Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Waste Management
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wasman

Recycling organic wastes to agricultural land as a way to improve its

quality: A field study to evaluate benefits and risks
P. Alvarenga a,b,⇑, P. Palma a,c, C. Mourinha a, M. Farto a, J. Dôres a, M. Patanita a,d, C. Cunha-Queda b,
T. Natal-da-Luz e, M. Renaud e, J.P. Sousa e
a
Department of Applied Sciences and Technologies, Polytechnic Institute of Beja, Beja, Portugal
b
LEAF – Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal
c
CIMA – Centro de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, FCT, Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal
d
GeoBioTec, FCT, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus da Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
e
CFE – Centre for Functional Ecology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A field study was established to assess the effects of a sewage sludge (SS), a mixed municipal solid waste
Received 25 August 2016 compost (MMSWC) and a compost produced from agricultural wastes (AWC), in a Vertisol, using Lolium
Revised 31 December 2016 multiflorum L. The amendments were applied for two consecutive years: 6, 12 and 24 t dry matter ha
1 for
Accepted 2 January 2017
SS, and the amendment doses for MMSWC and AWC were calculated to deliver the same amount of
Available online xxxx
organic matter (OM) per unit area. The amendments had significant beneficial effects on some soil prop-
erties (e.g. soil OM, NKjeldahl, extractable P and K), and on plant productivity parameters (e.g. biomass
Keywords:
yield, chlorophyll, foliar area). For instance, soil OM increased from 0.78% to 1.71, 2.48 and 2.51%, after
Sewage sludge
Compost
two consecutive years of application of 24 t dry matter ha
1 of SS, MMSWC and AWC, respectively, while
Soil organic amendment the plant biomass obtained increased from 7.75 t ha
1 to 152.41, 78.14 and 29.26 t ha
1, for the same
Recycling amendments. On the plant, effects were more pronounced for SS than for both compost applications, a
Trace elements consequence of its higher capacity to provide N to the plant in a readily available form. However, after
Field experiment two years of application, the effects on soil properties were more noticeable for both composts, as their
OM is more resistant to mineralization, which endures their beneficial effects on soil. Cadmium, Cr, Ni
and Pb pseudo-total concentrations, were not affected significantly by the application of the organic
wastes to soil, in all tested doses, neither their extractability by 0.01 M CaCl2. On the contrary, Cu and
Zn pseudo-total concentrations increased significantly in the second year of the experiment, following
the application of the higher rate of MMSWC and AWC, although their extractability remained very
low (<0.5% of their pseudo-total fraction). Trace elements concentrations in the aboveground plant mate-
rial were lower than their maximum tolerable levels for cattle, used as an indicator of risk of their entry
into the human food chain. Despite these results, it is interesting to note that the SS promoted a signif-
icant increase in the foliar concentrations of Cu, Ni and Zn that did not happen in composts application,
which can be explained by the reduction of the soil pH, as a consequence of SS degradation in soil.
Concluding, if this type of organic wastes were to be used in a single application, the rate could be as high
as 12 or even 24 t ha
1, however, if they are to be applied in an annual basis, the application rates should
be lowered to assure their safe application (e.g. to 6 t ha
1). Moreover, it is advisable to use more stable
and mature organic wastes, which have longer lasting positive effects on soil characteristics.
Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction ment: the possibility of continuing the life cycle of materials

The European Waste Framework Directive (Council Directive
2008/98/EC) has introduced a paradigmatic shift in waste manage-
⇑ Corresponding author at: Department of Applied Sciences and Technologies,
Polytechnic Institute of Beja, Beja, Portugal.
E-mail address: paula.alvarenga@ipbeja.pt (P. Alvarenga).
should be considered, in the perspective of a circular economy. In
this context, it is very important to consider the agricultural bene-
ficial use of organic rich wastes, alternative to their landfilling or
incineration, which will allow the organic matter and nutrient
recycling, contributing to the ‘‘End-of-Waste” policy in Europe
(Mantovi et al., 2005; Council Directive 2008/98/EC; Fytili and
Zabaniotou, 2008; Fernández et al., 2009; Saveyn and Eder, 2014).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.01.004
0956-053X/Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article in press as: Alvarenga, P., et al. Recycling organic wastes to agricultural land as a way to improve its quality: A field study to evaluate
benefits and risks. Waste Management (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.01.004
2 P. Alvarenga et al. / Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx
This is a potentially important strategy, since in Portugal, as in
other Mediterranean countries, cropland soils have usually very
low topsoil organic matter content and are very prone to erosion
(Sánchez-Monedero et al., 2004; Antolín et al., 2005; Fernández
et al., 2009). To overcome this problem, the use of organic wastes
as soil improvers is attractive, because they: (i) enhance soil
organic C storage, (ii) enable valuable components to be recycled
(e.g. N, P and K), (iii) promote the formation of stable aggregates;
(iv) improve water holding capacity, soil aeration and cation
exchange capacity (Antolín et al., 2005; Larchevêque et al., 2006;
Fernández et al., 2009; Diacono and Montemuro, 2010; Mattana
et al., 2014). In fact, in adequately sludge-amended soils, crop yield
can be higher than in well-fertilized soils (Singh and Agrawal,
2008), and the long-term advantages on soil properties are very
important, as Mantovi et al. (2005) have found in a twelve-year
field experiment with liquid, dewatered and composted sewage
sludge (5 and 10 t DM ha
1 yr
1): OM, total N and available P have
increased, while alkalinity has decreased.
However, the use of sludges and composts produced from
organic wastes as fertilizers represents a potential risk to the envi-
ronment, because of the high contaminants content often found in
the organic wastes (e.g. metals, organic contaminants, and patho-
genic microorganisms). This risk may be aggravated if those con-
taminants are mobilized in the soil, which turns them available
for plant uptake and/or to be transported in drainage waters
(Aparicio et al., 2009; Smith, 2009a, 2009b; Clarke and Smith,
2011; Kupper et al., 2014). In fact, bioavailability of metals may
increase for many years in soils amended with excessive rates of
sludge (Singh and Agrawal, 2008). Mantovi et al. (2005), with the
results from twelve years of continuous biosolid land spreading,
elected some risks to soil: a small build-up of heavy metals, espe-
cially Cu and Zn, increased availability of P, that can be hazardous
for water eutrophication, and the higher Zn content of amended
soil, that, in conjunction with pH reduction, could affect soil ecol-
ogy due to Zn accumulation.
In fact, if a sludge is intended to be used as fertilizer in growing
crops for human consumption and feed production, a strong
emphasis should be given to the biological and chemical safety
of the material (Roig et al., 2012; Cieslik et al., 2015). The Sludge
Directive (Council Directive 86/278/EEC) is currently under revi-
sion (Fytili and Zabaniotou, 2008; European Commission, 2014),
to reduce the standard limit values for metals, and set limits for
emerging organic pollutants and hygienic indicator parameters
(Mininni et al., 2015). Moreover, the application of fresh organic
wastes, like raw sewage sludges, can also be problematic and affect
negatively soil properties and plant growth, even for sludges with
low contaminants load (Fernández et al., 2009). An option to cope
with some of the risks from the organic wastes application to soil is
their composting (Roca-Pérez et al., 2009). This biological treat-
ment arises as an important option for the organic waste manage-
ment, with environmental and economic benefits, as allows for the
biooxidation of organic matter into a more stable and less degrad-
able material, free of phytotoxic compounds, pathogens, parasites
and weed seeds, and partially humified (Bernal et al., 1998;
Cunha-Queda et al., 2002; Bernal et al., 2009; Fernández et al.,
2009; Raj and Antil, 2011). That is why, in the assessment of com-
post quality for soil application, it is important to consider not only
their contaminants content but also their maturity and stability
(Wu et al., 2000; Ko et al., 2008; Alvarenga et al., 2016a). However,
Cesaro et al. (2015) reviewed the European regulations and guide-
lines used to evaluate compost quality and alerted for their lack of
uniformity. In Portugal, the recently published legislation for fertil-
izing materials, Decree-Law No. 103/2015, allowed the fulfilment
of a gap on the safe application of composted materials to soil leg-
islation, but will create, at the same time, some problems to the
Please cite this article in press as: Alvarenga, P., et al. Recycling organic wastes to agricultural land as a way to improve its quality: A field study to evaluate
benefits and risks. Waste Management (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.01.004
compost producers, due to the stringency of the limit values for
some of the contaminants, especially trace elements.
Considering the above, it is obvious the importance of evaluat-
ing the benefits and potential risks of the application of sludges
and composted organic wastes to agricultural soils. Only by
increasing knowledge in this area, it will be possible to progres-
sively contest the opposition of the local stakeholders to the use
of sludge and organic wastes’ compost as fertilizers. To make that
possible, it is important to work with the municipal wastewater
treatment plant (WWTP) operators whom will need to invest in
stabilization processes, and update some treatment infrastructure
(Mininni et al., 2015). Another important step is the awareness
effort for the separation at the source of wastes intended to be
composted, which would reduce the contaminant content of the
compost produced (Cesaro et al., 2015).
In previous studies, Alvarenga et al. (2015, 2016a, 2016b) car-
ried out a full characterization of nine organic wastes, potentially
interesting to be used as organic soil improvers, already available
to the end-users. It was possible to verify that, for certain sewage
sludges, the major limitation to their application is related to the
pathogenic microorganisms’ concentrations, a consequence of the
lack of a final stabilization step in their production. However,
regarding their content of heavy metals and organic contaminants,
they comply with the Portuguese legislation (Decree-Law No.
276/2009) and Council Directive 86/278/EEC. In the case of com-
posts produced from organic wastes, the Portuguese legislation is
recent (Decree-Law No. 103/2015) and shows a more protectionist
tendency for soils than the legislation on sludge. It is for that rea-
son that some important composts available locally presented
problems concerning their total metals content (Alvarenga et al.,
2015). Therefore, even though the use of these sewage sludges
and composts is prohibited in soils intended for some specific agro-
nomic practices, they can be used for other activities, such as silvi-
culture, green spaces and land reclamation (Sánchez-Monedero
et al., 2004). Consequently, there is a basic need to know the ben-
efits and risks of their land application, especially to better under-
stand the behaviour of metals in soil, conveyed by materials with
distinct degree of stabilization, which can affect their availability
and the potential risks of their entry into the human food chain.
Taking this in account, a field experiment was established with
the application of three of the organic materials selected from the
previous study: a sewage sludge (SS), a mixed municipal solid
waste compost (MMSWC), and a compost produced from agricul-
tural wastes (AWC) in different doses, in plots sown with Lolium
multiflorum L., in order to assess the effects of the amendments:
(i) on the soil properties (a Vertisol); (ii) on the plant nutritional
status and productivity; and (iii) on the behaviour of metals in
the soil/plant system. The experiment was repeated in two succes-
sive seasons, to evaluate the potential cumulative effects of metals
in soils and the mid-term effects on the soil fertility parameters
that could arise from the application of organic materials with dif-
ferent degrees of stability and maturity. With these results, maybe
it will be possible to recommend application doses, or limitations
to those doses.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Organic wastes characteristics
Dewatered municipal SS was obtained from a municipal
wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), located in a small village of
6.000 inhabitants in Alentejo (Portugal), with rural characteristics.
The WWTP has activated-sludge treatment, with high aeration
rate, followed by nitrification-denitrification. The sludge is
 P. Alvarenga et al. / Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx 3

