Paper Status Tracking
Journals by Title
Journals by Subject
Contact us
customer@davidpublishing.com
Click here to send a message to me 3275638434
Paper Publishing WeChat
Useful Links
Creative Commons License

Article
Affiliation(s)

1. Department of Biology, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Rd., Thunder Bay, ON, P7B 5E1, Canada
2. Department of Geology, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Rd., Thunder Bay, ON, P7B 5E1, Canada
3. Lakehead University Agricultural Research Station (LUARS), 5790 Little Norway Road, Thunder Bay, ON, P7J 1G1, Canada

ABSTRACT

Application rates of papermill residual (PMR) in Ontario, Canada, are regulated to a wet weight maximum of 20 Mg ha−1 yr−1 with the actual rate determined by the concentrations of plant available nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and 10 regulated metals in the materials and receiving soils. Previous studies report improvements in crop yield and soil properties following PMR application but generally at rates far exceeding 20 Mg ha−1 yr−1 and after years of repeated application. We investigated whether application of PMR at operational rates could enhance the forage crop yield and improve soil health in three locally sourced agricultural soils in a greenhouse experiment. When papermill sludge (PPMS) was incorporated into the soils, forage yields were comparable to, or greater than, those achieved with mineral fertilizer in two of the three soils. The largest yield increases occurred when PPMS was applied in combination with wood ash. Application of PPMS alone did not produce statistically significant changes in soil health scores, but scores improved by up to ten points when PPMS and wood ash were applied together. When PMR is available locally, land application, particularly when PPMS is applied with wood ash, can reduce dependence on conventional amendments to improve agricultural outcomes.

KEYWORDS

Pulp and papermill residuals (PMR), circular economy, soil amendment, soil health.

Cite this paper

Georgina Tough, Amanda Diochon, and Tarlok Singh Sahota. Co-application of Papermill Sludge and Wood Ash Improves Forage Crop Yield and Soil Health in a Greenhouse Trial. Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology A 16 (2026) 90-107, doi: 10.17265/2161-6256/2026.02.004

References

 

[1]       Arafoui, M. A., Simard, R. R., Belanger, G., Laverdiere, M. R., and Chabot, R. 2001. “Mixed papermill residues affect yield, nutritive value and nutrient use of a grass-alfalfa sward.” Can. J. Soil Sci. 81 (1): 103-111, doi: 10.4141/S00-022

[2]       Camberato, J. J., Gagnon, B., Angers, D. A., Chantigny, M. H., and Pan, W. L. 2006. “Pulp and paper mill by-products as soil amendments and plant nutrient sources.” Can. J. Soil Sci. 86 (4): 641-653, doi: 10.4141/S05-120

[3]       De Silva, S., Carson, P., Indrapala, D. V., Warwick, B., and Reichman, S. M. 2023. “Land application of industrial wastes: Impacts on soil quality, biota, and human health.” Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 30 (26): 67974-67996, doi: 10.1007/s11356-023-26893-7

[4]       Räty, M. et al. 2023. “Improving coarse-textured mineral soils with pulp and paper mill sludges: Functional considerations at laboratory scale.” Geoderma 438: 116617, doi: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2023.116617

[5]       Raymond, G. P., and Coleman, P. 1984. “Paper mill sludge and ash as soil conditioner.” BioCycle 25: 52-55.

[6]       Turner, T., Wheeler, R., and Oliver, I. W. 2022. “Evaluating land application of pulp and paper mill sludge: A review.” J. Environ. Manage. 317: 115439, doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115439

[7]       Elliott, A., Mahmood, T., and Kamal, A. 2022. “Boiler ash utilization in the Canadian pulp and paper industry.” J. Environ. Manage. 319: 115728, doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115728

[8]       Monte, M. C., Fuente, E., Blanco, A., and Negro, C. 2009. “Waste management from pulp and paper production in the European Union.” Waste Manag. 29 (1): 293-308, doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2008.02.002

[9]       Gagnon, B., Robichaud, A., Ziadi, N., and Karam, A. 2014. “Repeated annual paper mill and alkaline residuals application affects soil metal fractions.” J. Environ. Qual. 43 (2): 517-527, doi: 10.2134/jeq2013.03.0080

[10]    Farhain, M. et al. 2024. “Paper mill wastes and biochar improve physiochemical properties and reduce heavy metals leaching risks in podzolic soils.” Environ. Res. Commun. 6 (5): 055015, doi: 10.1088/2515-7620/ad4985

