Evolution of the physical and chemical properties of soil with the application of M.S.W. compost

The application of municipal solid waste (MSW) compost is of great interest for the restoration of agricultural soils which have been degraded because of current cultivation techniques. This study is based on a field experiment carried out on the farm ″La Higeruela″, owned by the CSIC in the central region of Spain. The aspects presented in this work are those related to the evolution of the physical properties: stability of the aggregates to benzene and water holding capacity and the chemical properties: pH, electrical conductivity and cation exchange capacity. In general, it could be observed that the stability of the aggregates and the water holding capacity of the soil tended to increase, whereas the pH, the electrical conductivity and the cation exchange capacity increased significantly. This behavior is very interesting because the immobilization of the heavy metals is assured by the increase of the pH, whereas a higher interchange of nutrients between the soil and the plant is favored by the increase of the cation exchange capacity, which increases the fertilizing potential of the soil. The increase of the stable aggregates contributes to the increase of the fertilizing potential and the stability of the soil in contrast to the phenomena of erosion.