC + BC). The 4 replicates of each treatment were randomised in blocks. Treatments were incorporated into raised beds to a depth of 15 cm and vegetables were planted in March and again in October 1994. The total amounts of C and N initially present in the soil in the beds (0-15 cm) at Rydalmere were at least 3 times greater than at Somersby and the ratio was greater for S, P, Ca, Mg, K, and Na. By April 1995, the quantities of the 8 monitored nutrients had decreased at both sites for the IF + IF treatment; increased at Somersby, but not at Rydalmere for F + BC; and increased at both sites for the BC + BC treatment. The changes caused by the BC + BC treatment were greater in relative terms at Somersby, because of the initial difference in fertility between the 2 soils. For example, the C and N content increased by an approximate factor of 2 at Somersby, and by greater factors for the other elements. BC + BC was also the only treatment to increase other indices of fertility, such as effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) and Bray-P, in the surface 15 cm. The treatments did not affect pH in the soil profile (0-50 cm) and increases in EC were ephemeral. The nutrient composition of the 20-30 cm zone was affected at both sites. By the end of the experiment the concentration of C, N, P, Ca, and Bray-P increased and Mg decreased. For C and N between-treatment differences were small, indicating that the observed effects were mostly caused by leaching of the products of mineralisation of soil organic matter. Treatment effects were larger for P, Ca, Mg, and Bray-P, and the final concentrations for the F + BC and BC + BC treatments exceeded those for the IF + IF treatment. At Somersby, both BC treatments increased ECEC, consistent with the importance of leaching as a process of nutrient loss at this site. Consequently, intensive vegetable cropping may pose serious environmental risks particularly on sandy sites.

Acidification of soils on a transect from plains to slopes, south western New-South-Wales

Soil Research ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 539 ◽  
Author(s):  
CJ Chartres ◽  
RW Cumming ◽  
JA Beattie ◽  
GM Bowman ◽  
JT Wood
Keyword(s):  
Cation Exchange ◽  
Soil Acidification ◽  
Cation Exchange Capacity ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
New South ◽  
Exchange Capacity ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
The West ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Red Earth

Samples were collected from unimproved road reserves and adjacent paddocks on a 90 km transect crossing red-brown earth soils in the west and red earth soils in the east. Measurements of pH in water and CaCl2 indicated that the red earths have been acidified by approximately 0.5 pH units over the last 30-40 years. Small increases in CaCl2-extractable A1 were also recorded for the acidified red earths. The red-brown earths do not appear to have been markedly affected by soil acidification to date. Clay mineralogical data and measurements of cation exchange capacity of the <2 �m fraction indicate that red-brown earths are better buffered against acidification than red earths. However, small differences in management practices and rainfall along the transect may also be partially responsible for differences in acidification between soil types.

The nutrient status and cultivation practices of the soils of the North-West wheat belt of NSW.

1954 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 422 ◽  
Author(s):  
EG Hallsworth ◽  
FR Gibbons ◽  
TH Lemerle
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
New South ◽  
Nutrient Status ◽  
North West ◽  
Nitrogen Levels ◽  
The North ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Cultivation Practices ◽  
North Western ◽  
Available Phosphate

A study has been made of the nitrogen, organic carbon, phosphate, and pH levels of the wheat soils of north-western New South Wales, and the cultivation practices adopted. They are found generally to be high in both total and available phosphate, and particularly high figures for available phosphate, over 1000 p.p.m., were found in limited areas. The nitrogen levels of the virgin chernozemic soils are distinctly higher than those of the red-brown earths and red solodic soils, but soils of all groups show a decline with cultivation, which is most rapid in the first 10 years. The introduction of periods under lucerne raises the nitrogen level, but the wheat/grazed fallow or wheat/grazing oats appear to cause the same nitrogen losses as are encountered under continuous wheat, in spite of the prevalence of stubble burning which inevitably accompanies this practice. The average yields of wheat on the chernozemic soils are distinctly higher than those obtained on the red-brown earths and red solodic soils, on some of which nitrogen appears to be limiting.

