Abstract
The lignite and pyrite containing spoil substrates of the Lusatian mining district are marked by very high acidity and salt concentrations due to pyrite oxidation and by a very low content of pedogenic organic matter and nutrients. The effects of fly ash application to neutralize the produced acid and of organic waste material application to improve the ecological soil functions were studied considering the carbon and nitrogen cycling. Nineteen, 38 and 57 t ha−1 sewage sludge and 22, 44 and 66 t ha−1 compost were applied to ameliorated lignite and pyrite containing substrate. An automated soil microcosm system was used to analyse the solid, gaseous and liquid phases. Almost 9% of total N applied with sewage sludge (620, 1240 and 1860 t N ha−1 applied) were lost over a period of 150 days mainly as NO3-N. The total N losses from compost treatments were three times lower (2.8–3.1% of applied Nt) and occurred in similar quantities as NH4-N and NO3-N. Only sewage sludge treatments showed slightly increased N2O emissions at the beginning of the experiment. CO2 emissions determined the carbon losses of all treatments. The C losses amounted to 3.2–4.7% and 1.5–2.7% of Ct applied with sewage sludge and with compost, respectively.
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Blechschmidt, R., Schaaf, W. & Hüttl, R.F. Soil microcosm experiments to study the effects of waste material application on nitrogen and carbon turnover of lignite mine spoils in Lusatia (Germany). Plant and Soil 213, 23–30 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004650005531
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004650005531