mechanically dewatered by centrifugation, allowing about 15% dry
matter content, and was, at the time, sent to landfill (Alvarenga
et al., 2015).
The MMSWC sample was obtained in a composting plant near
Setúbal (Portugal), which takes waste from about 113.000 inhabi-
tants. The composting plant takes unsorted municipal solid waste,
which is mechanically segregated and biologically treated. The
compost produced is commercialized in bulk, mainly to be land
applied in vineyards (Alvarenga et al., 2015).
The AWC was produced in a farm located in Serpa (Alentejo,
Portugal), to be used in the organic amendment of their own land.
The compost was produced from the wastes of the cleaning of olive
groves, and of the harvesting and processing of the olives, to pro-
duce olive oil, and from manure generated in the farm. The propor-
tions of the materials to be composted were: 61% sheep manure,
21% olive mill waste, 10% olive leaves, and 8% meat flour
(Alvarenga et al., 2015).
The organic wastes were selected because they are all poten-
tially beneficial to agricultural soils, with an organic matter (OM)
content above 30% (Table 1), with the logistics of transport and
application assured in advance. Moreover, they were previously
fully characterized (Alvarenga et al., 2015) and have some ham-
pered characteristic, which makes the assessment of the effects
of their application to soil interesting to be studied: SS was not
properly sanitized, with pathogenic microorganisms content
higher than the legal limits (Decree-Law No. 276/2009); MMSWC
presented Cd and Pb concentrations above the limit values for
some classes of compost, considering the recently published law
for fertilizing materials in Portugal (Decree-Law No. 103/2015),
while AWC presented a Ni concentration also above legislated lim-
its, hampering its generalized use in agricultural soils (Table 1).
2.2. Field experiment set-up
The field experiment was set-up in Beja, Portugal
(38°010 42.0800 N, 7°520 11.7000 W), in a Vertisol (FAO and USDA soil
taxonomy; FAO, 2015). The soil can be classified as a loamy soil
(52% sand, 32% silt and 16% clay), neutral, with low salinity, and
high CEC (Table 1; LQARS, 2000). It can be considered as a soil with
very low topsoil organic matter content, a characteristic of this
region (European Commission, 2012), with high levels of extracta-
ble P and K, and with a Ca/Mg ratio of 2.0, unfavourable to soil
physical characteristics (Table 1; LQARS, 2000). Regarding trace
elements (Table 1), the soil has high Ni and Cr concentrations, a
consequence of its geological nature, since the experimental site
is in the Beja Layered Gabbro Complex, reported by several authors
as having anomalous metal concentrations (Jesus et al., 2003).
Because of that, Ni concentration in the soil is above the limit value
for application of sewage sludge (Decree-Law No. 276/2009), and
Ni and Cr concentrations surpass the limit values for application
of compost (Decree-Law No. 103/2015).
The organic wastes amendment doses were calculated to
deliver the same amount of organic matter (OM) per unit area of
soil, when using the different organic waste amendments, taking
the SS as the reference. The lowest SS dose was chosen to reflect
the recommended agronomic dose in a previous Portuguese
legislation (6 t SS dry matter ha
1 yr
1) and the other two doses
were chosen to fully explore the use of the wastes as soil amend-
ments, while keeping OM increments in the soil within acceptable
agronomic levels: 12 and 24 t SS dry matter ha
1. The amendment
doses of MMSWC and AWC were calculated, considering their OM
content, to deliver the same amount of OM per unit area (4.5, 8.9
and 17.9 t OM ha
1 yr
1), but were also named as treatments 6,

Table 1
Organic wastes and soil characterization (mean ± standard deviation, n = 3 for organic wastes, and n = 8 for soil), and the Portuguese legal limits for different classes of
contaminants in sewage sludge, compost and soil.

