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TECHNICAL REPORTS

Waste Management

Sewage Sludge Effects on Mesofauna and Cork Oak (Quercus suber L.) Leaves Decomposition in a Mediterranean Forest Firebreak

^a Inst. Méditerranéen d'Ecologie et Paléoécologie, Univ. Paul Cézanne, case 441, F-13397 Marseille cedex 20, France
^b Inst. National Polytechnique de Lorraine (ENSAIA), 2 av. de la Forêt de Haye, BP 172, F-54505 Vandoeuvre-lès-nancy, France
^c Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CNRS, 1919 route de Mende, F-34293 Montpellier cedex 05, France

^* Corresponding author (perninceline{at}yahoo.fr)

Received for publication November 26, 2005. Effects of sewage sludge on litter mesofauna communities (Collembola and Acari) and cork oak (Quercus suber L.) leaf litter decomposition have been studied during 18 mo using litterbags in an in situ experimental forest firebreak in southeastern France. The sludge (2.74 t DM ha^–1 yr^–1) was applied to fertilize and maintain a pasture created on the firebreak. Litterbag colonization had similar dynamics on both the control and fertilized plots and followed a typical Mediterranean pattern showing a greater abundance in spring and autumn and a lower abundance in summer. After 9 mo of litter colonization, Collembola and Acari, but mainly Oribatida, were more abundant on the sludge-fertilized plot. Leaf litter decomposition showed a similar pattern on both plots, but it was faster on the control plot. Furthermore, leaves from the fertilized plot were characterized by greater nitrogen content. Both chemical composition of leaves and sludges and the decomposition state of leaves have significantly affected the mesofauna community composition from each plot.