Natural ecosystems in the western United States provide potential locations for recycling sewage biosolids. However, little is known about how this practice would affect soil microbial activity. Our objective was to determine whether one-time surface biosolids applications at 0 and 40 Mg ha −1 to a shrubland site and 0 and 30 Mg ha −1 to a grassland site would affect various types of microbial activity 6 years after treatment. Compared with the untreated control, biosolids addition increased microbial respiration by factors of 2.3 and 1.7 at the shrubland and grassland sites, respectively, and nitrogen mineralization increased by factors of 5.4 and 3.6 at the shrubland and grassland sites, respectively. Biosolids application enhanced the colonization of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi on root samples of western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii (Rydb.) A. Love) by 33% at the shrubland site and of blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis (H.B.K.) Lag. ex steud) by 23% at the rangeland site 6 years after treatment. Microbial biomass (SIR-Cmicro) increased by at least 11% in the biosolids-amended plots at both sites. Biosolids did not affect the basal respiration rate (BRR) or the metabolic quotient (qCO2) at either site. We conclude that one-time biosolids addition in a shrubland and a grassland ecosystem 6 years after biosolids application enhances micro-bialactivity.
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Barbarick et al. (2004) studied this question.
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