The use of sewage sludge in agriculture is a sound alternative for nutrient recycling, but the concern over increase in soluble chemical species from mineralization of organic matter remains. The study of the soil solution is a valuable tool for understanding the availability of nutrients and for assessing the risk of soil and water contamination. For such studies, where the number of parameters examined is usually more than 10, the use of multivariate analysis tools, such as principal component analysis (PCA), are quite useful in revealing outliers, the contribution of individuals and groups of parameters, and the relationship within tested samples. The objective of this study was to identify the parameters related to changes in the soil solution associated with the use of sewage sludge or mineral fertilization in order to complement procedures for monitoring/ assessing areas amended with them. The soil solution of an area which received sewage sludge for seven consecutive years was studied from 22 to 46 months after its last application. By using PCA it was possible to identify the treatments throughout the soil solution composition. Even four years after interrupting the successive applications of sewage sludge, the heavy metals in the soil solution of the area were close to the instrumental detection limits. However, changes in the soil solution composition due to mineralization of the remaining organic matter from the sewage sludge were still detectable. Based on those results, we propose a set of parameters for monitoring the soil solution of areas amended by sewage sludge: pH, Mn+2, COD, SO4(2-), NO3-, and NH4+.
heavy metals; organic matter; mineralization; multivariate analysis
