Urban Soil Enzyme Activity Restoration with Sandwich Compost

Abstract

Soil enzyme activity is a good indicator of soil quality. Urban soil is known to be of poor quality for plant growth. Meanwhile, food waste is a significant issue around the world. Sandwich compost made using food waste has the potential to improve soil quality. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of Sandwich compost on soil enzyme activity. It was conducted using soil-to-Sandwich-compost ratios of 1:1 and 1:2 for 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks. Then, the soil enzyme activity, pH and moisture content were determined. The findings show that soil pH was stabilized to 7 after 6 and 8 weeks of restoration at the 1:2 ratio. The 1:2 soil-to-Sandwich-compost ratio significantly increased soil moisture content from 12.00 ± 0.286 to 14.3 ± 2.11%. Soil urease activity was enhanced from 1.330 ± 0.0407 to 10.5 ± 0.315 mg NH3-H after 8 weeks of restoration, with the opposite effect occurring in catalase activity (0.525 ± 0.0104 to 0.0839 ± 0.00535 mL 0.02 mol/L KMnO4/g dry soil). An 8-week soil-restoration period with a 1:2 ratio of soil-to-Sandwich compost is recommended to improve soil enzyme activity and pH.

Keywords

• urban soil
• Bokashi
• kitchen waste
• soil stabilizing
• soil amendment