%0 Journal Article
%T Nursery Growing Media: Agronomic and Environmental Quality Assessment of Sewage Sludge-Based Compost
%A Barbara De Lucia
%A Giuseppe Cristiano
%A Lorenzo Vecchietti
%A Elvira Rea
%A Giovanni Russo
%J Applied and Environmental Soil Science
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/565139
%X There is a stringent need to reduce the environmental impact of peat in the plant nursery production chain. In this experiment, the use of different rates of sewage sludge compost in the preparation of growing media for potted Bougainvillea was evaluated to assess its efficiency for the replacement of peat and to quantify the environmental impact of such alternative substrates by the life cycle assessment (LCA) method. Five substrates containing increasing proportion of composted sewage sludge to peat (0%, 25%, 40%, 55%, and 70% v/v) were used, and their physicochemical properties were measured. Bougainvillea plant growth, biomass production, and macro- and micronutrient absorption were also determined. The main results were that compost addition improved the plant nutrient and increased the substrate pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and dry bulk density values. Globally, the results showed that compost could be used at up to 55% by volume with no negative effects on plant growth. The LCA showed that use of compost reduced the environmental loads of the growth media, except the Global Warming Potential value (GWP100). Environmental implications of the use of compost in the plant nursery chain are discussed. 1. Introduction Ornamental plant nursery production is one of the most specialized examples of intensive agriculture, with the large use of nonrenewable resources to maximize plant growth and reduce production time in an effort to capitalize on-sale profits. Because of this, the ¡°green industry¡± is often considered a nonpoint (or diffused) polluting industry, due to the low efficiency in the management practices. The most common growing media used in Mediterranean ornamental nursery is peat, alone or mixed with inorganic coarse materials [1], because of its good chemical and physical properties. The development of substrates alternative to peat is necessary for three main reasons: (i) peat resources are limited and costly; (ii) the social pressure to reuse the waste resulting from human or industrial activities is growing rapidly, (iii) the economic need for reusing locally produced waste is more and more urgent [2, 3]. In Italian ornamental nurseries the cost of the substrate affects by up to 12¨C15% the overall production cost of the potted plants [4]. It is appropriate to consider replacing peat with other organic resources with favorable economically and environmentally features [5]. Composted organic wastes, properly mixed, can make excellent substrates for vegetable transplants [6, 7], especially sewage sludge due to its widespread production.
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/aess/2013/565139/