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Microbial Metabolic Potential Affected by Surplus Wastewater Irrigation in Tropical Soil Cultivated with Tifton 85 Bermuda Grass (Cynodon dactylon Pers. X C. niemfuensis Vanderyst)

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Abstract

Agricultural reuse of treated sewage effluent (TSE) is an environmental and economic practice; however, little is known about its effects on the characteristics and microbial function in tropical soils. The effect of surplus irrigation of a pasture with TSE, in a period of 18 months, was investigated, considering the effect of 0% surplus irrigation with TSE as a control. In addition, the experiment consisted of three surplus treatments (25%, 50%, and 100% excess) and a nonirrigated pasture area (SE) to compare the soil microbial community level physiological profiles, using the Biolog method. The TSE application increased the average substrate consumption of the soil microbial community, based on the kinetic parameters of the average well color development curve fitting. There were no significant differences between the levels of surplus irrigation treatments. Surplus TSE pasture irrigation caused minor increases in the physiological status of the soil microbial community but no detectable damage to the pasture or soil.

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Abbreviations

TSE:

treated sewage effluent

CLPP:

community level physiological profile

STP:

sewage treatment plant

AWCD:

average well color development

NMDS:

non-metric multidimensional scaling

ANOSIM:

analysis of similarity

AWC:

available water capacity

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Acknowledgements

This work has been funded by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) and by Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo (Sabesp). We would like to thank Dr. C.R. Montes for her helpful collaboration in this research project, and Dr. C.R.D. Maluche-Baretta for her helpful discussion on the statistical analysis. A.M. de Paula and E.J.B.N. Cardoso were sponsored by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ciência do Solo, Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ), Universidade de São Paulo (USP), P.O. Box 09, 13418-900, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil

    A. M. de Paula, E. J. B. N. Cardoso & A. J. Melfi

  2. Departamento de Ciência do Solo e Engenharia Agrícola, Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa (UEPG), Av. Gen. Carlos Cavalcanti, 4748, 84030-900, Ponta Grossa, PR, Brazil

    A. F. da Fonseca

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  1. A. M. de Paula
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  2. A. F. da Fonseca
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  3. E. J. B. N. Cardoso
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  4. A. J. Melfi
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Correspondence to E. J. B. N. Cardoso.

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de Paula, A.M., da Fonseca, A.F., Cardoso, E.J.B.N. et al. Microbial Metabolic Potential Affected by Surplus Wastewater Irrigation in Tropical Soil Cultivated with Tifton 85 Bermuda Grass (Cynodon dactylon Pers. X C. niemfuensis Vanderyst). Water Air Soil Pollut 205, 161–171 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-009-0063-3

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