Three rates of dried sewage sludge (22.5, 45.0, and 90.0 Mg (megagrams) ha-1), were applied to a degraded semiarid grassland site on the Upper Rio Puerto Watershed in west-central New Mexico. Various soil and plant parameters were determined over 4 growing seasons. Most soil macronutrients, such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), and micronutrients, such as copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn), increased linearly with increasing sludge amendment rates. Heavy metals (cadium (Cd) and lead (Pb)) did not change as a result of sludge amendment in the first 3 growing seasons. However, concentrations of soil Cu, Mn, and Cd were just above maximum acceptable standards in the heaviest sludge treatment after 4 growing seasons. Plant density, specks richness, and diversity all decreased with increasing sludge rates. However, total plant foliar cover and herbaceous yields increased significantly with the application of sludge. Blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis (H.B.K.) Lag.) cover and yields, in particular, increased 2 to 3 fold over the control as a result of sludge amendment, whereas broom snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae (Pursh) Britt. + Rusby) density decreased over 4 growing seasons. The most favorable soil and vegetation results were from the 22.5 and the 45 Mg ha-1 sludge application rate. This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.