Parameter SS MMSWC AWC Soil Legal limits

Sewage Compostb Soil (pH > 7.0)
sludgea Class II/ Sludge legislationa/
Class IIA/ Compost legislationb
Class III
Agronomic parameters
pH (H2O) 7.12 ± 0.03 8.69 ± 0.03 8.18 ± 0.03 7.38 ± 0.25 – 5.5–9.0 –
EC (mS cm
1) 2.70 ± 0.01 5.12 ± 0.02 3.00 ± 0.10 0.057 ± 0.012 – – –
OM (% w/w) 80.4 ± 0.1 41.4 ± 0.7 34.4 ± 1.8 0.9 ± 0.1 – >30 –
NKjeldahl (% w/w) 7.4 ± 0.9 1.9 ± 0.1 1.8 ± 0.1 0.05 ± 0.01 – – –
C/N 5.4 ± 0.6 9.9 ± 0.3 9.8 ± 0.4 – – – –
Ptotal (% w/w P2O5) 6.3 ± 0.0 3.3 ± 0.4 2.6 ± 0.3 – – – –
Ktotal (g K2O kg
1) 9.8 ± 0.8 20.6 ± 2.2 24.1 ± 1.4 – – – –
Pextractable (mg P2O5 kg
1) – – – 108.5 ± 18.4 – – –
Kextractable (mg K2O kg
1) – – – 138.7 ± 23.8 – – –
CEC (meq 100 g
1) – – – 39.6 ± 4.9
Natotal (g kg
1) 2.6 ± 0.0 10.0 ± 1.5 6.1 ± 1.0 – – – –
Catotal (g kg
1) 39.0 ± 0.5 82.1 ± 15.9 30.2 ± 5.5 45.8 ± 2.7 – – –
Mgtotal (g kg
1) 5.3 ± 0.1 15.7 ± 1,8 34.4 ± 5.1 22.2 ± 1.7 – – –
Trace elements
Cd (mg kg
1) 1.3 ± 0.0 3.2 ± 1.0 1.2 ± 0.0 2.0 ± 0.1 20 1.5/3.0/5.0 4 /1.5
Cr (mg kg
1) <5.6 17.8 ± 6.1 140.9 ± 26.5 185.8 ± 14.3 1000 150/300/400 300/100
Cu (mg kg
1) 235.1 ± 5.2 167.9 ± 4.6 44.6 ± 2.7 70.4 ± 2.9 1000 200/400/600 200 /100
Hg (mg kg
1) <1.2 0.63 ± 0.12 <0.28 – 16 1.5/3.0/5.0 2/1
Ni (mg kg
1) 18.4 ± 0.6 27.9 ± 1.7 553.3 ± 31.1 120.7 ± 15.1 300 100/200/300 110/70
Pb (mg kg
1) <5.6 179.9 ± 11.0 21.0 ± 1.7 20.8 ± 2.5 750 150/300/500 450/100
Zn (mg kg
1) 583.4 ± 24 383.3 ± 6.2 342.2 ± 15.0 30.0 ± 2.6 2500 500/1000/1500 450/200
Pathogens
Escherichia coli (CFU g
1) 4.3  104 <1  10 <1  10 – <1000 <1000 –
Salmonella spp. (Present/Absent in 50 g) Present Absent Absent – Absent Absent (in 25 g) –

SS: sewage sludge; MMSWC: mixed municipal solid waste compost; AWC: agricultural wastes compost; EC: electrical conductivity: OM: organic matter; CEC: cation
exchange capacity.
a
Sewage sludge legislation (Decree-Law No. 276/2009).
b
Fertilizing materials legislation (Decree-Law No. 103/2015).

Please cite this article in press as: Alvarenga, P., et al. Recycling organic wastes to agricultural land as a way to improve its quality: A field study to evaluate
benefits and risks. Waste Management (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.01.004
4 P. Alvarenga et al. / Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx
12 and 24 t ha
1. A treatment without organic waste amendment
(0 t ha
1), which was intended to be sown, and a control, without
organic waste amendment and without plants, were considered.
In November 2013, five treatments (control, 0, 6, 12 and
24 t ha
1), with four replicates per treatment, were set up in exper-
imental plots with 5 m  2.5 m = 12.5 m2 area, separated by buffer
zones of 1 m between plots. The types and doses of organic wastes
were randomly assigned to the experimental plots to eliminate the
effects of other possible variables that may appear in the field. The
total isolated area was ploughed (except the control plots) and,
amended with the organic wastes immediately after. Seven days
after the organic wastes application, the plots were sown with
Lolium multiflorum L. Soil and plant material were collected five
months later, in April 2014.
All procedure was repeated in the following agronomic year,
2014/2015, using the same exact plots for each treatment and
the same application doses of OM delivered by each organic waste.
The organic wastes had to be characterized in the second year, to
adjust their application doses, but their characteristics were like
those in the first year (data not shown).
2.3. Soil analysis
The effects of the amendments in the soil physicochemical char-
acteristics were assessed by measuring different soil properties:
particle-size distribution was determined by the pipet method
(Gee and Bauder, 1986); soil pH was determined in a soil to deion-
ized water suspension of 1:2.5 (w/v) (Santos, 1996); electrical con-
ductivity (EC) was determined in a soil to deionized water
suspension of 1:5 (w/v) (Santos, 1996); OM content was deter-
mined according to Walkley and Black (1934); cation exchange
capacity (CEC) was determined using the ammonium acetate (pH
7) method (Sumner and Miller, 1996); total nitrogen was analysed
by the Kjeldahl method; extractable P and K were determined
using the Egner-Riehm method (Riehm, 1958); pseudo-total Ca,
Mg and trace elements concentrations (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn)
were analysed by atomic absorption spectrometry, after digestion
of the samples with aqua regia (3:1 HCl + HNO3) according to ISO
11466 (1995).
The effects of the amendments in the soil trace elements frac-
tions were also assessed, using two different single step extrac-
tions: a mobile metal fraction, extracted by 0.01 M CaCl2, and a
mobilisable metal fraction, extracted by a solution of 0.5 M
NH4CH3COO, 0.5 M CH3COOH and 0.02 M EDTA, pH 4.7
(Alvarenga et al., 2008). Extractions were performed on a 1:10
(w/v) soil to solution ratio, after 2 h horizontal reciprocate shaking,
at room temperature. The extract was separated from the solid
residue by centrifugation at 3000g for 10 min. Trace elements
concentrations in both extracts were also determined by atomic
absorption spectrometry.
All concentrations were reported in a dry weight basis.
2.4. Plant analysis
Plant chlorophyll content was measured in the field, using a
SPAD-502 m from Minolta (Soil Plant Analysis Division), at the
beginning of the stem elongation (Zadoks stage 31; Zadoks et al.,
1974). The SPAD meter is a hand-held device, commonly used for
a rapid, accurate and non-destructive measurement of leaf chloro-
phyll concentrations (Ling et al., 2011).
Plant aboveground material was collected at the same growth
stage, using a square sampler of 50 cm  50 cm, to mark the area
to be sampled in each plot. Plant fresh biomass was determined
using the whole plant material collected within the sampler area
(g fresh plant material per 0.25 m2). In the lab, that result was con-
verted to dry biomass by determining plant dry matter content.
Please cite this article in press as: Alvarenga, P., et al. Recycling organic wastes to agricultural land as a way to improve its quality: A field study to evaluate
benefits and risks. Waste Management (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.01.004
Foliar area was determined using the leaves from ten plants, and
calculating the mean value in cm2 plant
1, using a LI-CORÒ
LI-3100 Area Meter apparatus.
To assess plant nutritional status (N, P and K) and trace ele-
ments concentration (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn), plant fresh samples
were thoroughly washed with tap water to remove any attached
particles, and then rinsed three times with deionized water. The
samples were dried at 60–70 °C for 48 h, and ground in an electric
mill. Dried samples were stored in polyethylene bags, in the dark,
until analysis. Total nitrogen was analysed by the Kjeldahl method,
while a sub-sample of approximately 2 g of dried material was
ashed in a muffle furnace (450 °C, 6 h) and acid digested (two
times, to near dryness, with 10 mL 3 M HCl). After that, the residue
was dissolved again with the same acid solution, filtered through a
WhatmanÒ 40, and adjusted to a volume of 100 mL with ultra-pure
water. Plant digested samples were analysed for total P, by molec-
ular absorption spectrometry, for K, by flame emission photometry,
and for Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn by atomic absorption spectrome-
try. All concentrations were reported in a dry weight basis.
Accumulation factors (AF), i.e. the ratios of the trace element
concentration in the leaves to the total trace element concentra-
tion in the soil, were calculated.
2.5. Statistical treatment of data
All data was checked for homogeneity of variance and normal-
ity (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test) and, when possible, subjected to
one-way ANOVA to evaluate statistical differences between test
treatments. Data not satisfying assumptions for ANOVA were anal-
ysed non-parametrically using Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA by Ranks
test. A post hoc Tukey Honest Significant Difference (HSD) test
was used, to further elucidate differences among means, whenever
significant differences were found (P 6 0.05).
All statistical analysis was carried out with the software Statis-
tica 6.0 (StatSoft, Inc., 2001).
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Effects of organic wastes application on soil physicochemical
characteristics
From the results in Table 2, it is possible to observe the benefi-
cial effect of the organic wastes application on some soil proper-
ties, but also some deleterious effects on others.
Considering the soil pH, only the SS application had a significant
effect on its value, inducing a decrease in the second year of the
study. That fact was a consequence of the lower SS pH value
(Table 1), and of the fact that its organic matter is still in a very
active stage of decomposition, a process that will proceed in the
soil, releasing H+ ions (de Varennes, 2003). Lowering of the soil
pH, because of the sludge breakdown, has been previously
reported by other authors (Epstein et al., 1976; Sommers, 1977;
Singh and Agrawal, 2008).
It is also due to the very active SS decomposition that it is pos-
sible to explain why the SS application had a greater effect on soil
secondary salinity augment than the composts, in the second year
of the study (Table 2), even though the SS had a lower soluble salt
content than both composts (Table 1). In fact, the continuous SS
mineralization, after its application, was obvious from the observa-
tion of the EC results in the soils, from the first to the second year
of the study. The composts application, MMSWC and AWC, also
had a significant impact on soil secondary salinity, contributing
to a fourfold increase in the EC value for the high application dose
(24 t ha
1), which can be a constraint to the soil amendment with
organic wastes. Roca-Pérez et al. (2009) have identified compost
benefits and risks. Waste Management (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.01.004
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Table 2
Effects of the amendments application on soil physicochemical characteristics (mean, n = 4). Values in a column marked with the same letter are not significantly different (Tukey HSD test, P > 0.05). Results are reported in a dry matter
basis.

