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Remediation strategies are capable to mitigate negative effects of heavy metals (HMs) on soils. The distribution of cooper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and chromium (Cr) was evaluated in a contaminated soil after adding biosolid compost (BC) and phosphate fertilizer (PF). A greenhouse assay and sequential extraction procedure were performed to determine the fractionation of HM in contaminated and remediated soil. In BC treatment, among 4 to 6% of Cu was associated with soil humic substances. Without amendments and with fertilizer application, Zn solubility increased by 15.4 and 8.4%, respectively, with experiment time. Although Cr was significantly adsorbed to the inorganic fraction, with compost application there was a transfer to organic fraction. A single amendment application is not suitable for immobilizing all metals of concern, because there are diverse union's behaviors between HM and soil matrix. As the organic matter and phosphate fertilizer were effective in reducing mobility of Cu, the organic matter was more effective in the immobilization of Cr, and inorganic amendment induced the Zn precipitation, results from this pilot study suggest a combined use of these two amendments for soil remediation strategies. However, liming may be further needed to prevent soil acidification on longer time scales. Also, we propose the use of chemical and biological remediation strategies for potential improvement of effectiveness.

Copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and chromium (Cr) are pollutants that usually are accumulated in soils. Their toxicity can be decreased by applying amendments. We proposed to evaluate changes in Cu, Zn, and Cr availability, due to the application of amendments, through chemical analysis and phytotoxicity tests. The phytotoxicity test was carried out using species belonging to Sesbania genus; plant parameters were measured 48, 72, 96, and 168 hours after the start of incubation. The treatments included enriched soil, in addition to biosolid compost and triple superphosphate. Cu and Zn amounts were higher in treatments without amendments, indicating immobilization on the part of these. The amounts of Cr tended to decrease with amendments application. The amendments increased pH values and decreased EC; however, this had no impact on the results. No relationship was found among pH, EC, and plant parameters. Different behaviors were observed. S. virgata showed germination seed delay. In addition, while in S. virgata the IG increased during the assay, in S. punicea it diminished. The application of compost, fertilizer or both combined could be of interest for contaminated soils remediation. The use of chemical analysis and phytotoxicity tests allowed to estimate heavy metal availability and the effect on both Sesbania species.

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Problem Statement:The anthropogenic activities can cause adverse effects in soils, increasing in some situations trace elements contents, impacting negatively both the microbial biomass and activity. Among the practices used for the recovery of soil quality we can find the application of organic amendments or the product of their composting. These can adsorb trace elements decreasing their availability and increasing the soil microbial biomass. The microorganisms of the soil use to be considered as sensitive biological indicators of the changes produced in the soil quality. Approach: One processes to quantify soil biological activity is the respiration. The aim was to evaluate the effects of two organic amendments application on soil microbial activity, in a soil contaminated with copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and chromium (Cr). To prove the raised aim we quantified CO 2 -C release. Results:The results showed that at the end of the incubation period, as much in contaminated soils as in soils without contamination, the total activity of microorganisms was significantly increased by the application of organic amendments (p = 0.0062 and p = 0.0005, respectively). The application of both composts to slightly acid soils increased the initial and final values of pH. There was no evidence of modification in Electrical Conductivity (EC) because of compost application. At the end of the incubation period a negative relationship was observed between EC and CO 2 -C (R 2 = 0.74, p = 0.0028). Conclusions: The obtained results in this study suggested that it was possible to increase the total activity of soil microorganisms and to reduce the bioavailability of Cu, Cr and Zn in a contaminated soil. As a result, CO 2 -C release is a sensitive index of the soil quality, at least in the experimental conditions of this essay.