Response of Soil Microbial Biomass and Enzymatic Activity in Municipal Solid Waste Compost Treated Soil

Municipal solid waste compost (MSWC) can be valued in agricultural soils of Pakistan due to its many favorable properties, particularly as an organic fertilizer and soil amendment. However, higher concentrations of trace metals present in MSWC can limit its use as an organic amendment in agriculture. High concentration of Cd and Pb can alter soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen (SMB C and N) and enzymatic activities such as soil dehydrogenase activity (DHA). Therefore, a study was conducted to evaluate the effect of MSWC derived trace metals on SMB (C and N) and DHA. It was observed that Cd and Pb contents increased with increasing compost rates and the highest increase was observed by the application of MSWC at 20 t ha(-1). The soils amended with MSWC after 60 days incubation led to a substantial reduction in Cd (37%) and Pb (42%) concentration in soil. The MSWC applied at 20 t ha(-1) showed the highest values of SMB C (21%), N (111%) and DHA (25%) over control. The results showed MSWC soil application did not negatively affect the SMB (C and N) and soil dehydrogenase enzyme activity. (C) 2019 Friends Science Publishers