Waste Biomass Valor DOI 10.1007/s12649-016-9719-6
ORIGINAL PAPER
Effect of Three Types of Organic Fertilizers on the Heavy Metals Transfer Factor and Maize Biomass Mohsen Yari1 • Ghasem Rahimi2 • Eisa Ebrahimi3 • Saeedeh Sadeghi4 Mahboobeh Fallah5 • Elahe Ghesmatpoor3
•
Received: 5 June 2016 / Accepted: 29 September 2016 Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016
Abstract Organic matter plays an important role in the soil fertility as well as physical and biological properties of soil. However, these organic fertilizers sometimes contain heavy metals which are very harmful to human health. So, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of three types of organic fertilizers on the heavy metals transfer factor (TF) and maize biomass. For this purpose, pot experiment in a completely randomized factorial design was used with three replications and three types of soil as well as three types of organic fertilizers such as municipal solid waste compost, poultry manure and cow manure have been used at 5 levels in Hamedan province, Iran. Heavy & Mahboobeh Fallah
[email protected] Mohsen Yari
[email protected] Ghasem Rahimi
[email protected] Eisa Ebrahimi
[email protected] Saeedeh Sadeghi
[email protected] Elahe Ghesmatpoor
[email protected] 1
Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Soil Science, Bu Ali Sina University, Hamadan, Iran
2
Department of Soil Science, Bu Ali Sina University, Hamadan, Iran
3
Department of Soil Science, Guilan University, Guilan, Iran
4
Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran
5
Department of Soil Science, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
metals TF, biomass and amount of heavy metals in maize root were measured. In this research, sandy loam has received all three types of fertilizer while only compost was added to the clay and loam soil. Results demonstrated that TF value for Pb was higher than one in all three soil textures indicating the high concentration of Pb in the maize shoots. The TF value of Zn was increased from 0.33 to 0.66 mg/kg by enhancing the amount of municipal solid waste compost. The TF of Pb in the shoots showed greater value in the municipal solid waste compost with amount of 1.35 mg/kg compared to the poultry manure and cow manure with amount of 0.33 and 0.94 mg/kg, respectively and 120 Ton/ha compost treatment accounted for the highest value of TF for Pb. Furthermore, the maximum biomass of maize was related to the sandy loam with amount of 120 Ton/ha compost. In conclusion, the application of organic fertilizers not only is useful for the maize but also contributes to increase in the biomass of this plant. Keywords Cow manure Lead Municipal solid waste compost Poultry manure Soil pollution
Introduction Organic matter plays an important role in the soil fertility. There are some major sources for the supply of organic matter including livestock waste, sewage sludge and municipal solid waste compost which have been highly regarded in the sustainable agriculture considering the importance of organic farming and the reduction of environmental problems [41]. Commercial production of compost from the municipal waste is a useful and effective way to cope with problems caused by high volume of waste generated in the big cities. Compost can not only increase
123
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the soil organic matter as effective surface mulch but also improve the soil aggregation as well as soil water retention [11, 17, 19, 50]. The application of municipal solid waste compost may lead to the increase in the heavy metals mobility and their uptake by plants [28]. Since heavy metals can remain in the soil for a long time, it is possible to cause long-term environmental risks. Therefore, heavy metals can pose enormous risks to humans and animals health through the uptake by plants and subsequently the accumulation in the food chain [34]. The available heavy metals for plant uptake are those present as soluble components in the soil solution or those solubilized by root exudates [3]. Despite the fact that plants require certain heavy metals for their growth, an excessive amount of these metals can become toxic to plants [14]. There are several physical and chemical approaches to remove heavy metals from environment while some of these methods are not economical and may cause ecologically negative impacts on the chemical, physical and biological characteristics of soil [6]. In the last decades, the use of microorganisms and plants, as biological methods to diminish the effect of heavy metals and clean up these metals from environment, have been highly considered due to being cost-effective and eco-friendly ways. This is called bioremediation. Moreover, phytoremediation is a cost-effective plant-based approach to clean up and remediate the polluted soil and environment [10]. In fact, phytoremediation is a biological method to clean up soils contaminated with heavy metals and remove contaminants from the soil. In the recent years, this method is highly considered because of being low cost and environmentally friendly technique for the removal of pollutants while maintaining soil fertility and landscape beauty [49]. One of the important factors for the evaluation of metal uptake by plants is transfer or translocation factor (TF) of heavy metals from soil to plant [5]. TF for the metals has been measured by Cui et al. [12] and Khan et al. [23] from metal concentration ratio in the plant extract to the total metal concentration in the soil extract. TF from soil to plant is an index for the evaluation of metal translocation potential from soil to plant [48]. The TF is generally defined as the ratio of the metal concentration in the plant to the total metal concentration in the soil [48]. Some studies have demonstrated that this factor for heavy metals is dependent on plant species [48, 53] and heavy metal concentration in soil [13] along with environmental conditions [45]. Baker [2] and Bose et al. [5] used available metal in the soil to measure TF. Since holding capacity of soil for the elements is a crucial factor to release element from the solid phase to liquid phase, therefore, total concentration in the soil is used to measure the TF of metals [21]. The results from Cao [9] revealed that TF for Zn and Cu is more than other elements. It was also reported that Pb
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showed the minimum TF value compared to other elements because of limited Pb translocation from root to shoot [23]. The ability of heavy metals uptake by plants is different among various plant species due to genetic features varieties [35]. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to study the effect of three organic fertilizers including municipal solid waste compost, poultry manure and cow manure on the heavy metals TF and maize biomass.
Materials and Methods This study was carried out in Hamadan province located in the west of Iran with the mean annual temperature and precipitation of 11 °C and 300 mm per year, respectively. Three types of soil including (loam, sandy loam and clay) were used in this study. The seed maize used in this study was cultivar of Single Cross 704. Also, three types of organic fertilizers such as municipal solid waste compost, poultry manure and cow manure have been used at 5 levels (0, 20, 40, 80 and 120 Ton/ha). In this study, pot experiment in a completely randomized factorial design was used with three replications. Firstly, compost fertilizer was added to the clay, sandy loam as well as loam soil. Then, sandy loam has received other two types of fertilizer. The pots remained without cultivation for 1 month in order to stabilize the fertilizers in the soil and soil moisture was kept at field capacity during this period. When the seedling reached the 3–5 leaf stage, the weeding was done. Finally, maize was harvested after 90 days and shoots and roots were separately harvested and ground. Soil samples were taken from each pot before and after planting. Plant samples were rinsed by distilled water in the laboratory condition and plant roots were also washed by hydrochloric acid (0.01 N) in order to separate the soil particles from the plant root. Plant samples were dried in an oven with 75 °C for 48 h and then were ground. At this stage, some properties of soils were measured, including soil texture by hydrometer [16], organic carbon (OC) content using a wet oxidation method [47], Cation exchange capacity (CEC) by the ammonium acetate method [38], soil pH [44] and electrical conductivity (EC) [37] in a 1:5 soil/water extract using Thomas and Rhoades method, and also solute cations such as Na, Ka, Ca and Mg in a 1:5 soil/water extract were determined using flame photometer. Olsen [32] and Kjeldahl methods [7] were used to measure the amount of P and total nitrogen (N), respectively. DTPA extraction method was used to determine the ability of heavy metals absorption in soil [26]. The amount of heavy metals in the plant samples were measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometer [15] and ratio of heavy metals concentration in the maize shoot to the total content of heavy metal was considered as a criterion for the estimation of
Waste Biomass Valor
heavy metals TF from soil to plant. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS 9 software. In the last, Duncan’s test at the 5 % level was used for the mean comparison of treatments and diagrams were drawn using excel 2010 software.
Results Some physical and chemical properties of soils are presented in Table 1. As observed, clay soil was nearly in the range of neutral pH which was less than loam soil. The EC of these soils showed a slight salinity and were not in the range of salty soils. The content of OC and P were almost the same in all three soil samples. While potassium (K) content of clay soil was more than other two soils. Total heavy metals levels including Zn, Cu, Pb and Mn was higher in the clay soil compared to other soils while total Ni showed greater amount in the loamy soil. There was low availability of heavy metals except Mn in all soils. As observed, Cd content was zero in all three types of the organic fertilizers and soils (it wasn’t in the detection limit of device). Therefore, the measurement and interpretation of this element was ignored in this paper. Table 2 represents the chemical properties of municipal solid waste compost, cow manure and poultry manure. The pH of municipal solid waste compost was 6.90 which was nearly in the range of neutral pH while the pH of poultry manure and cow manure were 7.30 and 8.27, respectively which the pH of cow manure was in the range of alkaline pH. Total OC contents in the poultry manure, municipal solid waste compost and cow manure were 50.95, 47.50, and 32.95 %, respectively. As observed, in these fertilizers, total Pb content was between 1.4 and 30.89 mg/kg and based on the standard which was represented by WHO (World Health Organization) and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) for Iran, Pb content must be higher than 200–400 mg/kg for being considered as a toxic
Table 2 Chemical properties of municipal solid waste compost, cow manure and poultry manure Properties
Poultry manure
Cow manure
