Soil amendments with organic wastes reduce the toxicity of nickel to soil enzyme activities

• Published in: European journal of soil biology Vol. 44; no. 1; pp. 129 - 140
• Main Authors: Tejada, M., Moreno, J.L., Hernández, M.T., García, C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Paris Elsevier Masson SAS 2008; Editions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Biochemistry and biology; Biological and medical sciences; Chemical, physicochemical, biochemical and biological properties; Crushed cotton gin compost; Ecological dose; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agronomy. Plant production; Nickel polluted soil; Other nutrients. Amendments. Solid and liquid wastes. Sludges and slurries; Physics, chemistry, biochemistry and biology of agricultural and forest soils; Poultry manure; Soil and water pollution; Soil enzymatic activities; Soil science; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility. Fertilization. Amendments; Nickel polluted soil; Crushed cotton gin compost; Soil enzymatic activities; Ecological dose; Poultry manure; Compost; Organic waste; Toxicity; Ecology; Soil pollution; Heavy metal; Soils; Enzymatic activity; Nickel; Soil science; Cotton ginning; Organic amendment
• ISSN: 1164-5563
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejsobi.2007.10.007

The effects of adding a crushed cotton gin compost (CCGC) and poultry manure (PM) on the biological properties of a Typic Xerofluvent soil contaminated with Ni were studied in the laboratory. Urease, BBA-protease, alkaline phosphatase, β-glucosidase and arylsulfatase activities were measured in soils containing seven concentrations (100, 250, 500, 1000, 2500, 5000 and 8000 mg kg −1 soil) of Ni after four incubation times (1 day, 7 days, 15 days and 45 days). The resulting inhibition was compared with that of the enzymatic activities in the same soil containing similar concentrations of the Ni but amended with crushed cotton gin compost and poultry manure. The 50% ecological dose (ED 50) values were calculated by the two kinetic models used by Speir et al. [T.W. Speir, H.A. Kettles, A. Parshotam, P.L. Searle, L.N.C. Vlaar, A simple kinetic approach to derive the ecological dose value, ED50, for the assessment of Cr(VI) toxicity to soil biological properties, Soil Biol. Biochem. 27 (1995) 801–810] and by the sigmoidal dose–response model used by Haanstra et al. [L. Haanstra, P. Doelman, J.H. Oude Voshaar, The use of sigmoidal dose response curves in soil ecotoxicological research, Plant Soil 84 (1985) 293–297]. The urease, BBA-protease, β-glucosidase, alkaline phosphatase and arylsulfatase activities were higher in the organic amended soils (76%, >99.7%, >95.7%, >27.6% and >87.2%, respectively) than in the control soil. Also, the enzymatic activities were higher in CCGC-amended soils than in the PM-amended soils (51%, 20%, 11.2%, and 11.3% increase for urease, BBA-protease, β-glucosidase and alkaline phosphatase, respectively). For all soil enzymatic activities and at the end of the period of incubation, the ED 50 values were lowest in control soil, followed by PM and CGCC-amended soils. This may have been due to the adsorption capacity of Ni being higher in the humic acid (CGCC) than in the fulvic acid-amended soil (PM).