Extractants for evaluation of availability of heavy metals in soils fertilized with urban waste vermicompost

The objectives of this work were to select chemical extractants to evaluate the availability of heavy metals in soils treated with urban waste vermicompost and lime, and to verify the effects of these treatments in available contents of heavy metals in soils. Two experiments were carried out in greenhouse. An Oxissol was utilized in the first experiment and an Alfissol in the other. Lettuce was used as a testing plant in both experiments. The experiments followed a completely randomized design combining five liming levels, to elevate the base saturation to 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, and 80%, with five vermicompost rates of 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 tons ha(-1), with four replicates. The DTPA and the Mehlich 3 detected increase in Ni, Pb, Cu and Zn contents in clay and sandy soils fertilized with urban waste vermicompost. The DTPA is more efficient than Mehlich 1 and Mehlich 3 to evaluate the changes in available contents of heavy metals caused by increase of pH in clay soil. The Mn is the only element which availability is efficiently evaluated in both soils, and the recomended extractant is the DTPA.