Treatment pH(H2O) EC CEC OM NKjeldahl Pextractable Kextractable Catotal Mgtotal

(1:2.5) (mS cm
1) (meq 100 g
1) (% w/w) (% w/w) (mg P2O5 kg
1) (mg K2O kg
1) (g kg
1) (g kg
1)
1st year

P. Alvarenga et al. / Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx

Control 7.88 efgh 0.050 a 39.0 abc 0.78 a 0.064 a 114.7 a 113.8 a 21.5 a 11.9 ab
0 7.83 efgh 0.050 a 38.5 abc 0.94 ab 0.056 a 151.8 ab 130.2 a 22.0 a 11.9 ab
SS 6 7.78 efgh 0.066 a 38.0 abc 0.98 ab 0.056 a 219.9 abc 154.0 a 22.5 ab 11.8 ab
12 7.71 efg 0.053 a 38.4 abc 0.99 ab 0.080 a 256.5 abc 152.8 a 21.0 a 11.6 a
24 7.56 def 0.071 a 37.5 abc 1.18 abc 0.088 ab 514.7 abc 221.7 a 23.4 abcde 12.7 abcd
MMSWC 6 8.07 gh 0.059 a 38.4 abc 0.87 a 0.079 a 202.5 abc 171.8 a 23.2 abcde 12.0 ab
12 8.15 h 0.070 a 38.1 abc 0.90 a 0.078 a 400.3 abc 192.1 a 23.5 abcde 12.1 abc
24 8.13 gh 0.127 abc 35.8 ab 1.10 abc 0.097 ab 348.3 abc 295.0 ab 24.0 abcdef 12.1 abc
AWC 6 7.92 efgh 0.056 a 35.7 a 0.87 a 0.054 a 159.0 abc 175.4 a 22.3 ab 12.4 abcd
12 7.87 efgh 0.058 a 37.9 abc 1.03 abc 0.064 a 239.3 abc 321.0 ab 22.9 abc 12.0 abc
24 8.00 fgh 0.099 ab 38.5 abc 1.05 abc 0.093 ab 553.5 abc 373.2 ab 24.1 abcdef 13.1 abcde
2nd year
Control 7.50 de 0.056 a 42.5 c 0.90 a 0.053 a 187.3 abc 132.4 a 26.4 bcdef 13.2 abcde
0 7.17 cd 0.064 a 40.8 abc 0.91 a 0.054 a 204.6 abc 132.3 a 25.1 abcdef 13.0 abcde
SS 6 6.89 bc 0.142 abc 41.4 bc 1.28 abc 0.094 ab 329.0 abc 166.3 a 23.4 abcde 12.9 abcd
12 6.47 ab 0.307 de 41.6 c 1.68 c 0.158 bcd 641.0 abcd 189.6 a 23.0 abcd 13.1 abcde
24 6.08 a 0.423 e 38.3 abc 1.71 c 0.169 cde 699.4 cd 226.0 a 24.7 abcdef 12.9 abcd
MMSWC 6 7.61 def 0.125 abc 39.0 abc 1.36 abc 0.085 a 475.1 abc 246.2 a 27.2 efg 13.3 abcde
12 7.88 efgh 0.171 abc 39.6 abc 1.62 bc 0.119 abc 705.0 cd 363.2 ab 30.9 gh 13.6 bcde
24 7.86 efgh 0.239 cd 40.8 abc 2.48 d 0.205 de 1139.9 d 612.7 b 33.9 h 13.8 cde
AWC 6 7.76 efgh 0.107 ab 41.3 abc 1.12 abc 0.083 a 390.9 abc 385.8 ab 28.0 fg 13.9 de
12 7.80 efgh 0.132 abc 41.1 abc 1.32 abc 0.116 abc 663.2 bcd 576.0 b 27.1 defg 13.4 bcde
24 7.91 efgh 0.224 bcd 40.1 abc 2.51 d 0.232 e 1794.5 e 1601.8 c 26.7 cdef 14.8 e

SS: sewage sludge; MMSWC: mixed municipal solid waste compost; AWC: agricultural wastes compost; EC: electrical conductivity: OM: organic matter; CEC: cation exchange capacity.

5
6 P. Alvarenga et al. / Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx

Table 3
Effects of the amendments application on pseudo-total trace element concentrations obtained by the aqua regia digestion (mean, n = 4). Values in a column marked with the same
letter are not significantly different (Tukey HSD test, P > 0.05). Results are reported in a dry matter basis.

