Impacts of long-term application of organic fertilizers on soil quality parameters in reclaimed loess soils of the Rhineland lignite mining area

On the basis of long-term field experiments, the impact is demonstrated of the periodic application of organic fertilizers on the accumulation of organic matter and the development of the micro-pollutant content of reclaimed loess soils of the Rhineland lignite mining area under agricultural use. The oldest of these experiments (‘Berrenrath Humus Accumulation Experiment’) was begun in 1969. The results show that the regular input of organic matter (e.g. manure, waste compost, sewage sludge) favors the accumulation of soil organic matter (SOM). However, the type of organic material applied seems to be less important to the long-term accumulation process than the application rate. This is also true for composted and uncomposted manure, if the decay of organic matter during the composting process is taken into account. Nevertheless, the application of similar amounts of organic C in the form of manure resulted in a higher accumulation of SOM in a nitrogen-reduced farming system. Depending on the treatment, accumulation rates were between 0.02 and 0.08% SOM per year with values decreasing with time. From these results, it is estimated that reclaimed soils will take much longer to reach the former SOM level than was previously assumed. However, it is important to determine which SOM level is adequate for different soil functions (e.g. production function, filter and buffer function, transformation function), and whether the young SOM of reclaimed soils has the same properties as older SOM in undisturbed topsoils. As was expected, long-term fertilization with sewage sludge and waste compost led to an accumulation of some micro-pollutants in the topsoils treated. Nevertheless, the observed concentrations are quite low compared to background levels in topsoils of rural regions in North Rhine-Westphalia. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.