Can dehydrated sewage sludge, used as fertilizer, affect arthropods on Platycyamus regnellii (Fabaceae)?

Abstract

Sewage sludge is a byproduct of sewage treatment, rich in N and P, which can be used as soil fertilizer in forest plantations and in degraded areas recovery (Mota et al., 2021). Platycyamus regnellii (Benth) (Fabales: Fabaceae) is a tree used in environmental recovery and its hardwood is used in home construction (Ferreira et al., 2015). Tree development and growth are essential to assess the recovery of an environment, because the structure, biomass, and diversity of vegetation are related to ecosystem functions and fauna colonization (Monteiro et al., 2019). The arthropod biodiversity is susceptible to environmental conditions and the presence of some functional groups is an indicator of the success of environmental recovery (Burgio et al., 2015). There is a lack of studies evaluating P. regnellii on recovery of degraded areas and the arthropod fauna feeding and/or living on this plant. The objective was to evaluate, for 24 months, the ecological indices of arthropods on P. regnellii saplings (young trees) in a degraded area using or not dehydrated sewage as a fertilizer.