Atallah, T. Lebanese University - Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Lebanon , Jamous, C. Lebanese University - Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Lebanon , Debs, P. Lebanese University - Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Lebanon , Darwish, T. National Council for Scientific Research - Centre for Remote Sensing, Lebanon

BIOSOLID RECYCLING TO ENHANCE CARBON SEQUESTRATION IN MOUTAINOUS LEBANESE CONDITIONS

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In Lebanon, the great majority of wastewater is dumped wildly into streams, wells or the sea. Eventually treated sludge will be produced across the country and disposed of, to a great extent, on land This disposal obeys rules and regulations in most countries. In this work, on the results of the application of a biosolid on the carbon balance in two contrasting soils are reported The biosolid that originated from a small plant treating domestic wastewaters did not contain high concentrations of heavy metals. Biosolids were applied in two levels (S1: 3.75 tons ha^-1 and S2: 7.50 tons ha^-1) to a loamy sand (Kfarhim) and a calcareous loam (Baakline). The incorporation in early October was immediately followed by the sowing of a barley cover crop. Sludges increased the barley production in the fast draining loamy sand only. In parallel, the in-situ decomposition studied during the rainyseasons gave a carbon loss of 21.8% (Baakline) and 29.1% (Kfarhim) ofthe initial sludge C. In the short-term, studies showed that 15 to 31 % of the carbon of biosolids will remain in soils. This could significantly contribute to carbon sequestration, particularly in slowdraining soils.

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biosolid , calcareous loam , loamy sand , carbon emission

Lebanese Science Journal

79