Impact of treated wastewater sludge on soil and wheat growth characteristics in a semi-arid climate
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Sludge accumulation as a byproduct of wastewater treatment is an increasingly growing concern which can be addressed by utilizing the sludge as a soil amendment. A two-year study was conducted to valorize sludge as an organic amendment on soil cultivated with rainfed wheat ( Triticum icaversea ) and its impact on soil properties, microbial activity, wheat yield and grain quality. The study was conducted in Lebanon, where the sludge accumulation problem is especially important given the absence of proper treatment and disposal methods. Baseline characterization of sewage sludge collected from secondary (SS) and tertiary (TS) wastewater treatment plants showed that both sludge types can be classified as suitable for restricted agricultural use (Class B), which cannot be used on soils to grow fruits or vegetables that are eaten raw. Post-harvest analysis of the amended soils revealed a significant enhancement in organic matter (OM), soil moisture, wheat yield and grain quality in both seasons in SS and TS treatments compared to the control. All tested heavy metals in the sludge were much lower than the allowable limits for agricultural soils, except for zinc (Zn). Wheat biomass and grain quality improved with a significant increase in grain yield (61–76 %) in both treated soils (SS: 74 g/m 2 , TS: 81 g/m 2 ) compared to the control (46 g/m 2 ). Under the TS treatment the grain had the highest protein content (14.5 %) in the first season. Soil microbial analysis were not consistent in the two seasons, but showed a potential risk of total coliforms contamination with SS application in the second season. This research provides valuable insights into the positive effects of treated sewage sludge application on soil fertility and wheat grain quality emphasizing the potential benefits of this sludge in sustainable agriculture. It also highlights the need for monitoring sludge and soil quality. • Treated sludge from secondary and tertiary wastewater treatment plants increased soil nutrients and organic matter. • Sewage sludge increased wheat yield by 61–76 %. • Potential risk of total coliforms contamination in the soil existed in some cases. • Sludge-amended soils had heavy metals lower than the allowable limits for agricultural soils.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".