Compost
PH
7.30
8.27
6.90
EC (ds/m)
5.15
3.68
6.10
OC (%)
50.95
32.95
47.50
Ptotal (mg/kg)
59.62
50.28
47.84
C/N
21.35
17.33
19.7
K (mg/kg)
698.35
950.35
703.45
Na (mg/kg) Ca (mg/kg)
95.32 220.37
35.65 658.33
53.63 1002.58
Mg (mg/kg)
725.64
225.75
862.36
Zntotal (mg/kg)
113.87
100.54
319.87
Cutotal (mg/kg)
45.89
33.85
145
Nitotal (mg/kg)
24.89
25.26
35.87
Cdtotal (mg/kg)
0
0
0
Pbtotal (mg/kg)
1.43
1.4
30.89
Mntotal (mg/kg)
100.15
78.80
180.5
concentration. Therefore, it was revealed that compost, used in this study, was not in the toxicity range of Pb. Furthermore, this standard for Mn content is between 300 and 1300 mg/kg and there was no toxicity of Mn from these fertilizers. Table 3 represents WHO and EPA standards for Iran along with the standard content of these heavy metals for Washington. These standards are very important to control the quality of final products resulted from the production of compost. Regarding the results of this study, the municipal solid waste compost showed higher amount of nutrients such as K and P compared to the poultry and cow manure, therefore this fertilizer was able to improve soil fertility more than other fertilizers. According to Kabata and Pendias [22], Cd concentration in the range of 5–50 mg/kg is toxic for plants which none of these fertilizes was in this
Table 1 Physical and chemical characteristics of the studied soils Texture
Clay (%)
Silt (%)
Sand (%)
PH
EC (ds/m)
OC (%)
Pavailable (mg/kg)
KExchangeable (mg/kg)
ZnTotal (mg/kg)
CuTotal (mg/kg)
NiTotal (mg/kg)
Loam
12
37
51
7.8
0.29
1.15
6.02
156
51
45
48
Clay
43
19
38
6.98
0.25
1.11
6.52
178
91
46
29
Sandy loam
5.9
29.9
64.2
7.33
0.189
0.94
5.31
150.2
30.5
35.4
28.25
Texture
CdTotal (mg/kg)
PbTotal (mg/kg)
MnTotal (mg/kg)
Znavailable (mg/kg)
Cuavailable (mg/kg)
Niavailable (mg/kg)
Cdavailable (mg/kg)
Pbavailable (mg/kg)
Mnavailable (mg/kg)
Loam
1.68
15
308
1.33
1.89
0.62
0
2.21
18.5
Clay
1.51
22
421
1.02
2.8
0.77
0
2.17
19.1
Sandy loam
1.4
15.4
250
2.36
1.98
0.6
0
1.16
8.73
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Waste Biomass Valor Table 3 Compost standards developed by WHO and EPA in Iran
Parameter
Unit
Washington A
Iran
B
A
B
kg/m3
356–475
238–594
–
–
356–475
238–594
Water
%
40–60
30–70
30–50
–
40–60
30–70
OM
%
50
40
10–30
–
50
40
Ntotal
%
1
0.5
0.4–1.5
–
1
0.5
pH
–
5.5–6.5
5–8
6–9
–
5.5–6.5
5–8
EC
ds/m
\2
\3
–
–
\5
\10
C/N
–
–
15
20
–
15
20
P
%
–
–
0.2–3.8
–
–
–
K
%
–
–
0.1–2.8
–
–
–
Cu
mg/kg
–
–
90.260
1500
500
1000
Ni Cd
mg/kg mg/kg
– –
– –
– 15–40
– –
100 10
200 25
Zn
mg/kg
–
–
800–1200
–
250
500
Pb
mg/kg
–
–
200–400
300
250
500
Cr
mg/kg
–
–
–
1200
250
500
Hg
mg/kg
–
–
–
–
10
10
Mn
mg/kg
–
–
300–1300
–
–
–
Transfer Factor Table 4 shows the variance analysis of TF for the heavy metals under different levels of compost treatments and soil texture. The type of soil texture and fertilizer levels had different impacts on heavy metals TF (Table 4). As seen, the effect of soil texture on Cu and Ni was not significant, whereas it showed a considerable effect on other elements. The interaction effect of fertilizer levels and soil texture were not significant on any elements. The effect of fertilizer levels on Pb and Zn was significant while its effect on other three elements was not considerable. The mean comparison of TF for the heavy metals in three soil textures is shown in Table 5. TF of Pb in all soil textures was more than one representing the high concentration of this element in the maize shoot. Therefore, Pb
S.O.V Soil texture Fertilizer levels Soil texture * fertilizer levels Error
can easily enter the food chains and pose enormous risks to humans and animals health due to its accumulation in the food and consequently its toxic effect. No significant difference was observed for the Ni in all three types of soils while the type of soil texture had considerable impact on TF of Pb, Zn and Mn. Also, different fertilizer levels significantly affected Pb and Zn TF. However, the interaction effect between fertilizer levels and soil textures was not remarkable on Pb, Zn and Mn TF. TF of Pb and Zn were more than other elements in all soil textures. Pollution of Pb has raised a great concern on the health of human and other organisms because of its toxicity and persistence in the environment. Some recent studies revealed that Pb can cause various morphological, physiological and biochemical disorders in plants, including decrement in the seed germination, plant growth and chlorophyll production as well as water balance [18, 40]. The bio-availability of Pb to plants is closely correlated to its chemical specifications in soil [25]. Nehnevajova et al. [31] stated that there was a significant difference in the concentration of Pb in the shoots of 15 types of sunflower