The assessment of available manganese and aluminium status in acid soils under subterranean clover pastures of various ages

1983 ◽  
Vol 23 (121) ◽  
pp. 192 ◽  
Author(s):  
SM Bromfield ◽  
RW Cumming ◽  
DJ David ◽  
CH Williams
Keyword(s):  
Ammonium Acetate ◽  
New South ◽  
Acid Soils ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Exchange Capacity ◽  
Manganese Toxicity ◽  
Manganese Concentration ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Yield Responses ◽  
Practical Measure

Three methods of estimating available manganese and aluminium status in acid soils were compared on three groups of soils from the Pejar district near Goulburn, New South Wales in which differences in pH had been brought about by different periods under subterranean clover pasture. Managanese extracted by 0.01 M calcium chloride gave the best correlation with the manganese concentration in rape and subterranean clover grown in pot culture, and provided the best index of available manganese. Soil solution manganese was inferior to CaCl2-extractable manganese and was more difficult to determine. Extraction with neutral ammonium acetate was unsatisfactory because this reagent overestimated available forms of manganese in soils containing high levels of reactive manganese. Aluminium extracted by 0.01 M CaCl2 was well correlated with exchangeable aluminium and with percentage aluminium saturation of the effective cation exchange capacity. None of the three measures of aluminium status alone was an effective index for predicting lime response by rape on these soils because both manganese and aluminium status were involved in this response. These three parameters were equally effective in multiple regressions for yield responses of rape to lime. Because of its relative ease of determination, CaCl2 extraction is preferred as a practical measure of aluminium status. Aluminium interacted with and increased the toxic effects of manganese in rape. Thus CaCl2-extractable manganese alone only provided a satisfactory index of a 'critical' value for manganese toxicity in rape for soils low in available aluminium. Subterranean clover was only slightly affected by aluminium and manganese levels in these soils, and manganese toxicity symptoms were only observed on soils containing 50 ppm or more CaCl2-extractable manganese. Nodulation failure in pots occurred in all soils with pH below 5.2 (water) or below 4.3 in CaCl2, whereas nodulation was normal when these soils were treated with CaCO3 to raise the pH to 5.8-6.0 (water). With one exception nodulation appeared adequate at field sites from which soils showing nodulation failure in the glasshouse had been collected.

Fertility and productivity of a podzolic soil as influenced by subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) and superphosphate.

1954 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 664 ◽  
Author(s):  
CM Donald ◽  
CH Williams
Keyword(s):  
Organic Phosphorus ◽  
New South ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Trifolium Subterraneum ◽  
Inorganic Phosphorus ◽  
Exchange Capacity ◽  
Fourfold Increase ◽  
Podzolic Soils ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Native Pasture

A survey was made of the influence of the use of superphosphate and subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) on podzolic soils formed on granodiorite in the Crookwell district of New South Wales (average rainfall, 32.7 in. per annum). Forty-four paddocks were sampled; they varied from untreated native pasture to paddocks which had been for 26 years continuously under clover and which had received a total of 13 cwt of superphosphate per acre. In all instances there had been no cultivation during treatment, and the land use mas uniformly one of sheep raising, principally for wool but with some emphasis on fat lamb production on highly improved pastures. Criteria used in this study were the changes in yield and botanical composition of the pasture, changes or trends in the chemical composition of the 0-4 in. depth of soil, and the yield of oats produced by each of the soils in pot culture with varying superimposed applications of phosphorus, sulphur, and nitrogen. The native pasture species disappear under the competition by subterranean clover, which gives a fourfold increase in the yield of pasture. Within the limits of experimental error, the phosphorus and sulphur applied as superphosphate, even that applied many years previously, can be accounted for in the surface 4 in. of soil. Losses by removal in wool and carcases are small. The added phosphorus is present in approximately equal amounts as organic phosphorus and readily extractable inorganic phosphorus. The applied sulphur appears to become a part of the organic complex. Eighty-five pounds of nitrogen has been added in the surface 4 in. of soil by rhizobial activity for each hundredweight of superphosphate applied per acre. Initially the most acute deficiencies affecting plant growth on these soils are those of phosphorus and nitrogen, with a less pronounced deficiency of sulphur. After a period of several years of superphosphate and clover, each of these deficiencies is much reduced, the order of the intensity of deficiencies then being nitrogen, sulphur, and phosphorus. Soil pH falls with superphosphate application at the rate of about 0.06 units per hundredweight of fertilizer per acre, but may reach an equilibrium value at about 5.1. This could be due to the increase in exchange capacity of the soil as a result of the increase in organic matter. A field experiment on two sites also indicated the increase in fertility under subterranean clover pasture and demonstrated the capacity of the improved soils to produce a satisfactory field crop of oats.