Treatment Cd (mg kg
1) Cr (mg kg
1) Cu (mg kg
1) Ni (mg kg
1) Pb (mg kg
1) Zn (mg kg
1)
1st year
Control 1.35 abc 211.4 a 64.6 abc 149.7 cde 33.5 ab 35.3 a
0 1.34 abc 203.4 a 66.5 abcd 149.0 cde 29.6 a 36.6 a
SS 6 1.31 abc 198.8 a 69.5 abcde 147.3 bcde 28.3 a 39.1 a
12 1.26 ab 195.7 a 70.8 bcde 144.3 abcde 26.9 a 35.4 a
24 1.21 a 185.9 a 71.3 cde 147.1 bcde 26.9 a 37.0 a
MMSWC 6 1.35 abc 195.0 a 64.8 abc 148.2 cde 34.8 ab 36.4 a
12 1.36 abc 190.4 a 67.1 abcd 149.3 cde 28.4 a 39.6 a
24 1.39 abcd 190.0 a 70.1 abcde 145.0 bcde 35.7 ab 43.8 a
AWC 6 1.35 abc 198.2 a 70.6 bcde 153.3 de 29.0 a 37.3 a
12 1.32 abc 194.9 a 66.8 abcd 154.2 de 28.2 a 38.7 a
24 1.34 abc 187.9 a 83.4 e 152.0 de 29.8 ab 44.0 a
2nd year
Control 1.63 d 202.8 a 61.4 abc 133.3 abcde 32.8 ab 35.8 a
0 1.54 cd 192.5 a 56.2 abc 125.2 abcd 30.6 ab 37.5 a
SS 6 1.54 cd 183.7 a 55.3 a 114.6 a 30.6 ab 37.0 a
12 1.43 abcd 183.4 a 57.6 abc 117.5 ab 28.6 a 45.7 a
24 1.49 bcd 186.1 a 59.3 abc 119.6 abc 31.8 ab 53.3 ab
MMSWC 6 1.46 abcd 185.3 a 55.9 ab 119.8 abc 32.1 ab 42.6 a
12 1.40 abcd 186.3 a 61.3 abc 121.8 abc 34.6 ab 51.8 ab
24 1.48 bcd 182.5 a 81.2 de 120.0 abc 41.3 b 65.5 bc
AWC 6 1.35 abc 191.8 a 64.4 abc 128.7 abcde 28.9 a 44.8 a
12 1.44 abcd 190.3 a 64.7 abc 129.7 abcde 28.3 a 51.4 ab
24 1.46 abcd 181.7 a 126.5 f 157.3 e 34.2 ab 76.9 c

SS: sewage sludge; MMSWC: mixed municipal solid waste compost; AWC: agricultural wastes compost.

salinity as the only limiting factor for the agronomic utilization of
compost prepared from rice straw and sewage sludge, at least for
the doses 34 t ha
1 for sandy soil and 11 t ha
1 for clayey soil.
However, other risks were identified from the application of
organic wastes as soil amendments: Tejada and Gonzalez (2006)
alerted for the fact that, composts with a higher level of Na+ can
contribute to the increase of the exchangeable sodium percentage
and reduce soil structural stability, potentiating soil erodibility.
As for the organic wastes application on the soil OM and on
NKjeldahl content, the effects were similar. In the first year, the
application of the highest level of any of the organic improvers
induced a significant increase in those soil parameters, similar
for all the amendments. This was expectable, at least for the OM
content, since the application doses for all the amendments were
calculated to deliver the same amount of OM per treatment. How-
ever, in the second year of the study, the beneficial effects of the
composts application were more evident than from the SS applica-
tion (Table 2): the highest application dose of both composts
allowed a threefold increment in the soil OM content and a four-
fold increment in the NKjeldahl content, versus a twofold increment
on the soil OM content and a threefold increment on the soil NKjel-
dahl content from the application of SS. Therefore, it is possible to
assume that, the long term beneficial effects on soil properties
are more consistent when they result from the application of
amendments with more stabilized organic matter, like the com-
posts. Fernández et al. (2007, 2009) in a three-year period study,
concluded that, the composted sewage sludge can be considered
a much more efficient organic amendment than the thermally
dried sewage sludge, which may present problems of maturity
and stability. Also, Bastida et al. (2008) evaluated the contrasting
effects of materials with differing degrees of stabilization, conclud-
ing that, composted sludge-amended soils, in comparison to sew-
age sludge-amended soils, showed the highest carbon content.
Fernández et al. (2009) have also concluded that, when consid-
ering barley yield, the results were better with a single application
of composted sewage sludge, in comparison to its yearly applica-
tion, a consequence of the deleterious effects over soil properties
from the application of excessive doses.
The observations that can be drawn for the effects on the other
macronutrients content in the soil, extractable P and K, are similar
to those discussed for N: the results of the second year of the study
accentuated the positive effects from the compost application
when compared to the effects caused by the SS application
(Table 2). That was expectable for K, since both composts have
higher total K content than the SS (Table 1), a consequence of the
high solubility of K salts, contributing to its enrichment in the trea-
ted wastewater. On the other hand, the opposite is true for total P,
which has higher concentrations in the sludges, approximately
twofold higher than in both composts (Table 1). So, again, the
explanation to this fact can be found in the higher degree of stabil-
ity that the organic matter brought to the soil by the composts, in
opposition to the SS, which is still prone to an active mineralization
process, underlining the importance of the application of a more
stable and mature organic matter (Bastida et al., 2008; Fernández
et al., 2007, 2009).
Calcium and Mg concentrations in the soil were also only signif-
icantly affected in the second year of the study, and only from the
application of the composts, with slight higher concentrations for
Ca, following the application of MMSWC, and for Mg, following
the AWC application. The only soil property which was not affected
by the treatments, at least in the experiment time scale, was soil
CEC, perhaps due to the high silt content of the soil, which over-
lapped the improvement brought by an augment in OM content.
3.2. Effects of organic wastes application on soil pseudo-total and
extractable trace elements concentrations
Considering the pseudo-total trace elements concentrations for
Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb (Table 3), it is possible to say that the sludge/com-
posts application did not contribute to a significant increase in
their concentrations in the soil, neither to an increase in their
extractability by 0.01 M CaCl2, i.e. their mobile fractions (Table 4).
In fact, it is interesting to note that, despite the high pseudo-total
concentrations for Ni and Cr in the soil used for the experiment,
especially Ni, which surpass the allowed legal limit values for a soil
to receive sludge or compost amendment (Table 1), their mobility

Please cite this article in press as: Alvarenga, P., et al. Recycling organic wastes to agricultural land as a way to improve its quality: A field study to evaluate
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 P. Alvarenga et al. / Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx 7

Table 4
Effects of the amendments application on mobile trace elements concentrations, extracted by 0.01 M CaCl2 (mean, n = 4). Values in a column marked with the same letter are not
significantly different (Tukey HSD test, P > 0.05). Results are reported in a dry matter basis.

Trace elements (mg kg
1)

Treatment Cd Cr Cu Ni Pb Zn
1st year
Control 0.096 abc <1.67 <0.167 0.370 a <1.67 <0.167
0 0.093 ab <1.67 <0.167 0.391 a <1.67 <0.167
SS 6 0.105 bcd <1.67 <0.167 0.421 a <1.67 <0.167
12 0.105 bcd <1.67 <0.167 0.434 a <1.67 <0.167
24 0.105 bcd <1.67 <0.167 0.498 a <1.67 <0.167
MMSWC 6 0.106 bcd <1.67 <0.167 0.429 a <1.67 <0.167
12 0.116 cde <1.67 <0.167 0.374 a <1.67 <0.167
24 0.111 bcd <1.67 <0.167 0.342 a <1.67 <0.167
AWC 6 0.109 bcd <1.67 <0.167 0.378 a <1.67 <0.167
12 0.109 bcd <1.67 <0.167 0.366 a <1.67 <0.167
24 0.119 de <1.67 <0.167 0.381 a <1.67 <0.167
2nd year
Control 0.108 bcd <1.67 <0.167 0.439 a <1.67 <0.167
0 0.134 ef <1.67 <0.167 0.581 ab <1.67 <0.167
SS 6 0.150 f <1.67 <0.167 0.569 ab <1.67 <0.167
12 0.153 f <1.67 <0.167 0.780 b <1.67 <0.167
24 0.154 f <1.67 0.194 a 1.094 c <1.67 <0.167
MMSWC 6 0.151 f <1.67 0.167 a 0.522 a <1.67 <0.167
12 0.151 f <1.67 0.170 a 0.534 ab <1.67 <0.167
24 0.150 f <1.67 0.184 a 0.484 a <1.67 <0.167
AWC 6 0.152 f <1.67 0.159 a 0.513 a <1.67 <0.167
12 0.083 a <1.67 0.173 a 0.521 a <1.67 <0.167
24 0.083 a <1.67 0.180 a 0.482 a <1.67 0.180