df 2
Pb
Zn
Cu
0.43**
0.098**
0.005ns
0.008*
0.009ns
ns
ns
Mn
Ni
0.002ns 0.001ns 0.001
4
0.15*
0.16**
0.002
0.009
8 30
0.12ns 0.054
0.022ns 0.017
0.003ns 0.004
0.002ns 0.001
* Significant at 5 % level; ** Significant at 1 % level,
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EPA
Density
range. Rezvantalab et al. [36] stated that the amount of Cu in compost was 37.5 mg/kg and Cu content in this study was less than the mentioned amount.
Table 4 Shows the TF variance analysis of heavy metals in different treatment
WHO
n.s
no significant difference
Waste Biomass Valor Table 5 Mean comparison test of the TF of heavy metals (mg/kg) in different texture Texture
Mn
Sandy loam
0.11a
Clay Loam
Ni
Cu
0.040a b
0.049a
a
0.074
0.04
a
0.078
0.038
0.52a
b
0.4b
a
0.55a
1.05 a
0.055
Zn
1.04b
a
0.044
b
Pb
1.34
Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences at P \ 0.05
cultivars. In addition, the concentration of Pb in the shoots of these cultivars was in the range of 2.5–26.5 mg/kg dry weight. There was almost certain sequence in the transfer of heavy metals from the soil to the plant in all three soil textures. According to the results, the sequences of the heavy metals transfer from the soil to the root or the rate of their uptake by plants are shown as follows: Sandy loam : Ni \ Cu \ Mn \ Zn \ Pb Loam : Cu \ Ni \ Mn \ Zn \ Pb Clay : Cu \ Ni \ Mn \ Zn \ Pb Therefore, Pb revealed its highest uptake by plant while Ni and Cu had the lowest uptake rate by maize in all soil textures. Mean comparison of heavy metals TF in the different levels of municipal solid waste compost is presented in Table 6. As seen, TF of Mn, Cu and Ni were not significantly changed as affected by different soil textures. But TF of Pb and Zn has been changed by increasing levels of municipal solid waste compost and these changes were more in the TF of Zn compared to Pb and different treatments were placed in the different classes. For all heavy metals, the maximum TF was related to the application of 120 Ton/ha of fertilizer except Pb which its highest TF was in the application of 40 Ton/ha of fertilizer. Table 7 shows the variances analysis of heavy metals TF in all three organic fertilizer types (municipal solid waste compost, poultry manure and cow manure) in the sandy loam soil. As observed, the interaction between fertilizer level and fertilizer type did not considerably affect TF of these elements. The TF of Pb and Mn has been
Table 6 Mean comparison test of the TF of heavy metals (mg/kg) in compost treatment Fertilizer (Ton/ha)
Mn
0
0.084a
20
Ni
a
0.089
0.57a
Pb
0.045a a
0.023
0.036
0.33c
b
0.56ab
a
1.09
0.055
0.041
1.35
0.52b
80
0.084a
0.038a
0.041a
0.99b
0.36c
a
a
0.1
0.058
a
1.16ab
0.082 a
a
a
Zn
40 120
a
Cu
0.050
ab
1.12
changed as influenced by the type of fertilizers at 1 % level and 5 % level, respectively while no significant change can be found in other elements. The TF of Pb and Zn were altered by increasing levels of fertilizer (P B 0.01) but their effects on other elements were not remarkable (Table 7). Brown et al. [8] stated that organic residues are generally including different types of organic matters, metal oxides and onions which lead to the uptake of heavy metals as well as decreasing availability of these metals in the contaminated soils along with inhibition of their transfer to the plants shoots. TF is considered as an important factor in the plant extraction techniques because of the fact that plant shoot is the aim of this technique. The TF of plant cultivars used in the plant extraction technique must be more than one. In other words, concentration of heavy metals in the plant shoot must be more than its concentration in the plant root [33]. Mean comparison of heavy metals TF in all three types of organic fertilizers in sandy loam soil is shown in Table 8. It can be found that there was no significant difference between Zn, Ni, Cu and Mn TF as affected by different organic fertilizers and all fertilizers were placed in the same class. Table 9 shows the mean comparison of the heavy