ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Yielding and Heavy Metals Accumulation
in the Biomass of Grass Cultivated in Substrata
with the Participation of Municipal Sewage Sludge
and Green Waste Compost
Teodor Kitczak1, Anna Kiepas-Kokot2, Henryk Czyż1
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1Western Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Faculty of Soil Science,
Grassland Science and Environmental, 71-434 Szczecin, ul. Słowackiego 17, Poland
2Western Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Faculty of Ecology, Environmental
Protection and Development, 71-434 Szczecin, ul. Słowackiego 17, Poland
Submission date: 2015-11-06
Final revision date: 2016-04-21
Acceptance date: 2016-04-22
Publication date: 2016-10-05
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2016;25(5):2009-2014
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ABSTRACT
During a six-year study on the influence of sewage sludge and green waste compost (in a dose of
20 Mg TS∙ha-1) on yielding and heavy metals accumulation, Festuca arundinacea lawn mixture was used,
consisting of 60% Festuca arundinacea of type Asterix + 15% Poa pratensis of type Opal + 15% Festuca
rubra of type Areta + 10% Lolium perenne of type Pimperal. The subject of the study was the effect of
these materials on yielding, changes in species composition of the sward, and the contents of copper, nickel,
lead, and zinc in the aboveground parts of plants. The materials varied according to the fertilizing value and
heavy metals content. Sewage sludge was rich in fertilizing components but also highly contaminated with
heavy metals. Green waste compost contained large amounts of sand and the content of metals was slightly
higher than in the subsoil to which it had been incorporated. The studied materials were found to have
a stimulative effect on yielding plants. Yields obtained under the influence of sewage sludge and compost
were similar. Changes in the species composition of the sward were connected to the durability of particular
grass species used in the mixture. Despite the varied loads of heavy metals that were incorporated into soil
with the used materials, they did not cause any significant increase of metals content in substratum, with the
exclusion of copper incorporated into soil with sludge. Loads of metals incorporated into soil with sludge
caused a significant increase of nickel and zinc in the aboveground parts of grass compared to the content
of these metals in other variants of the experiment. The study found varied levels of metals uptake from
soil by plants. The substratum with metals-contaminated sewage sludge demonstrated the highest uptake.