Improvement of Soil Quality Parameters by Municipal Solid Waste Compost Application in Clay-Loam Soil

Abstract

Organic matter (OM) content of the soils should be improved for sustainable productions. Municipalsolid waste compost (MSWC) is an organic material used in several countries to improve soil OMcontents. This study was conducted to determine potential use of MSWC as soil amendment. Fieldexperiments were conducted for two years with single MSWC treatments. Experiments wereconducted on 18 plots in randomized complete blocks design with 3 replications. Six differentMSWC doses (0, 40, 80, 120, 160 and 200 t ha-1) were applied to experimental plots. Compost doseswere calculated in dry weight basis, applied to 21 m2 plots and sunflower was sown as theexperimental plant of the study. Following the sunflower harvest, disturbed and undisturbed soilsamples were taken from the experimental plots and soil samples were subjected to various analyses.Applied MSWC doses significantly increased soil OM contents, electrical conductivity (EC) andcation exchange capacity (CEC), aggregate stability (AS) and saturated hydraulic conductivity(Ksat) and reduced soil bulk density (BD). Effects of MSWC on soil pH were not found to besignificant. Effects of MSWC treatments were more remarkable with increasing doses. MSWCtreatments increased soil OM contents about 3 folds and increased CEC by about 25%. MSWCtreatments significantly increased salt contents of the soils. Such increases were found to besignificant at 1% level in the first year and 5% level in the second year. Increasing OM contents alsoincrease soil aggregation, thus reduced bulk density and increased hydraulic conductivity.Correlation analysis revealed significant correlations between OM and AS. Present findings revealedthat MSWC positively influenced physical and chemical characteristics of clay-loam soils of aridand arid climates, but salt contents should carefully be monitored in repetitive uses.