metals TF in different levels of organic fertilizer. There was no significant effect of fertilizer levels on Cu and Ni TF and for these two metals, all 5 levels of were placed in the same class. The highest rate of TF was related to Zn and Mn in the application of 120 Ton/ha of fertilizer and there was considerable difference between fertilizer level of Mn. Table 10 represents the mean comparison of Pb in different levels of all three organic fertilizers in the sandy loam soil. For the compost fertilizer, the maximum and minimum TF of Pb were relevant to the application of 120 and 80 Ton/ha, fertilizer with the mount of 1.35 and 0.82, respectively. Zheng et al. [52] stated that Pb is released slowly from soil. In this research, the TF of Pb was more than one which could be hazardous to the human health. In a study conducted by Boonyapookana et al. [4] it was revealed that 80–87 % of total uptake of Pb is accumulated in the sunflower roots and only 13–20 % transfers to the shoots. The highest TF of Pb in the poultry fertilizer was related to the first level of fertilizer which showed remarkable difference compared to other levels and except first level; all levels of poultry manure were placed in the same class with no significant effect on TF of Pb.
0.66a
Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences at P \ 0.05
Biomass Table 11 shows the variance analysis of biomass for different levels of municipal solid waste compost in three different types of soil texture. As can be seen from this
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Waste Biomass Valor Table 7 Variance analysis of the TF of heavy metals in organic fertilizers treatment
S.O.V
df
Fertilizer type
2
Fertilizer level Interaction Error
Pb
Zn
Cu
1.51**
0.021ns
0.0001ns
4
0.25*
8
ns
0.26
0.032
30
0.06
0.027
0.001
ns
n.s
Ni
0.0001*
ns
0.11*
* Significant at 5 % level; ** significant at 1 % level,
Mn
0.0007ns
ns
0.005
ns
0.0003ns
ns
0.001
0.002
0.0013ns
0.001
0.002
0.001
no significant difference
Table 8 Mean comparison of the heavy metals TF (mg/kg) treated with organic manure in sandy loam
Table 11 Variance analysis of the produced biomass in the different levels of compost treatment in three different soil textures
Fertilizer
Zn
Mn
S.O.V
Compost
0.52a
0.040a
0.049a
0.116a
a
a
a
Ni
Cu
df
SS
Soil texture
2
659.7**
Poultry manure
0.55
0.043
0.054
0.113a
Fertilizer levels
4
1022.6**
Cow manure
0.60a
0.049a
0.054a
0.110a
Interaction
8
1359.4**
Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences at P \ 0.05
Error
30
2.05
* Significant at 5 % level; ** significant at 1 % level. SS sum of square Table 9 Mean comparison of the TF of heavy metals (mg/kg) in the treatment of three levels of organic fertilizer Fertilizer (Ton/ha)
Zn
0
0.46b
20 40 80 120
Ni
b
0.556
b
0.555
b
0.481
a
0.742
Cu
Mn
0.041a
0.042a
0.11ab
0.030
a
0.036
a
0.09ab
0.047
a
0.055
a
0.12
ab
0.049
a
0.069
a
0.08
b
0.053
a
0.061
a
0.14
a
Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences at P \ 0.05
Table 12 Mean comparison of the produced biomass in three texture of soils and levels of compost Fertilizer (Ton/ha)
Clay
Loam
Sandy loam
20.40
g
20
20.58
g
40
20.87g
24.26f
35.99c
80
35.82
c
d
46.05b
26.78
e
b
62.86a
0
120
g
21.54g
g
20.44
21.99fg
20.41
31.32 44.91
Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences at P \ 0.05 Table 10 Mean comparison of the TF of Pb (mg/kg) in the treatment levels of organic fertilizers Fertilizer (Ton/ha)
Compost
Poultry manure
Cow manure
1.03ab
1.03a
1.03ab
ab
b
Pb 0 20 40 80 120
1.06
ab
1.21
b
0.82 1.35a
0.35
0.37c b
1.09ab
b
1.25a 0.94ab
0.313
0.316 0.330b
Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences at P \ 0.05
table, the effect of all fertilizer levels and soil texture as well as their interaction effect was significant (P B 0.01). The mean comparison of biomass as influenced by different levels of compost fertilizer in three soil textures is shown in Table 12. In all soils, there was a significant rise (P B 0.01) in the dry weight of biomass by enhancing the levels of municipal solid waste compost in comparison