SS: sewage sludge; MMSWC: mixed municipal solid waste compost; AWC: agricultural wastes compost.

is very low, less than 1% of their pseudo-total concentrations, both
for Cr and for Ni (Tables 3 and 4). As stated before, these anoma-
lous high levels for some metals in the soil, like Cr and Ni, have a
geogenic explanation, a consequence of the geographical location
in the Beja Layered Gabbro Complex (Jesus et al., 2003), and not
a consequence of some anthropic contamination.
So, even though MMSWC had Cd and Pb concentrations which
pose restrictions to their generalized application in agricultural
soils, at least when food and forage production are intended
(Table 1), the repeated application of this compost did not con-
tribute to an increase in their pseudo-total concentrations in soil.
The same observation is valid for Ni, as a consequence of the appli-
cation of AWC, which has a somewhat unusual concentration for
Ni, at least taking into consideration the materials used for its pro-
duction, which should not be contaminated with trace elements.
However, taking a closer look at its Cr concentration (Table 1),

Table 5
Effects of the amendments application on mobilisable trace elements concentrations, extracted by a solution of 0.5 M NH4CH3COO, 0.5 M CH3COOH and 0.02 M EDTA, pH 4.7
(mean, n = 4). Values in a column marked with the same letter are not significantly different (Tukey HSD test, P > 0.05). Results are reported in a dry matter basis.

Treatment Cd (mg kg
1) Cr (mg kg
1) Cu (mg kg
1) Ni (mg kg
1) Pb (mg kg
1) Zn (mg kg
1)
1st year
Control 0.232 h < 1.67 5.21 ab 19.79 bc 10.61 abc 1.49 ab
0 0.210 gh < 1.67 5.40 ab 19.14 abc 6.32 a 1.25 ab
SS 6 0.211 gh < 1.67 5.93 abc 18.32 abc 7.83 ab 2.00 ab
12 0.197 fg < 1.67 6.14 abc 18.91 abc 7.34 ab 2.08 ab
24 0.177 def < 1.67 6.30 abcd 17.55 abc 6.11 a 4.27 abc
MMSWC 6 0.175 def < 1.67 6.20 abc 17.53 abc 16.18 c 2.38 abc
12 0.183 efg < 1.67 6.63 abcd 20.30 c 8.40 ab 2.97 abc
24 0.178 def < 1.67 6.75 abcd 16.55 abc 9.40 abc 4.34 abc
AWC 6 0.158 cde < 1.67 6.03 abc 19.52 bc 6.26 a 1.66 ab
12 0.141 c < 1.67 6.08 abc 19.15 abc 5.61 a 2.85 abc
24 0.131 bc < 1.67 5.96 abc 17.97 abc 7.20 ab 6.98 abc
2nd year
Control 0.108 ab < 1.67 4.24 a 16.32 abc 3.45 a 0.78 a
0 0.134 bc < 1.67 5.49 ab 17.89 abc 4.34 a 1.25 ab
SS 6 0.149 cd < 1.67 6.61 abcd 17.74 abc 6.37 a 3.62 abc
12 0.153 cde < 1.67 9.14 def 17.43 abc 5.09 a 11.35 abc
24 0.158 cde < 1.67 10.33 ef 16.88 abc 5.10 a 13.39 cd
MMSWC 6 0.151 cd < 1.67 6.78 abcd 15.79 abc 7.16 ab 6.74 abc
12 0.151 cd < 1.67 8.41 cdef 16.55 abc 9.10 abc 12.21 bc
24 0.154 cde < 1.67 10.42 f 14.24 ab 14.24 bc 24.17 de
AWC 6 0.159 cde < 1.67 6.14 abc 17.35 abc 4.37 a 4.91 abc
12 0.084 a < 1.67 7.12 bcd 16.65 abc 4.71 a 10.65 abc
24 0.084 a < 1.67 7.47 bcde 13.13 a 4.72 a 33.06 e

SS: sewage sludge; MMSWC: mixed municipal solid waste compost; AWC: agricultural wastes compost.

Please cite this article in press as: Alvarenga, P., et al. Recycling organic wastes to agricultural land as a way to improve its quality: A field study to evaluate
benefits and risks. Waste Management (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.01.004
 8 P. Alvarenga et al. / Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx

which is not restrictive to its application to soil, but it is also high,

Effects of the amendments application on plant productivity parameters and some macronutrients concentrations in the aboveground material (mean, n = 4). Values in a column marked with the same letter are not significantly

abcde
abcde

abcde

abcde
when comparing with MMSWC and with the legal limits, we

abcd
bcde

bcde
cde
cde
abc

abc

abc
abc

abc
abc
de

ab
understand that this compost has high concentrations for the same

b
e

a
metals that have high concentrations in the soils of the farm where
(g kg
1)

the compost is produced (Serpa, Baixo Alentejo). So, its contamina-

3.83
2.83
3.41

3.28
2.63

3.46
3.13

2.43

2.46

2.19
2.54
2.56
2.32
4.02
3.07

3.50

2.20

3.06
3.40

2.40
tion with Ni, and, to a less extent, with Cr, could be expected, since
Mg

the raw materials used for its production suffer contamination via
the soil, directly or indirectly. These results are corroborated by
Tella et al. (2013), who examined potentially toxic trace elements
abcd

abcd
abcd
abcd
abcd
abcd
abcd

abcd

abcd
abcd

abcd
abcd
abcd
bcd

bcd
abc
in different organic wastes. They have concluded that, whereas the
ab
dc

dc

a
trace elements concentrations were correlated with the size of the
cities or farms where the wastes have been produced, the presence
(g kg
1)

of a particular element was correlated with the origin of the waste

7.34
5.49
6.12

6.98
6.33
6.42
6.22
6.96

5.66
6.79
7.17
6.62
6.27
5.46
6.87
6.96
7.10
7.05

7.08

6.09
Ca

and, in that case, the presence of Cr-Ni is associated with geogenic

contamination, like in AWC, Cd-Pb with anthropogenic urban con-
tamination, like in MMSWC, while Cu-Zn are ascribed to anthro-
abcd
abcd

abcd
abcd
abcd
abcd
abcd
abcd
bcd

bcd
abc

abc

pogenic agricultural and urban contamination, i.e. cross-cut to all

ab
cd
cd

cd
cd
d

a
a

types of organic wastes (Tella et al., 2013).

In fact, Cu and Zn presented a different behaviour (Table 3):
(g kg
1)

their pseudo-total concentrations had a significant increase in

29.1
28.6
32.6

36.5
42.2
34.8
36.4
33.9

28.8
18.7

31.5

31.5
31.7
30.8

38.0

19.0
20.9

31.0
30.8
30.0

the second year of the experiment, following the application of

K

the higher rate of MMSWC and AWC (24 t ha
1). However, in this
study, that increase did not considerably affect their mobile frac-
defgh

tion, extractable by 0.01 M CaCl2 (Table 4), which turned from

efgh

defg
cdef

cdef
fghi

bcd

bcd

bcd
bcd
cde
fgh

fgh

ghi

hij
ab
bc

undetectable concentrations, to concentrations above the detec-

ij

a
j

tion limit of the analytical technic, but, even so, the mobile concen-
(g kg
1)

trations were still very low, below 0.5% of their pseudo-total

4.95

5.96

4.66
4.16
5.34
5.13
4.28

5.51
3.21
3.73

4.43
3.85

4.61

3.89
5.04

6.30
5.02

2.80

4.01
4.00

concentrations. Santos et al. (2010), have also found an increase

P

of the total contents for Zn and Cu, and also Pb, following the
long-term application of compost and sewage sludge. In their case,
the mobile fractions of Zn and Pb have also increased, particularly
bcd
cde

abc

de
ab

ab
ab
ab
ab
ab
ab

ab

ab
ab

ab
ab
ab

for compost application and mainly for Zn, which may be a conse-
e

a
f

quence of the longer time span of the experiment.

