Effect of soil pH on availability to crops of metals in sewage sludge-treated soils. I. Nickel, copper and zinc uptake and toxicity to ryegrass

The effect of soil pH value on concentrations of Ni, Cu and Zn in ryegrass grown on two sludge-treated soils was examined under field conditions and the maximum permissible soil limit values for these elements were determined which prevent phytotoxicity in crops where sewage sludge is applied to agricultural soils with pH <6.0. Concentrations of all the elements in ryegrass decreased as simple linear functions of increasing soil pH and this response was consistent across the range of pH values measured (pH 4.2-7.0). The response of individual elements tended to differ though, with Cu being less sensitive to changing pH conditions compared with Zn and Ni which responded in a similar manner. The yield of ryegrass also increased with increasing soil pH value probably due to the effects on Zn uptake as the crop content of Zn exceeded known upper critical tissue concentrations for this element at both sites. The proportional change in metal content of ryegrass at pH 5.0, 5.5 and 7.0 from tissue concentrations at pH 6.0 was calculated to determine the permissible soil concentration values on the basis of current maximum limits set by the Sludge Regulations in the UK for sludge-treated agricultural land at pH 6.0-7.0. The estimated permissible concentrations of Ni and Zn in soil corresponded with the regulatory values at the low pH ranges, but were substantially above the current soil limits at pH 7.0 indicating larger quantities of these elements could be safely applied under alkaline soil conditions. The estimated soil limits for Cu implied that the current Regulations were highly precautionary for this element.