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with the control samples. In this regard, different types of soils showed different behavior in response to the fertilizer levels. In the clay soil, the amount of biomass in the application of 20 and 40 Ton/ha of municipal solid waste compost was approximately similar to the control sample with no statistically remarkable difference. However, biomass weight was increased by enhancing compost level and the highest biomass weight was relevant to the application of 80 Ton/ha of compost followed by declining trend at level of 120 Ton/ha of compost. Moldes et al. [30] reported that municipal solid waste compost can provide all macronutrients for the plants growth and the increment in the amount of biomass using municipal solid waste compost can be due to improving of soil organic matter, increasing availability of N, P and K as well as soil acidity. In addition, the use of compost leads to the aggregate stability [1, 42]. In the loamy soil, increase in the municipal
Waste Biomass Valor
solid waste compost caused a rise in the amount of biomass with the highest biomass content at the level of 120 Ton/ha of compost. There was no considerable increment in the biomass weight at lower level of compost the same as clay soil and no remarkable difference was found in the applications of 20 Ton/ha of compost compared to the control sample. There was an increase in the biomass weight by increasing levels of municipal solid waste compost in the sandy loam soil and the highest biomass content was related to the level of 120 Ton/ha of compost. Sandy loam soil caused more increase in the dry weight of biomass in comparison with other two types of soil. Mobaraki et al. [29] revealed that sandy soil caused more increase in the dry weight of Alfalfa biomass relative to other soil types due to higher uptake rate of nutrients by plant in the sandy soils. Table 13 represents variance analysis of biomass amount in different types and levels of organic fertilizers in the sandy loam soil. It was observed that there were significant effects of fertilizer type, fertilizer levels as well as their interaction effect on biomass content (P B 0.01). The mean comparison of biomass content in the different levels of organic fertilizers (compost, poultry and cow manure fertilizer) is shown in Table 14. There was no considerable difference in the application of 20 Ton/ha of cow manure and compost fertilizers on the biomass content compared to the control sample while poultry fertilizer caused remarkable increase in the maize dry biomass. Yazdanpanah et al. [51] reported that the use of organic fertilizers without any other fertilizer can lead to increment in the crops yield but this increase is not considerable, therefore, to achieve high crop yield, organic fertilizers should be utilized along with chemical fertilizers for better performance. In the treatments of 20 and 80 Ton/ha, poultry manure caused more increase in the biomass content relative to other two organic fertilizers and the most increase in the biomass content was related to the treatment of 120 Ton/ha compost fertilizer. Animal manures alter the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil and as a result, result in an increase in the crop production. These fertilizers cause enhancement in the photosynthesis, growth
Table 13 Variance analysis of the produced biomass in organic fertilizers and difference level of fertilizer treatment on sandy loam soil S.O.V
df
SS
Fertilizer type
2
543.16**
Fertilizer level
4
1454.99**
8
132.86**
30
3.83
Interaction Error
** Significant at 1 % level. SS sum of square
Table 14 Mean comparison of the produced biomass in different organic manure treatment and levels of fertilizer Fertilizer (Ton/ha)
Cow manure
Poultry manure
Compost
0
21.54h
21.54h
21.54h
20 40 80 120
23.56
h
24.28
h
32.49
f
38.48
e
27.75
g
21.99h
e
35.99e
b
46.05d
c
62.86a
39.01 56.08 51.36
Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences at P \ 0.05
Fig. 1 Dry biomass transformation under different organic fertilizer treatments in sandy loam soil
and yield of maize due to the decomposition of organic matter by micro-organism and producing carbon dioxide [43]. Poultry manure, as one of the chemical fertilizers is a source of organic matter for soils which in addition to having nutrient; it is one of the cost-effective fertilizers in comparison with other animal manures [20, 24, 39]. Cow manure caused small changes in the biomass content relative to other organic fertilizers as no significant difference was observed in the treatment of 20 and 40 Ton/ha cow manure compared to the control sample. The result of Table 14 is in accordance with Fig. 1.
