Biosolids as a source of soil conditioning and fertility for turfgrass

Wastewater treatment plants are shifting towards producing exceptional quality (EQ) biosolids to increase recycling rates to land, especially urban areas. Other methods of improving the environmental impact of wastewater treatment includes additions of iron (Fe) to reduce phosphorus (P) concentrations in outgoing treated water and precipitate the P into the biosolids. Proper management of biosolids to rehabilitate anthropogenically disturbed urban soils for improved plant growth and effects on the cycling of nutrients requires further study. Our objectives were: 1) to determine whether various EQ biosolids could be managed to improve degraded soil properties and turfgrass quality while minimizing risk of P loss in a field study; and 2) to use spectral reflectance data to compare relationships of vegetation indices to soil and turfgrass parameters. We found that after an initial lag-time of one year, biosolids amendments increased turfgrass clipping biomass and aesthetic quality greater than did synthetic fertilizer. Repeated topdressing applications of biosolids reduced soil bulk density and increased soil organic carbon (OC) and nitrogen (N) stocks. Biosolids applied at the agronomic N rate did not increase water-soluble P (15 and 18 mg P kg-1 of soil) compared to biosolids applied at the agronomic P rate (9.6 mg P kg-1 of soil) and synthetic fertilizer (13 mg P kg-1 of soil) after five years. We further demonstrated at this field site that collecting continuous data improves spectral reflectance vegetation indices relationships to turfgrass quality, clipping biomass, and tissue N accumulation. Soil volumetric water content was best correlated to the water band index (r = 0.60) and the green-to-red ratio index (r = 0.54) vegetation indices. Differences in soil and turfgrass measured parameters were best detected when there was drought-stressed versus irrigated turfgrass.