The influence of long-term sewage sludge application on the activity of phosphatases in the rhizosphere of plants

Model experiments using rhizoboxes were carried out in order to evaluate the influence of different plants (wheat, rape) on the changes in water extractable contents of P, the pH/H2O value and the activity of acidic and alkaline phosphatase in soil of plant rhizosphere. For this experiment, a Cambisol with different long-term fertilizing systems was used: (i) control (with no fertilizer application), (ii) sewage sludge, and (iii) manure. A lower content of water-soluble P was observed in close vicinities of root surfaces (up to 2 mm) at all the studied variants. The control (non-treated) variant reflected a significantly lower content of water-soluble P in the rhizosphere compared to the fertilized ones. The activities of the acidic and alkaline phosphatases were significantly higher in the rhizosphere compared to the bulk soil (soil outside the rhizosphere). The long-term application of organic fertilizers significantly increased phosphatase activity; the activity of the acidic phosphatase was significantly higher in the rhizosphere of rape plants compared to wheat. The variant treated with manure exhibited an increased activity of both the acidic and alkaline phosphatases compared to the variant treated with sewage sludge. In the case of the variant treated long-term with sewage sludge, the portion of inorganic P to total soil P content proportionally increased compared to the manure-treated variant. Soil of the rape rhizosphere showed a trend of lower pH/H2O value of all variants, whereas the wheat rhizosphere showed an opposite pH tendency.