Indices of Soil and Plant Cover Pollution Due to Re-Introduction of Sediment Water Under the Energy Willow on Aluvisol of Ukraine

Abstract

Abstract. Municipal sewage sludge is considered as an important resource for replenishing organic carbon and mineral nutrition elements in the soil. However, its widespread use in the agricultural sector is associated with the risks of soil contamination by pollutants, in particular heavy metals, and their inclusion in trophic food chains. A relatively ecologically safe way to dispose of sewage sludge is to apply it to energy crops. In order to study the influence of sewage sludge application on the ecological condition of podzolic soil and the level of heavy metal contamination of plant cover, research was carried out in the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine on a willow plantation of the second cycle of energy use and repeated application of fresh sewage sludge and its composts with coniferous sawdust and grain straw cultures in different doses. Research has established that under the influence of the application of sewage sludge, the indicators of the content of heavy metals in the roots and above-ground shoots of energy willow significantly changed. The highest doses of sewage sludge of 60–80 t/ha led to a significant increase in the content of As, Mo, and Pb compared to other research options. The content of Fe, Zn, Sr, Y in these options was at the level of the option where compost was applied (sewage sludge + straw (3:1) + cement dust 10%) – 40 t/ha. Also, the use of cement dust in this version led to the highest Nb content. Ni, Cu.The highest value of the Integral index of energy willow plant pollution ‒ 222 was recorded in the variant where fresh sewage sludge was applied at the rate of 80 t/ha, which was 17‒20 points higher than the values of the closest variants of the experiment

Keywords

• heavy metals
• biological absorption coefficient
• translocation coefficient
• intra-tissue contamination index
• integral contamination index