1st International Conference of Soil and Agriculture:
TOWARDS SOIL SUSTAINABILITY
11–13 June 2024 • Lublin–Nałęczów, Poland

https://doi.org/10.24326/ICSA1.PP.02
Published online: 4 October 2024

Content of total nitrogen and its mineral forms in light soil fertilized with sewage sludge and mineral wool 
Marta Bik-Małodzińska*, Grażyna Żukowska, Magdalena Myszura-Dymek

Institute of Soil Science, Environmental Engineering and Management, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Leszczyńskiego 7, 20-069 Lublin, Poland
* Corresponding author:

Abstract
In Poland, light soils dominate (approx. 50%), characterized by low organic matter content, very poor and weak (51%) resistance to chemical degradation processes and strong acidification. These are the main reasons for their low production efficiency. A significant area (70,884 ha) is also degraded land and devastated, which, in the light of legal conditions, require recultivation. Both sewage sludge and post-consumer mineral wool are rich in organic substances and fertilizer ingredients (nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium), which prefers them to be used as soil improvers. The effectiveness of the natural management of sewage sludge should be associated with the optimization of its properties, which can be achieved by combining them and increasing their fertilizing value. The aim of the 4-year experiment was to assess the suitability of municipal sewage sludge and waste mineral wool from crops under cover for fertilization/reclamation of light soil. The sewage sludge came from the municipal sewage treatment plant in Stalowa Wola, and the waste mineral wool from the Horticultural Enterprise in Niemce near Lublin. The soil and waste used in the vegetation experiment were characterized by various properties. The soil is low-clay sand, acidic, with poor properties. Mineral wool and municipal sewage sludge had beneficial properties. The addition of the tested waste to light soil had a significant impact on changes in total nitrogen and its mineral forms in light soil. The content of total nitrogen in the soil without fertilization (control I) from the first test date was 0.5 g/kg. In the soil fertilized with NPK (control II) and sewage sludge at a dose of 10 Mg/ha, it remained at a similar level. A significant increase in the total nitrogen content was found in the soil with the addition of sewage sludge at a dose of 100 Mg/ha. In the soil of this object, during the first test date, the content of Nog was 1.20 g/kg, and in subsequent dates there were slight fluctuations, with a tendency to lower the content, but with the level (1.07 g/kg), significantly higher compared to control objects and the variant with a lower dose of sewage sludge. Sewage sludge applied in the drainage dose (100 Mg/ha) increased the nitrogen content by 32.1% compared to the fertilizer dose (10 Mg/ha), and in cooperation with mineral wool by 39.8%. The waste used also increased the content of ammonium and nitrate nitrogen in the reclaimed light soil.

Keywords: degradation, recultivation, sewage sludge, mineral wool, total nitrogen

How to cite
Bik-Małodzińska M., Żukowska G., Myszura-Dymek M., 2024. Content of total nitrogen and its mineral forms in light soil fertilized with sewage sludge and mineral wool. 1st International Conference of Soil and Agriculture: Towards Soil Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.24326/ICSA1.PP.02