The plant nutrient status of granite soils from the Bendemeer area of New South Wales

1966 ◽  
Vol 6 (20) ◽  
pp. 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
F McMullen
Keyword(s):  
Dry Matter ◽  
New South ◽  
Soil Phosphorus ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Trifolium Subterraneum ◽  
Nutrient Status ◽  
Calcium Sulphate ◽  
Plant Nutrient ◽  
First Order ◽  
South Wales

A factorial glasshouse pot trial was used to examine the supply of phosphorus, boron, zinc, copper, cobalt, magnesium, molybdenum, potassium, and manganese, to the Dwalganup strain of Trifolium subterraneum L. growing in virgin granite soils from Bendemeer, New South Wales. Calcium sulphate was applied as a basal nutrient. Significant dry matter responses were obtained on all four virgin soils to the application of phosphorus, molybdenum, and potassium; to copper on two soils; and to boron and cobalt on one soil. Phosphorus was so deficient that responses to other plant nutrients did not occur in its absence. On all soils, significant first order interactions were recorded between phosphorus and other deficient elements. In addition, significant interactions were recorded between molybdenum and magnesium, copper and molybdenum, boron and molybdenum, copper and cobalt, and potassium and molybdenum.

Seasonal variation in the nutrient composition of the foliage of pecan (Carya illinoensis)

1986 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 393 ◽  
Author(s):  
GC Cresswell ◽  
RJ Wickson
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Variation ◽  
New South ◽  
Seasonal Pattern ◽  
Nutrient Status ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Leaf Emergence ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Calcium Magnesium ◽  
Phosphorus And Potassium ◽  
Nitrogen Phosphorus

Leaves were sampled every 2 weeks throughout the 1980-81 and 1981-82 growing seasons from a commercial pecan orchard in New South Wales. Leaf concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were highest at leaf emergence and decreased with time. Concentrations of calcium, magnesium and boron were lowest early in the season and increased with time. There was no true seasonal pattern in leaf zinc which varied in apparent response to foliar zinc spray use. These trends were similar for the cultivars Witchita and Western Schley. Minimum seasonal variation in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, the main fertiliser nutrients, occurred between 1 February and 21 March. This period is therefore the most suitable for general diagnostic purposes such as the evaluation of fertiliser programs and surveys of crop nutrient status.

Nutrient status of pasture ecosystems established on rehabilitated overburden and topsoil sites in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales

Soil Research ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 479 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. M. C. Brown ◽  
C. D. Grant
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
Mine Waste ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Nutrient Status ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Pasture Grass ◽  
Rhodes Grass ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Disturbed Areas

The rehabilitation of disturbed areas at the Howick Coal Mine (Hunter Valley, New South Wales) involves re-creating pasture ecosystems. Some sites are rehabilitated using topsoil, whereas others are established directly into the overburden mine waste due to the low availability and poor quality of topsoil. Pastures on both substrate types are then maintained by periodic applications of fertiliser. A comparison was made between nutrient levels held in the soil and the roots and stems of the dominant pasture grass (Rhodes grass, Chloris spp.) in an overburden (rehabilitated in 1990) and a topsoil site (rehabilitated in 1991). Sampling was conducted in autumn 1998 at 3 random locations along 3 replicate transects established on both substrates. Laboratory analyses were conducted to determine levels of N, P, S, Ca, K, Mg, and Na for both soil and plants samples; Mn, Fe, Zn, Cu, and Al for the plant samples only; and NO 3-N, PO 4-P, organic carbon, pH, and EC for the soil samples only. Multivariate analysis showed a distinct difference in the nutrient status of topsoil and overburden sites, across the 7 nutrients common to the roots, stems, and soil. The concentration of all macronutrients was significantly higher in the overburden compared with the topsoil sites. The majority of macronutrients were in greatest concentrations in the stems but the highest levels of micronutrients were found in the roots. There was a higher concentration of micronutrients in the overburden sites. Both of the rehabilitated sites had adequate macronutrient concentrations of S, Ca, Mg, and K. However, there were deficient concentrations of NO3-N in both the topsoil and overburden sites and a deficient concentration of PO4-P in the topsoil site. Long-term management options to improve the nutrient status of rehabilitated coal mines in the Hunter Valley include increased grazing, increasing fertiliser inputs, and burning the rehabilitated areas.

