Application of sewage sludge (SS) in agricultural land may be considered a rationale way to recycle this residue as source of plant nutrients and reduce its environmental impact. This work aimed to describe the spatial distribution of soil content of copper, zinc and nickel in a Typic Clayed Hapludox fifteen years after the last application of sewage sludge on it. From 1983 to 1987 the experimental plot was used in an assay with SS application at rates of 0, 20, 40, 60 and 80 t ha-1 and mineral fertilization with 0, 50, 100, and 150 kg ha-1 of N under maize cropping. After 1987 the area remained intact, covered with signal grass (Brachiaria decumbens Stapf) vegetation, up to 2002 when soil and plant sampling were accomplished according to a spatial grid. Soil samples from 0-20 cm and at 20-40 cm depths, and aerial part of the grass were taken for chemical analysis. Soil and plant sampling were performed each 3 m in three parallel transects 15 m apart each other with an inclination of 45º in relation to the original baseline of the experimental area, completing fifty points of sampling. In order to assess the spatial variability of soil attributes and plant, geostatistics tools were used to determine the semivariograms and to draft the maps of isolines, as well as descriptive statistics for calculation of some parameters. Soil pH, soil organic matter and cation exchange capacity were not correlated with Cu, Zn and Ni for soil and plant. Both DTPA and Mehlich-3 were efficient to predict zinc availability. After 15 years of biosolid application Cu, Zn and Ni content at 0-20 cm depth, evaluated by DTPA and Mehlich-3, presented strong to moderate spatial dependency structure. Although, the degree of spatial dependency for Cu, Zn and Ni in plant tissues was different than the observed in the soil.
kriging; heavy metals; geostatistics; soil pollution
