No abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of the addition of various materials, i.e. municipal sewage sludge, furnace ash and peat, as well as various doses of ash-sludge and ash-peat mixtures, on some physico-chemical properties of the soil: pH, hydrolytic acidity, sorption complex capacity, organic C content, the content of P, K and Mg available forms, total content of heavy metals and their forms soluble in 1 mol · dm-3 HCl solution, and their speciation as well. Municipal sewage sludge and of ashsludge and ash-peat mixtures use in the experiment caused the greatest increase in sorption capacity, in content of phosphorus, potassium and magnesium and resulted in a gradual increase in the content of studied heavy metals. The addition of ash and applied mixtures to the soil caused a change in soil reaction (the pH increase). The ash was characterized by a low content of heavy metals. After peat and its mixtures with ash application decreased content of heavy metals was observed, and when the peat was used alone could be seen the greatest increase in the organic C content in the substrate. Distribution of heavy metals in the fractions separated in different combinations show large variations, depending on the tested metal and the studied variant. Chromium, zinc, lead and cadmium have been stored mainly in the residual fraction (FV), and most of the copper and nickel have been specifically bound with organic matter (FIV). It has been found that the alkaline materials application to the soil decreased the solubility of most heavy metals, which results in a limitation of their uptake by plants. Chromium and copper were an exception, which solubility increased with the alkalinity of the substrate. An exception was chromium and copper, which solubility increased with the alkalinity of the substrate.

The experiment concerning the effect of furnace waste on the chemical composition of maize was conducted under conditions of a three-year pot experiment. The arable soil was amended with bottom ash in the amount of 23.33 g ∙ pot-1 as well as with increasing doses of cadmium (between 3 and 15 mg ∙ kg-1 soil d.m.). Introduction of ash and cadmium in the amount from 3 to 5 mg ∙ kg-1 d.m. to the soil had a significant effect on the increase of the yield of above-ground parts and roots of maize. The application of cadmium in doses from 7 to 15 mg ∙ kg-1 caused a considerable reduction in the yield of the tested plant. It was shown that the applied furnace ash influenced the decrease in the yielding of maize. Introduction of furnace ash to cadmium contaminated soil significantly influenced the increase in the content of Na, K, Mg, Ca and Si in maize biomass and the decrease in the content of P in maize. Among the studied elements, K was translocated from the roots to the above-ground parts most efficiently, and Na and Si – least efficiently, the evidence of which are the values of the translocation factor for these elements. The research shows that ash in cadmium contaminated soil influenced immobilization of phosphorus, and thereby limited the phytoavailability of this element. It was established that the above-ground parts took up more K, Mg, Ca, P, Si with the yield while and maize roots took up more Na. The lowest uptake of the studied metals by maize was observed in the treatment where only furnace ash was applied.