Heavy Metals Concentration in the Root of Maize Table 15 represents the variance analysis of heavy metal concentration in the maize root in all three soil textures with different levels of compost fertilizers. In all three soils, municipal solid waste compost caused considerable impact on the concentrations of heavy metals in the maize root while only Zn and Mn were affected significantly by fertilizer levels and also the interaction effect of fertilizer and soil texture was significant only on Mn and Ni. Mean comparison of the Pb, Zn and Cu concentrations in the maize root in different soil textures is presented in Table 16. In the clay soil, the uptake of Pb, Zn and Cu by
123
Waste Biomass Valor Table 15 Variance analysis of concentrations of heavy metals in roots of maize plants treated with different texture of soil and in different levels of compost
S.O.V
df
Pb
Zn
Soil texture
2
Fertilizer levels
4
5.00ns
8
ns
1.53
60.50
30
24.31
45.45
Interaction Error
338.15**
Cu
Mn
Ni
725.05**
61.32**
349.89**
250.05**
255.70**
14.72ns
1051.24**
47.13ns
ns
10.27
1314.27**
73.04**
9.07
268.83
ns
* Significant at 5 % level; ** significant at 1 % level;
n.s
18.74
no significant difference
Table 16 Mean comparison of the concentrations of Pb, Zn and Cu (mg/kg) in root in different soil textures
Table 17 Mean comparison of the concentrations of Zn in the root under different levels of compost
Texture
Fertilizer (Ton/ha)
Zn (mg/kg)
Pb
Zn
Cu
Sandy loam
10.66
40.87
6.06
0
45.02bc
Clay
20.06a
54.54a
9.83a
20
41.03c
b
a
a
40
53.03a
80
49.71b
120
53.43a
Loam
b
14.20
b
49.89
b
9.21
Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences at P \ 0.05
maize root was more than other soil textures although there was no remarkable difference between the loamy and clay soils in the uptake of Zn and Cu by maize root. Table 17 shows mean comparison of the Zn concentrations in the maize root under different levels of municipal solid waste compost. Compost levels only affected Zn uptake by maize root and the highest Zn uptake was relevant to the 120 Ton/ha fertilizer with amount of 53.43 mg/ kg. In the clay soil, it is probable that high concentrations of heavy metals in the maize root were due to the soil pH as well as the soil available Zn with a significant contribution to these concentrations. Long et al. [27] showed that the uptake and accumulation of Zn in the shoots and roots were changed as affected by the growth medium and plant species; besides, increase in the concentration of Zn in soil leads to substantial enhancement in the Zn content in the root and shoots of plants. Table 18 shows mean comparison of Mn and Ni concentration under different levels of compost fertilizer in all three soil textures. The maximum concentration of Mn was relevant to the treatment of 120 Ton/ha fertilizer in the clay soil with an amount of 128.87 mg/kg. Although, the highest concentration of Ni was in the control sample of clay soil with an amount of 25.68 mg/kg. But changes in the concentration of Ni were not regular in the clay and loam textures. As it can be seen, mean comparison of Ni and Mn concentration in the root was more in the clay soil than other soil textures under all different levels of fertilizer. Because of the fact that clay soils have high specific surface areas with negatively charged sites that hold positively charged ions on their surface, these soils can retain more elements and nutrients which supply a significant portion
123
Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences at P \ 0.05
of a growing crop’s nutrient needs. Variance analysis of heavy metals concentration in the maize root under different levels of organic fertilizer in the sandy loam soil is shown in Table 19. According to this table, Application of different levels of organic fertilizers caused considerable changes on the uptake of Pb, Zn, Mn and Ni by maize root in the sandy loam soil texture but there was no effect of fertilizers levels on the uptake of Cu by maize root. The effect of soil texture was not significant on Zn, Cu and Mn while it significantly affected other two elements. Table 20 represents mean comparison of heavy metals concentrations in the maize root under different levels of organic fertilizers in the sandy loam soil. Overall, poultry fertilizer was more effective relative to other two fertilizers on the uptake of Pb, Zn, Mn and Ni by maize root. The highest rates of Mn uptake were related to the use of 120 and 80 Ton/ ha of poultry manure and then 120 Ton/ha of municipal solid waste compost with amount of 130.72, 115.27 and 109.97 (mg/kg), respectively. The maximum concentration of Ni in the root was in the use of 120 Ton/ha of poultry manure with amount of 18.53 mg/kg. Furthermore, the highest Zn and Pb uptake were related to the application of 120 Ton/ha of poultry manure with amount of 69.01 and 33.66 mg/kg, respectively. Zhou et al. [54] reported that the use of swine and poultry manure in soil can bring about the increase in the heavy metals concentration in Radish. Vaseghi et al. [46] stated that the application of different volumes of sewage sludge in soil leads to the increase in the heavy metals content in the shoot and root of lettuce and spinach. Totally, heavy metals uptake in the maize root has been increased by enhancing in the fertilizer levels.