Antolín et al. (2005) concluded that, repeated application of rel-
N (%)

2.21
2.48

1.88

1.97
1.96
2.12

2.35
2.29
3.11
3.34
1.82
1.78
1.75
1.96
1.96
4.06

2.06
2.09

1.90
3.00

atively low application rates of sewage sludge (e.g. 15 t ha
1), could

be used for several years to maintain crop production in
SS: sewage sludge; MMSWC: mixed municipal solid waste compost; AWC: agricultural wastes compost.

Mediterranean-type climates, but, have identified a significant

increase of grain heavy metal concentration, which is a constraint
abcde
bcde

abcd

abcd

abcd
cdef

cdef
abc

abc

to the long-term application of sludge to soil.

def

def

def
efg
ab

ab

ab

fg
g
g
a
(SPAD units)

Mobilisable Cd, Cr and Ni concentrations, i.e. extracted by a

Chlorophyll

solution of 0.5 M NH4CH3COO, 0.5 M CH3COOH and 0.02 M EDTA,

pH 4.7 (Table 5), did not increase because of the organic wastes
28.4
37.1

45.7
28.3

32.8
27.3
27.7

35.5
48.1
52.1
51.2
38.6
37.1

34.8

39.7
40.8

30.3

30.6

40.9

40.5

application, which is a very important result, since Cd concentra-

tion was a restriction for the MMSWC application, while Cr and
different (Tukey HSD test, P > 0.05). Results are reported in a dry matter basis.

Ni had high concentrations in AWC, and in the soil, as discussed

abc

abc

abc
abc

before. Nevertheless, Ni concentration in a mobilisable form in

de

de
ab
ab

ab
ab

ab

ab

ab
ab
ab
cd

bc
a

a
(cm2 plant
1)

the soil was considerably high, although not affected by the

Foliar area

organic wastes application, ranging concentrations representing 8

to 19% of its pseudo-total concentrations. So, even though the
16.9
53.8
72.3

19.7
25.9
38.1
14.9

26.7

35.4
43.8
69.3
25.6
31.2

19.4
25.7
28.2
92.0

20.6

20.2

31.0

organic wastes application did not significantly affect Ni potential

bioavailability in the soil, a soil acidification or an increment in sol-
uble organic composts can possibly exploit its extractability.
cde
cde

def
ab

ab

ab

ab
cd

cd
bc

As for Cu and Zn, and following the trend evidenced by their

ef
a

a
a

a
a
f

pseudo-total concentrations discussed before, their mobilisable

Dry biomass

concentrations in the soil increased significantly in the second year

(t ha
1)

113.55
133.42
152.41
102.31
104.08

of the experiment, following the application of the higher rates of

84.37

14.85
26.16

12.15
14.19
25.18

15.68

78.14
12.76
13.79
29.26
65.04

29.02
9.75

8.89

the organic wastes, SS, MMSWC and AWC (12 and 24 t ha
1)
(Table 5).
The same was true for Pb but, in this case, only in the second
year for the 24 t ha
1 application of MMSWC, which has restrictive
12
24

12
24

12
24

12
24

12
24

12
24
6

6
0

concentrations for this metal. From the results, it is possible to con-

sider that, if the studied organic wastes are to be used in a single
Treatment

growing season application, the rate can be as high as 12, or even

MMSWC

MMSWC
2nd year
1st year

24 t ha
1, however, if they are to be applied in a yearly application

AWC

AWC
Table 6

scheme, the application rates should be lowered to assure their

SS

SS

safe application (e.g. to 6 t ha
1). Otherwise, there is a risk of trace

Please cite this article in press as: Alvarenga, P., et al. Recycling organic wastes to agricultural land as a way to improve its quality: A field study to evaluate
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 P. Alvarenga et al. / Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx 9

Table 7
Effects of the amendments application on trace elements concentrations in the aboveground plant material (mean, n = 4). Values in a column marked with the same letter are not
significantly different (Tukey HSD test, P > 0.05). Results are reported in a dry matter basis.

Treatment Cd Cr Cu Ni Pb Zn Accumulation factors (AF)

(mg kg
1) (mg kg
1) (mg kg
1) (mg kg
1) (mg kg
1) (mg kg
1) AFCu AFNi AFZn
1st year
0 <0.42 <8.3 6.9 bc 7.8 abc <8.3 30 bcdef 0.1 cd 0.05 abc 0.82 cdefg
SS 6 <0.42 <8.3 8.7 cd 7.8 abc <8.3 30.8 bcdef 0.13 de 0.05 abc 0.79 cdefg
12 <0.42 <8.3 11.1 def 8.7 bcd <8.3 34.6 cdef 0.16 ef 0.06 abc 0.98 efg
24 <0.42 <8.3 13.2 f 11.8 d <8.3 39.3 ef 0.18 fg 0.08 bc 1.07 g
MMSWC 6 <0.42 <8.3 5.9 b 8.7 bcd <8.3 23.1 ab 0.09 bcd 0.06 abc 0.63 abcd
12 <0.42 <8.3 4.9 ab 8.1 abc <8.3 21.3 ab 0.07 abc 0.05 abc 0.54 abc
24 <0.42 <8.3 5.7 b 7.1 abc <8.3 24.1 abc 0.08 bcd 0.05 ab 0.56 abcd
AWC 6 <0.42 <8.3 5.8 b 9.3 bcd <8.3 25.1 abc 0.08 bcd 0.06 abc 0.66 abcde
12 <0.42 <8.3 5.1 ab 8 abc <8.3 25.7 abc 0.08 abcd 0.05 abc 0.66 abcde
24 <0.42 <8.3 5.4 ab 7.7 abc <8.3 24.8 abc 0.07 abc 0.05 ab 0.57 abcd
2nd year
0 <0.42 <8.3 3 a 4.5 a <8.3 16.7 a 0.05 ab 0.04 a 0.45 ab
SS 6 <0.42 <8.3 9.8 de 9.9 cd <8.3 37.2 def 0.18 fg 0.09 c 1.01 fg
12 <0.42 <8.3 11.1 def 16.1 e <8.3 40.3 f 0.19 fg 0.14 d 0.88 defg
24 <0.42 <8.3 12.3 ef 17.6 e <8.3 38.3 def 0.21 g 0.15 d 0.73 bcdef
MMSWC 6 <0.42 <8.3 5 ab 8.3 bcd <8.3 31.9 bcdef 0.09 bcd 0.07 abc 0.75 bcdefg
12 <0.42 <8.3 5.1 ab 8.2 abcd <8.3 32.2 bcdef 0.08 bcd 0.07 abc 0.63 abcd
24 <0.42 <8.3 5 ab 5.6 ab <8.3 31 bcdef 0.06 abc 0.05 ab 0.53 abc
AWC 6 <0.42 <8.3 4.9 ab 7.3 abc <8.3 27.7 abcd 0.08 abc 0.06 abc 0.62 abcd
12 <0.42 <8.3 5.1 ab 7.7 abc <8.3 28.7 bcde 0.08 abcd 0.06 abc 0.56 abcd
24 <0.42 <8.3 4.3 ab 6.7 abc <8.3 28.7 bcde 0.03 a 0.04 a 0.38 a
Maximum 10 100 40 100 100 500 Mean [Min.; Mean [Min.; Mean [Min.;
tolerable Max.] Max.] Max.]
levela 0.1 [0.03; 0.07 [0.04; 0.69 [0.38;
0.21] 0.15] 1.07]

SS: sewage sludge; MMSWC: mixed municipal solid waste compost; AWC: agricultural wastes compost.
a
Maximum tolerable level for cattle (National Research Council, 2005).

