The objective of this work was to evaluate the dynamics of carbon mineralization and the soil capacity in providing nitrogen after successive applications of sewage sludge, as well as to determine their relation with the mineralization rate of the sludge previously applied. The experimental area received for seven years the following treatments: 80 kg ha‑1 per year of mineral N (L0); and 10 or 20 Mg ha‑1 per year of sewage sludge (L1 and L2, respectively). Soil samples (0-20 cm) were taken one year after the last application of the treatments. Samples received sewage sludge doses corresponding to 0, 120, and 240 kg ha‑1 of N and were incubated in laboratory for more than 100 days, with determination of C‑CO2 emission and inorganic soil N content. The mineralization of C and N was more influenced by the previous use of sludge than by the incubated doses. The nitrogen mineralization rate (NMR) reduced from 16%, on L0, to 11% on L1 and 8% on L2. However, this reduction did not result in lower N availability on the system, since there was an increase of the potentially mineralizable nitrogen (N0) in L1 and L2. Therefore, the NMR is not an adequate parameter for calculating the sewage sludge dose to be applied on areas previously treated with the residue, since it underestimates the system capacity of providing N. In this case, the use of N0 should be considered.
nitrogen fertilizer; organic matter; potentially mineralizable nitrogen; waste; nitrogen mineralization rate