Litter Fall and Nutrient Turnover in Two Eucalypt Woodlands

1985 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
RJ Lamb
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Nutrient Status ◽  
Litter Fall ◽  
Shrub Species ◽  
Soil Nutrient Status ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Nutrient Turnover ◽  
Eucalypt Woodlands ◽  
Soil Interface

The components and chemical composition of litter fall and the litter layer of two woodlands growing close together near Narrabeen Lagoon, New South Wales, were examined over a 5-year period. Total litter fall peaked in the summer but some tree and shrub species in both communities showed peaks of litter fall in summer and autumn. Litter fall averaged 540 g m-2 year-1 for a hillside Angophora costata-Eucalyptus gummifera-dominated woodland on a gradational sand, and 745 g m-2 year-1 for a E. botryoides-E. robusta-A. floribunda-dominated community on podzolized sand at the slope foot. The accumulated litter masses averaged 2100 and 1900 g m-2, respectively: calculated litter half-lives were 2.7 years and 1.8 years. The higher rates of litter fall and turnover of organic matter and nutrients in the E. botryoides-E. robusta-A. floribunda community, despite its poorer soil nutrient status, are postulated to result from a more reliable water supply and differing microbial activity at the litter-soil interface, leading to more rapid recycling of nutrients.

Nutrient status of Lake Liddel, New South Wales: mass loadings of nitrogen and phosphurus, industrial modification, and trophic state

1992 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 443 ◽  
Author(s):  
RN Royle ◽  
RJ King
Keyword(s):  
Point Source ◽  
New South ◽  
Nutrient Status ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Total N ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Annual Total ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Total P

The concentrations of nitratehitrite-N, Kjeldahl-N and total P in point-source additions to and losses from Lake Liddell (32° 22'S,150° 1'E) were measured fortnightly from September 1987 to September 1988. These data were used in conjunction with flow-rate data to construct a nitrogen and phosphorus budget from Lake Liddell. The annual net point-source loadings of nitrogen and phosphorus were 23 400 and 5700 kg, respectively. There was little relationship between changes in lake nutrient concentrations and fortnightly mass loadings. The mean molar N: P ratio for point source mass additions was 13: 1, whereas that within the lake was 33: 1. These features indicate that within-lake processes were the dominant processes in determining lake nutrient concentrations. Retention in the sediments of a greater proportion of the total P pool than of the total-N pool appeared to be one of these processes. The use of Lake Liddell water in power-station operations resulted in substantial increases in nitrate/ nitrite-N and total-P concentrations in waters returned to the lake. The use of Dillon's model to predict mean annual total-P concentrations from mass loadings indicates that Lake Liddell is on the border between mesotrophic and eutrophic states.

Studies of the Ground-Dwelling Mammals of Eucalypt Forests in South-Eastern New South Wales: the Effect of Environmental Variables on Distribution and Abundance.

1995 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 669 ◽  
Author(s):  
PC Catling ◽  
RJ Burt
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Nutrient Status ◽  
Slope Position ◽  
Eucalyptus Forest ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Gradient Type ◽  
Eucalypt Forests ◽  
Resource Gradient

The distribution and abundance of ground-dwelling mammals was examined in 13 areas within 500 000 ha of eucalypt (Eucalyptus) forest in SE New South Wales. Data are presented on the distribution and abundance of species in relation to 3 environmental gradient types involving 9 variables: 2 direct gradients (temperature, rainfall); 6 indirect gradients (aspect, steepness of slope, position on slope, landform profile around the site, altitude, season) and a resource gradient (lithology). Many species of ground-dwelling mammal of the forests of SE New South Wales were present along all gradients examined, although wide variation in abundance occurred for some species. Eight species were correlated with direct gradients and all species were correlated with at least one indirect gradient. There was wide variation and species diversity with lithology, but the variation was not related to nutrient status. Although variations in abundance occurred along environmental gradients, the composition of the ground-dwelling mammal fauna in SE New South Wales forests changed little. A fourth gradient type, the substrate gradient (biomass of plants), had the greatest effect, because in the short-term disturbances such as logging and fire play an important role. Disturbance can have a profound influence on the substrate gradient, but no influence on environmental gradients. The results are discussed in relation to the arboreal mammals and avifauna in the region and Environmental and Fauna Impact studies and forest management.

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