FEITOSA, J. F. F.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/2124842035171125; FEITOSA, Jefferson Ferreira de Freitas.
Resumo:
Various human activities can lead to soil degradation. In the livestock industry, the
leather tanning process is highlighted as a potentially degrading activity, due to the
deposition of the residues in the different stages, initiated with salting that generates
wastewater of high organic load, usually deposited in the areas surrounding the
slaughterhouses. The search for mechanisms to minimize the impact caused to the soil
by the activity is essential, being the possibility of the use of plants tolerant to the high
levels of salinization an important strategy of phytoremediation, like the herb salt (Atriplex
nummularia L.). The objective of this research was to verify the impact of irrigation with
tannery waste water on the initial growth of the salt grass and to carry out preliminary soil
assessment of the brine disposal area. A case study and a field survey in Sumé (PB)
were carried out, which consisted of soil characterization of the area and establishment
of salt grass seedlings, irrigated with different dilutions (100%, 50%, 20%, 4,0% and
0,8% brine). The atriplex seedlings were planted in 5L pots, using a Luvisols, without
addition of organic matter. The results of the soil analysis indicated that the chemical
attributes of the soil of the salting area of the leather present high levels of sodium,
organic matter and electrical conductivity at the site and in the surroundings and that
there was an increase of the salts contents in the soil of the vessels, especially in those
receiving irrigation with 100%, 50% and 20% of brine (Na 161.7 - 91.3 - 22.6 cmolc dm -
3 and EC 21.13 - 14.42 - 10.5 dS m - 1 respectively). Although with reduced cultivation
time, it was possible to show that Atriplex nummularia showed potentials of expressive
tolerance to the development in soils of areas contaminated by the salinity of the leather
salting, responding to the increase of salinity of irrigation water when considering the
increase of production of biomass and the root system.