[11]    “Non-agricultural source materials (NASM) | ontario.ca.” Accessed: Oct. 10, 2025. [Online]. Available: http://www.ontario.ca/page/non-agricultural-source-materials-nasm

[12]    “O. Reg. 267/03 GENERAL | ontario.ca.” Accessed: Oct. 10, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/030267

[13]    “Nutrient Management Act, 2002, S. O. 2002, c. 4 | ontario.ca.” Accessed: Oct. 10, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/02n04

[14]    Faubert, P., Barnabé, S., Bouchard, S., Côté, R., and Villeneuve, C. 2016. “Pulp and paper mill sludge management practices: What are the challenges to assess the impacts on greenhouse gas emissions?” Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 108: 107-133, doi: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2016.01.007

[15]    Räty, M., Keskinen, R., Yli-Halla, M., Hyvönen, J., and Soinne, H. 2021. “Estimating cation exchange capacity and clay content from agricultural soil testing data.” Agric. Food Sci. 30 (4): 131-145, doi: 10.23986/afsci.111107

[16]    Salter, P. J., and Williams, J. B. 1965. “The influence of texture on the moisture characteristics of soils.” J. Soil Sci. 16 (2): 310-317, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2389.1965.tb01442.x

[17]    Tough, G. 2025. “Investigating the use of paper mill ressiduals as agricultural soil amendments in Thunder Bay, Ontario.” M.Sc. thesis, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada.

[18]    A. and A. -F. Canada. 2025. “Soils of Thunder Bay Area (No Report).” Accessed: Oct. 10, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/publications/surveys/on/on48/index.html

[19]    Hills, G. A., Morwick, F. F., and Service, C. E. F. 1944. Reconnaissance Soil Survey of Parts of Northwestern Ontario. Ontario Agricultural College.

[20]    United States Salinity Laboratory Staff. 1954. “pH reading of saturated soil paste.” Diagnosis and Improvement of Sale and Alkali Soils, in Agriculture Handbook, no. 60, Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, p. 102.

[21]    Bray, R. H., and Kurtz, L. T. 1945. “Determination of total, organic, and available forms of phosphours in soils.” Soil Sci. 59 (1): 39.

[22]    McKeague, J. A. 2025. Manual on Soil Sampling and Methods of Analysis, 2nd ed. Ottawa: Canadian Society of Soil Science, 1978. Accessed: Oct. 10, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.scirp.org/reference/referencespapers?referenceid=1612860

[23]    Lindsay, W. L., and Norvell, W. A. 1978. “Development of a DTPA soil test for zinc, iron, manganese, and copper.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 42 (3): 421-428, doi: 10.2136/sssaj1978.03615995004200030009x

[24]    US EPA, O. 2025. “EPA method 3050B: Acid digestion of sediments, sludges, and soils.” Accessed: Oct. 10, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.epa.gov/esam/epa-method-3050b-acid-digestion-sediments-sludges-and-soils

[25]    US EPA, O. 2025. “EPA method 6010D (SW-846): Inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry.” Accessed: Oct. 10, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.epa.gov/esam/epa-method-6010d-sw-846-inductively-coupled-plasma-atomic-emission-spectrometry

[26]    US EPA, O. 2025. “EPA method 7471B (SW-846): Mercury in solid or semisolid wastes (manual cold-vapor technique).” Accessed: Oct. 10, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.epa.gov/esam/epa-method-7471b-sw-846-mercury-solid-or-semisolid-wastes-manual-cold-vapor-technique

[27]    Gee, G. W., and Bauder, J. W. 1986. “Particle-size analysis.” Methods of Soil Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, pp. 383-411, doi: 10.2136/sssabookser5.1.2ed.c15

[28]    Nelson, D. W., and Sommers, L. E. 1996. “Total carbon, organic carbon, and organic matter.” Methods of Soil Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, pp. 961-1010, doi: 10.2136/sssabookser5.3.c34

[29]    Bremner, J. M. 1996. “Nitrogen-total.” Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 3. Chemical Methods., in Soil Science Society of America Book Series, no. 5, Madison, WI, USA: American Society of Agronomy, pp. 1085-1121.

