Long-term response of forest plantation productivity and soils to a single application of municipal biosolids
Ouimet, R., Pion, A.-P. and Hébert, M. 2015. Long-term response of forest plantation productivity and soils to a single application of municipal biosolids. Can. J. Soil Sci. 95: 187–199. After 16 to 19 yr, we revisited four experimental trials set up in the early 1990s to evaluate the long-term impact of municipal biosolids applied in forest plantations. Tree growth and the soil were sampled to determine the effects of a single application of biosolids applied at (liquid equivalent) rates of 0, 130, 200, and 400 m3ha−1. Tree radial growth responded markedly to biosolids in the young plantations, increasing from 18 % for Pinus resinosa to 62 % for Picea glauca, and up to 700 % for Quercus sp. Increases in phosphorus (P) concentrations in the tree foliage in response to biosolids could still be detected in the conifer trials. In the top 0–5 cm soil layer, organic carbon (C), total nitrogen (N), P, and copper (Cu) concentrations and pools increased, while soil compaction and bulk density decreased. In the deepest soil layer sampled (20–40 cm depth), the total N and calcium (Ca) pools were reduced by the biosolids treatments, while the pool of exchangeable acidity increased. Our observations indicate that a single application of liquid biosolids up to 400 m3ha−1(30 t ha−1DM) in young forest plantations is a sustainable practice without undue risk to such podzolic soils.