Sewage Sludge) Application on Long‑Term Soil Carbon Sequestration Rates? a Systematic Review Protocol Mike J

Sewage Sludge) Application on Long‑Term Soil Carbon Sequestration Rates? a Systematic Review Protocol Mike J

Badzmierowski et al. Environ Evid (2021) 10:6 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13750-021-00221-3 Environmental Evidence SYSTEMATIC REVIEW PROTOCOL Open Access What is the impact of human wastewater biosolids (sewage sludge) application on long-term soil carbon sequestration rates? A systematic review protocol Mike J. Badzmierowski* , Gregory K. Evanylo, W. Lee Daniels and Kathryn C. Haering Abstract Background: Human wastewater biosolids, hereafter referred to as biosolids, are produced in signifcant quanti- ties around the world and often applied to an extensive land mass including agricultural felds, forests, mine lands, and urban areas. Land-application of biosolids has been reported in peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed work to change soil organic carbon stocks in varying amounts. Determining the potential of soil organic carbon (SOC) stock change and sequestration from biosolids land application is critical for biosolids producers and users to gain access to carbon credit markets. Our review question is, "what is the impact of biosolids application on long-term soil carbon sequestration rates?” We look to explore this main question with the follow-up, "does biosolids processing methods and characteristics, application method, soil properties, land management and other modifers afect rates of carbon accumulation from land-applied biosolids?" Methods: Searches will be conducted using online databases (i.e., Web of Science Core Collection, CAB Abstracts, Scopus, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global), search engines (Google Scholar and Microsoft Academic), and specialist websites to fnd primary feld studies and grey literature of biosolids land-application efects on soil organic carbon stocks. We will use English search terms and predefned inclusion criteria of: (1) a feld study of at least 24 months that reports soil organic carbon/matter (SOC/SOM) concentrations/stocks; (2) has two types of treatments: (i) a control (non-intervention AND/OR synthetic fertilizer) AND (ii) a biosolids-based amendment; and (3) information of amend- ment properties and application dates and rates to estimate the relative contribution of the applied materials to SOC changes. We will screen results in two stages: (1) title and abstract and (2) full text. A 10% subset will be screened by two reviewers for inclusion at the title and abstract level and use a kappa analysis to ensure agreement of at least 0.61. All results in the full text stage will be dual screened. Data will be extracted by one person and reviewed by a second person. Critical appraisal will be used to assess studies’ potential bias and done by two reviewers. A meta-analysis using random efects models will be conducted if sufcient data of high enough quality are extracted. Keywords: Land application, Meta-analysis, Sewage sludge, Soil organic carbon, Soil organic matter Introduction Human wastewater biosolids, hereafter referred to as biosolids, are nutrient-rich organic materials result- *Correspondence: [email protected] ing from the treatment of human digestive residuals School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute often in wastewater treatment facilities. Biosolids are and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA produced in signifcant quantities on a global scale © The Author(s) 2021. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http:// creat iveco mmons. org/ licen ses/ by/4. 0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creat iveco mmons. org/ publi cdoma in/ zero/1. 0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. Badzmierowski et al. Environ Evid (2021) 10:6 Page 2 of 9 7 −1 Objective of the review (10 × ­10 Mg year ) [1]. Tey are often applied to an extensive land mass including agricultural felds, for- Our objective is to perform a systematic review of peer- ests, mine lands, and urban areas [2–6]. Applications reviewed and grey literature to develop sequestration of biosolids can increase soil organic C (SOC), improve rates of land-applied biosolids and associated explana- soil physical and chemical characteristics, and reduce tory factors. Our study will address the primary review fertilizer needs and water usage [7–9]. Many of the soils question (Population, Intervention/Exposure, Compar- on which biosolids are applied are low in organic matter ator, Outcome, and Study design—“PICOS” elements (OM) and thereby SOC. Applications of biosolids are are defned in Table 2) and secondary review questions: generally expected to increase OM content and thereby What is the impact of human wastewater biosolids reduce atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions. How- (sewage sludge) application on long-term soil carbon ever, SOC stock changes after land application vary sequestration rates? from study to study. Several long-term studies indicate C sequestration potential of land applied biosolids [10, How do geographical location and climate (i.e., 11]. Antonelli and Fraser [12] found long-term C stor- moisture and temperature) afect long-term C age efciency was higher for lower biosolids applica- sequestration rates? tion rates. In contrast, Badzmierowski and Evanylo [13] Do biosolids processing methods (e.g., aerobic, found that SOC stocks decreased during years with no anaerobic, lime-stabilized, etc.) and fnal charac- amendment application. Tis indicated that the applied teristics (e.g., total solids, iron and aluminum con- carbon from the organic amendments was still under- tent, etc.) afect long-term C sequestration rates? going decomposition and not being “stored." Variabil- Does application method of land-applied biosolids ity of SOC stock changes from land-applied biosolids is (i.e., surface, incorporated, or injected) afect long- most likely a result of various factors such as climatic term C sequestration rates? conditions, soil properties, land use management, bio- How do land use (e.g., cropland, forests, reclama- solids characteristics, application strategies (i.e., rate, tion, etc.) management (e.g., crop rotation and surface-applied or incorporation, one-time or repeated cover crop), and vegetation afect long-term C applications), and timing between last application and sequestration rates from land-applied biosolids? sample measurement. What is the relationship between SOC changes At the time of this writing, there has been no peer- from land-applied biosolids and soil properties reviewed, quantitative synthesis of SOC stock changes (e.g., depth, soil textural class, clay content, iron after biosolids land-application. Due to the incomplete content, aluminum content, carbon to nitrogen scientifc basis and uncertainty regarding the perma- (CN) ratio, etc.)? nence of SOC with time and management strategy fol- lowing biosolids application, organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Methods American Carbon Registry have been unable to include Our study will follow the methodologies established by biosolids as a specifc carbon dioxide removal mecha- the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence (CEE) nism. Biosolids stakeholders (e.g., wastewater treat- Guidelines and Standards for Evidence Synthesis in ment plants and biosolids users) seek a quantitative Environmental Management, version 5.0 and use the synthesis on the potential of C sequestration from land- “RepOrting standards for Systematic Evidence Synthe- applied biosolids to gain access to C credit markets. ses” (ROSES) to document our systematic review [14, We plan to conduct a systematic review and meta- 15]. See Additional fle 1 for our completed Roses form analysis in response to biosolids stakeholders needs. for systematic review protocols. Te systematic review and meta-analysis will identify potential C sequestration rates of land-applied bio- Searching for articles solids and assess explanatory factors that may afect Our search strategy has employed the assistance of rates. Research questions and systematic review pro- three Virginia Tech librarians (Cozette Comer, Evi- tocol were developed by the authors (Badzmierowski, dence Synthesis Librarian; Inga Haugen, Life Science, Evanylo, Daniels). Funders only had input on desired Agriculture, and Scholarly Communication Librarian; goals of the systematic review- to determine the car- and Rachel Miles, Research Impact Librarian) to opti- bon sequestration potential of land applied biosolids. mize search terms, search strategies, and databases to Funders will have no other input regarding systematic be used. review design, search strategy, analysis, or interpreta- tion of results. Badzmierowski et al. Environ Evid (2021) 10:6 Page 3 of 9 Search languages Index Expanded (1900–present), Social Sciences Cita- Te search will be conducted using English search tion Index (1900–present), Arts &

View Full Text

Details

  • File Type
    pdf
  • Upload Time
    -
  • Content Languages
    English
  • Upload User
    Anonymous/Not logged-in
  • File Pages
    9 Page
  • File Size
    -

Download

Channel Download Status
Express Download Enable

Copyright

We respect the copyrights and intellectual property rights of all users. All uploaded documents are either original works of the uploader or authorized works of the rightful owners.

  • Not to be reproduced or distributed without explicit permission.
  • Not used for commercial purposes outside of approved use cases.
  • Not used to infringe on the rights of the original creators.
  • If you believe any content infringes your copyright, please contact us immediately.

Support

For help with questions, suggestions, or problems, please contact us