[30]    Code of Maine Rules. 2025. “C.M.R. 06, 096, ch. 419 - solid waste management rules: Agronomic utilization of residuals.” LII / Legal Information Institute. Accessed: Oct. 10, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/maine/department-06/division-096/chapter-419

[31]    US EPA, O. 2025. “Method 1613: Tetra- through octa-chlorinated dioxins and furans by isotope dilution hrgc/hrms. revision 2.” USEPA, Washington, DC, 1994. Accessed: Oct. 10, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyNET.exe/9100E9BU.TXT?ZyActionD=ZyDocument&Client=EPA&Index=1986+Thru+1990&Docs=&Query=&Time=&EndTime=&SearchMethod=1&TocRestrict=n&Toc=&TocEntry=&QField=&QFieldYear=&QFieldMonth=&QFieldDay=&IntQFieldOp=0&ExtQFieldOp=0&XmlQuery=&File=D%3A%5Czyfiles%5CIndex%20Data%5C86thru90%5CTxt%5C00000021%5C9100E9BU.txt&User=ANONYMOUS&Password=anonymous&SortMethod=h%7C-&MaximumDocuments=1&FuzzyDegree=0&ImageQuality=r75g8/r75g8/x150y150g16/i425&Display=hpfr&DefSeekPage=x&SearchBack=ZyActionL&Back=ZyActionS&BackDesc=Results%20page&MaximumPages=1&ZyEntry=1&SeekPage=x&ZyPURL#

[32]    Kemper, W. D., and Rosenau, R. C. 2018. “Aggregate stability and size distribution.” SSSA Book Series, A. Klute, Ed., Madison, WI, USA: Soil Science Society of America, American Society of Agronomy, pp. 425-442, doi: 10.2136/sssabookser5.1.2ed.c17

[33]    Solvita. 2025. “Soil CO2-Respiration; Official Solvita Instructions. SOP 2019 REv.1, DCR Moels 701.2+.” 2019. Accessed: Oct. 10, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://solvita.com/product/solvita-soil-co2-burst-manual/

[34]    Solvita. 2019. “SLAN-Solvita Labile Amino Nitrogen: Official Solvita Instructions. SOP 2019/N.”

[35]    Weil, R. R., Islam, K. R., Stine, M. A., Gruver, J. B., and Samson-Liebig, S. E. 2003. “Estimating active carbon for soil quality assessment: A simplified method for laboratory and field use.” Am. J. Altern. Agric. 18 (1): 3-17, doi: 10.1079/AJAA200228

[36]    Chahal, I., Saurette, D. D., and Van Eerd, L. L. 2022. “Soil texture influences on soil health scoring functions in Ontario agricultural soils: A possible framework towards a provincial soil health test.” Can. J. Soil Sci., Jul., doi: 10.1139/CJSS-2021-0145

[37]    Moebius-Clune, B. N. et al. 2016. Comprehensive Assessment of Soil Health: The Cornell Framework Manual, 3rd ed. Ithica, NY: Cornell University.

[38]    Bremer, E., Pauly, D., McKenzie, R. H., Ellert, B., and Janzen, H. H. 2022. “Twenty-four years of contrasting cropping systems on a brown chernozem in southern Alberta: Crop yields, soil carbon and subsoil salinity.” Feb. 2022, Accessed: Oct. 10, 2025. [Online]. Available: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/125817

[39]    Jefferson, P. G., and Larson, K. 2014. “The relationship between Saskatchewan hay yield and changing cropping practices.” Can. J. Plant Sci. 94 (7): 1157-1160, doi: 10.1139/CJPS-2014-024

[40]    Congreves, K. A., Otchere, O., Ferland, D., Farzadfar, S., Williams, S., and Arcand, M. M. 2021. “Nitrogen use efficiency definitions of today and tomorrow.” Front. Plant Sci. 12: 637108, doi: 10.3389/fpls.2021.637108

[41]    Benalcazar, P., Diochon, A. C., Kolka, R., Schindelbeck, R. R., Sahota, T., and McLaren, B. E. 2022. “The impact of land conversion from boreal forest to agriculture on soil health indicators.” Can. J. Soil Sci. 102 (3): 651-658, doi: 10.1139/cjss-2021-0170

[42]    Howe, A. et al., 2024. “Influence of fertilizer and manure inputs on soil health: A review.” Soil Secur. 16: 100155, doi: 10.1016/j.soisec.2024.100155


About | Terms & Conditions | Issue | Privacy | Contact us
Copyright © 2001 - David Publishing Company All rights reserved, www.davidpublisher.com
3 Germay Dr., Unit 4 #4651, Wilmington DE 19804; Tel: 001-302-3943358 Email: order@davidpublishing.com