element accumulation in soils and their transference into the plant
system. In the case of this study, the soil has a high clay content,
which augments CEC and, concomitantly, the risk of metal accu-
mulation. Other authors (Cala et al., 2005), have also suggested
restricted doses for the application of different organic wastes
without endangering the human food chain: biowaste compost
can be safely applied at a dose of 40 t ha
1, while municipal solid
waste compost should be better applied at a dose of 20 t ha
1, both
in a single dose application. In fact, depending on the feedstock,
certain organic wastes, like composts, are potentially more con-
taminated with trace elements than others, and the recommended
limit doses can be different. For instance, Courtney and Mullen
(2008), conducted a field experiment to evaluate the influence of
two different agroindustrial composts on soil properties and barley
yield. Even though they have used high rates of application, 25, 50
and 100 t ha
1, neither compost raised soil Cu and Zn to levels of
concern, most certainly because the composts tested were pro-
duced from materials with a very low trace element concentra-
tions, i.e. spent mushroom and agroindustrial sludges (Courtney
and Mullen, 2008), and, on the contrary, their application con-
tributed to the increase of the organic status of the soil, nutrient
content and plant yield.
3.3. Effects of organic wastes application on plant production and
foliar trace elements concentrations
The SS application had a beneficial effect on plant production
(Table 6), and on other plant productivity parameters, such as
chlorophyll and foliar area, more pronounced than in the case of
both MMSWC and AWC application, for the two years of the study.
For the composts, despite the increment in the plant productivity
parameters analysed, the effects were only significant in some
cases. The main reason for this difference in the plant productivity
parameters could be the capacity of the SS to provide nitrogen to
the plant: SS had a NKjeldahl content approximately four times
higher than both composts (Table 1), with about 30% of the NKjeldahl
content in a readily available form, N-NH+4 (Alvarenga et al., 2015),
which can have a very marked effect on plant productivity. That
can also be observed from the foliar content of N, which was signif-
icantly higher following SS application, which was not the case
when the composts were applied.
As for the foliar content of P, K, Ca and Mg (Table 6), the effects
of the organic wastes application did not evidence a particular
trend following the application of the organic wastes.
Cadmium, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn concentrations in the above-
ground plant material were lower than their maximum tolerable
levels for cattle (National Research Council, 2005), used as an indi-
cator of risk of entry of those metals into the human food chain
(Table 7). In fact, Cd, Cr and Pb concentrations were below the
detection limit of the analytical technique used, which are far
below those maximum tolerable levels. These results evidence
the low risk of the transference of those trace elements into the
human food chain when these organic wastes are applied as soil
amendments.
Despite these overall results, it is interesting to note that the SS
application to soil promoted a significant increase in the foliar con-
centrations of Cu, Ni and Zn, which did not happen in the compost
applications, at least for Cu and Ni. This can possibly be explained
by the lowering of soil pH, as a consequence of the SS application,
that can affect the availability of those trace elements, which was
not predicted by the chemical extractions performed (Tables 4 and
5), or by the increase in the soluble organic compounds. A some-
what similar effect was found by Clemente et al. (2007), who
investigated the effects of the application of olive husk (pH 5.8)
and cow manure (pH 8.8) on heavy metal availability in a contam-
inated soil. They found that the organic amendment with the lower
pH value favoured the solubility of metals in soils and their accu-
mulation in plants. However, other authors (Sánchez-Monedero

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10 P. Alvarenga et al. / Waste Management xxx (2017) xxx–xxx
et al., 2004), found that the stabilization degree of four different
composting mixtures, produced from sewage sludge and cotton
waste, did not affect the availability of Zn, Ni, Cu, Cr and Cd, while
the stability degree has a very strong relationship with both size
and activity of soil microbial biomass. However, in this 2-month
incubation experiment (Sánchez-Monedero et al., 2004), the pH
of the organic wastes used, irrespectively of the stage of their com-
posting process, were between 7.3 and 8.2, higher than the values
discussed before.
Accumulation factors (AF), the ratio of the trace elements con-
centrations in the aboveground plant material to their concentra-
tions in the soil, were calculated for Cu, Ni and Zn (Table 7).
Accumulation factors for Cu, Ni and Zn for L. multiflorum were gen-
erally low, indicating a reduced risk of metal translocation into the
aboveground plant material. In fact, AF values for Cu and Ni were
quite below 1, evidencing the low risk of their transference to
the human food chain, while for Zn, with an AF closer to 1, indi-
cates a potential risk of Zn translocation if its concentration rises
in the soil, as a consequence of the organic wastes application. That
was, in fact, the case in the second year of the experiment, follow-
ing the application of 24 t ha
1 of both MMSWC and AWC
(Table 3).
4. Conclusions
From the results, it is possible to conclude that the use of sew-
age sludges and composts, produced from organic wastes as fertil-
izers had considerable beneficial effects on some soil properties,
namely OM content, N, P, and K concentrations, and on some plant
productivity parameters, namely biomass yield, chlorophyll and
foliar area. In the case of the plant productivity parameters, the
effects were more pronounced for the SS application than for both
MMSWC and AWC applications: plant biomass increased from
7.75 t ha
1 to 152.41, 78.14 and 29.26 t ha
1, after two consecutive
years of application of 24 t dry matter ha
1 of SS, MMSWC and
AWC, respectively. The main reason for this difference could be
the capacity of the SS to provide N to the plant, once it has, approx-
imately, fourfold higher NKjeldahl concentrations than the composts,
and in a readily available form. However, in the medium term, the
effects on soil characteristics were more pronounced following the
application of the composted organic wastes, because their organic
matter is more stable, which prolongs their beneficial effects in
soil: in the second year of the study, the highest application dose
of both composts allowed a threefold increment in the soil OM
content and a fourfold increment in the NKjeldahl content, versus a
twofold increment on the soil OM content and a threefold incre-
ment on the soil NKjeldahl content from the SS application.
The application of non-stabilized sewage sludges, as was the
case, should be discouraged: they have not only problems associ-
ated with fecal contamination, which inhibits their application in
accordance with the Portuguese legislation, but also they decrease
soil pH and increase its secondary salinity, a consequence of the
active mineralization process that still occurs in the soil.
The risk of accumulation of metals in soils and plants in the first
year of study was very low, but, the second year of organic wastes
application emphasized the risks of a continuous application of
these wastes to this type of soil: statistically higher total concen-
trations for Cu and Zn in the soil, resulting from the application
of the higher doses of the composted organic wastes, and the con-
comitant increase of Cu and Zn in mobilisable fractions.
Statistically higher foliar concentrations of Cu, Ni and Zn were
encountered, following the application of SS to the soil, a result
of soil acidification.
However, the levels of all studied trace elements in soil and in L.
multiflorum edible material were far below the soil legal limits and
Please cite this article in press as: Alvarenga, P., et al. Recycling organic wastes to agricultural land as a way to improve its quality: A field study to evaluate
benefits and risks. Waste Management (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.01.004
the maximum allowable values for animal feed consumption,
which allows us to consider that the recycling of these organic
wastes to improve agricultural land quality, should be considered.
Concluding, if these organic wastes were to be used sporadi-
cally, the rate could be as high as 12 or even 24 t ha
1, however,
if they are to be applied in a yearly scheme, the application rates
should be lowered to assure their safe application (e.g. to 6 t ha
1).
Otherwise, there is a risk of trace element accumulation in soils
and their transference into the plant system. Moreover, it is advis-
able to use more stable and mature organic wastes, which have
longer lasting positive effects on soil characteristics.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the project PTDC/AAC-
AMB/119273/2010, from FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnolo-
gia, co-financed by FEDER, through ‘‘Eixo I - Programa Operacional
Fatores de Competitividade (POFC)” from QREN (COMPETE Refª:
FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-019330), and through the research unit
UID/AGR/04129/2013 (LEAF).
The authors also acknowledge those who have generously sup-
plied materials for the study: Águas Públicas do Alentejo, S.A.,
AMARSUL, S.A., and Herdade da Risca Grande.
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