Wood ash applications to temperate forest ecosystems—potential benefits and drawbacks

The effect of aging on element plant availability and bacterial counts of mixtures of wood ash and sewage sludge

“…This material has also been sampled and analysed for years, showing high variability, but its N concentration was always clearly higher than that of the wood ash. In view of that, and given that tree growth and biomass production is N-limited on most mineral soils (Augusto et al 2008), it seems interesting performing and using appropriate mixtures of the sewage sludge and the wood ash here studied.…”

“…N concentrations and C/N ratios are clearly more appropriate for tree growth than that of the wood ash or sewage sludge alone ( Augusto et al 2008, Saarsalmi et al 2006. Table 4.…”

“…In general, timber-industry wood ash is stored on land specifically allocated for this use, or is dumped on general waste tips; however, a small proportion is used as a construction material, or for agricultural liming and fertilization. The characteristics of wood ash are highly variable (Misra et al 1993, Demeyer et al 2001, Augusto et al 2008. However, the main components of wood ash are generally calcium, potassium and magnesium (Demeyer et al 2001, Vance 1996.…”

“…Furthermore, wood ashes can contain high heavy metal concentrations, and organic pollutants, and thus spreading wood ashes in a forest would be a major anthropogenic interference with the natural biogeochemical cycles (Reimann et al 2008). Augusto et al (2008) indicate that wood ash may contain high amounts of heavy metals, but no contamination of food chains has been reported, and heavy metals remain in the forest litter or in the topsoil. Saarsalmi et al (2006) have found increased heavy metals concentrations in the humus layer after wood ash spreading, but, as regards Cd, these authors indicate that elevated Cd concentrations found in several studies in Finland have in all cases been within the normal variation range of Cd concentrations in Finnish soils in background areas.…”

Utilization of Textile Industrial Effluent for Raising Azadirachta Indica A. Juss Seedlings in Indian Desert/Tekstilės Pramoninių Nuotekų Naudojimas Azadirachta Indica A. Juss Sodinukams Auginti Indijos Dykumose/ Применение Стоков От Текстильной Промышленности Для Выращивания Рассады Azadirachta Indica A. Juss В Пустынях Индии

“…Gypsum is reported for its beneficial effects in terms of soil salinity-sodicity amelioration and influence on crop production/seedling growth (Qadir et al 1998;Haisheng et al 2008). Likewise, the ash generated as a by-product of combustion of fuel-wood, has potential to use as a fertilizer in forest systems (Augusto et al 2008), as the wood ash is a source of potassium, calcium, magnesium, and other trace minerals (Pitman 2006) and supposed to be beneficial in soil improvement and seedling growth.…”