Waste Biomass Valor Table 18 Mean comparison of the concentrations of Mn and Ni in the root under different levels of compost
Fertilizer (Ton/ha)
Mn (mg/kg)
Ni (mg/kg)
Sandy loam
Clay
51.63de
0
72.93cdef
54.88
cd
43.27
e
80
60.48
bcde
120
109.97a
20 40
Loam
Sandy loam
75.95bcd
bc
4.63cd
bcde
90.22
69.72
bc
3.51
bcde
92.02
62.37
bc
abc
87.85
85.47
128.87a
85.50abc
Clay
Loam
25.68a
d
7.40a
bcd
8.55a
bcd
10.13
8.70a
16.90b
7.33a
7.99
6.05
cd
7.25
cd
6.25a
cd
10.16
12.25a
Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences at P \ 0.05 Table 19 Variance analysis of heavy metals concentrations in root under treated with different levels of organic fertilizers in sandy loam soil
S.O.V
df
Soil texture
2
Pb
Zn
260.03**
Cu
33.43ns
0.85ns
Mn
Ni
1359.79ns
36.77**
ns
Fertilizer levels
4
159.56**
418.28**
3.12
1609.57**
51.62**
Interaction
8
86.76**
271.48**
17.29ns
3300.74**
70.21**
16.76
8.14
576.23
9.03
Error
30
11.00
* Significant at 5 % level; ** significant at 1 % level;
n.s
no significant difference
Table 20 Mean comparison of different concentrations of elements in the root under different levels of organic fertilizers in sandy loam soil Fertilizer (Ton/ha)
Mn (mg/kg) Poultry manure cd
0
51.63
20
28.75d
40
abc
88.47 115.27
ab
120
130.72
a
Fertilizer (Ton/ha)
Pb (mg/kg)
80
Poultry manure 0 20
8.00d c
16.83
Cow manure e
Compost
Poultry manure
Compost
b
51.63
4.63
4.63
4.63bc
70.17bcd
54.88bc
2.05c
9.75a
3.51bc
a
6.05ab
a
7.25ab
84.12
bc
83.15
abc
87.80
bc
43.27
bc
60.48
a
109.97
c
Cow manure
51.63
bc
bc
bc
9.30
b
11.20
a
8.91 10.21 11.53
12.25a
Poultry manure
Cow manure
Compost
32.95b
32.95b
32.95b
a
32.34b
a
18.53
a
Zn (mg/kg) Cow manure 8.00b a
Compost 8.00ab ab
16.5
10.83 14.50
33.06
42.11
45.32ab
80
20.27b
15.83a
11.50ab
41.76ab
41.01a
42.18ab
a
a
a
21.50
b
42.69
14.16 16.66
ab
41.90
14.83 33.66
a
ab
40 120
c
Ni (mg/kg)
a
69.01
a
49.16
51.58a
Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences at P \ 0.05
Conclusion Over the past decades, the world’s population has been growing rapidly which results in the production of large volumes of municipal waste; however, this population is greatly dependent on the domestic animals in order to make their food. Therefore, a large volume of animal excrement and waste is produced while a great deal of time and money needs to be spent on removing high volume of these waste materials. One of the best and cost-effective approaches to reduce the harmful effect of these materials is the use of this organic material as fertilizer for the plants growth.
However, in some cases, these organic materials contain heavy metals which are hazardous to the human health and can cause some human diseases such as cancer. In this regard, the aim of this study was to investigate the amount of heavy metals uptake by maize and dry biomass weight of this plant as affected by municipal solid waste compost, poultry manure and cow manure. As previously mentioned, main characteristic of used compost was in compliance with the current standards and the amount of heavy metal toxicity were less than permissible limit. The TF of Pb element was greater than one in all three soil textures which indicated the high concentration of this heavy metal
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Waste Biomass Valor
in the maize shoot. The TF rate of Pb and Zn were increased with enhancing the levels of municipal waste compost fertilizer which this change was more significant in the Zn element. The TF of Pb in the shoot of maize was more in the application of municipal solid waste compost compared to the other organic fertilizers and the maximum TF for this element was related to the use of 120 Ton/ha of municipal solid waste compost. The results showed that the highest amount of biomass production was in the sandy loam soil with 120 Ton/ha of municipal solid waste compost. Furthermore, it was observed that the production of biomass was greater in the poultry manure than cow manure. The maximum Ni content in the root was relevant to application of 120 Ton/ha of poultry manure (18.53 kg/ mg). According to the results of this study, it can be concluded that the application of organic manure for the maize plant not only is effective but also causes increase in the biomass of this plant.
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