Improvement of degraded physical attributes of a saline-sodic soil as influenced by phytoremediation and soil conditioners

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to evaluate the use of phytoremediation and soil conditioners in the recovery of physical attributes of a saline-sodic Fluvic Neossol in Brazil Northeast. The applied treatments were: Atriplex nummularia L., as phytoremediation plant, due to its ability to extract salts from the soil; organic conditioners, such as bovine and sheep manure; gypsum and polymer, as chemical conditioners. Samples with preserved structure were collected at the time of the experiment installation and 18 months after in the layers 0–10 cm and 10–30 cm. The analyzed attributes were: water dispersed clay, dispersion index, bulk density, penetration resistance, soil porosity, and saturated hydraulic conductivity. The use of sheep manure, gypsum and polymer promoted an increase in saturated hydraulic conductivity in the 0–10 cm layer from 4.51 to 16.37 cm day⁻¹, 11.26 to 23.95 cm day⁻¹ and 7.24 to 22.77 cm day⁻¹, respectively. Gypsum increased the macroporosity in the superficial layer by 42.6%. Atriplex and polymer were more efficient at reducing soil penetration resistance. The polymer was more efficient at improving the physical properties. However, it is necessary to consider phytoremediation with Atriplex as a more sustainable alternative that can still be used as complementary fodder in animal feed.

KEYWORDS:

• Semiarid soils
• salinization
• Atriplex nummularia
• soil recovery

Acknowledgements

To National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) for financial support (MCT/CNPq/CT-AGRONEGÓCIO/CT-HIDRO/MAPA-SDC-SPAE Nº 44/2008); and to Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) for the scholarship.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq); [MCT/CNPq/CT-AGRONEGÓCIO/CT-HIDRO/MAPA-SDC-SPAE Nº 44/2008]; Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES).