國立虎尾科技大學 |

Assessing the Impacts of Organic Amendments on Disturbed Soil Properties, Water Quality and Vegetation Growth.

Record Type:	Language materials, manuscript : Monograph/item
Title/Author:	Assessing the Impacts of Organic Amendments on Disturbed Soil Properties, Water Quality and Vegetation Growth./
Author:	Pamuru, Sai Thejaswini.
Description:	1 online resource (171 pages)
Notes:	Source: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 86-01, Section: B.
Contained By:	Dissertations Abstracts International86-01B.
Subject:	Environmental engineering. -
Online resource:	click for full text (PQDT)
ISBN:	9798383173640

Assessing the Impacts of Organic Amendments on Disturbed Soil Properties, Water Quality and Vegetation Growth.
Pamuru, Sai Thejaswini.

Assessing the Impacts of Organic Amendments on Disturbed Soil Properties, Water Quality and Vegetation Growth. - 1 online resource (171 pages)

Source: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 86-01, Section: B.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Maryland, College Park, 2024.

Includes bibliographical references

Deficiencies in essential organic matter (OM) are exhibited in disturbed roadside soils rendering them less favorable for plant growth. Vegetation plays a crucial role in maintaining the health of ecosystems, providing a myriad of benefits in protecting against soil erosion and effectively managing stormwater. National and state transportation departments are therefore prioritizing roadside vegetation using sustainable practices, leading to increased use of organic amendments (OAs) such as compost or related materials. OAs are commonly recycled and repurposed materials that serve as valuable soil conditioners, and their characteristics vary depending on their parent materials. Many OAs are cost-effective, readily available, and offer significant benefits to urban soils, which often are bereft of plant-essential nutrients and stability. This necessitates a better understanding of their impact on soil health and the environment, when applied at "acceptable" rates. This research aims to explore soil-water-plant interactions in urban soils (with and without OAs) focusing on vegetation establishment, soil fertility, and nutrient transport via leaching/runoff. Greenhouse and laboratory experiments were conducted to assess the potential use of these OAs for roadside projects.One set of experiments (greenhouse tub studies) focused on three OAs (leaf compost, shredded aged wood mulch, biosolids) which are widely available across Maryland. The amended soils were mixed to meet the topsoil OM requirements (4 - 8 %) of the state. Water quality results highlighted that the biosolids, while effective in retaining influent rainwater (tap water) phosphorus, caused significant nitrogen losses, exceeding typical stormwater concentrations by 40-200 times. Leaf compost also contributed to nitrogen leaching but only during the initial stages. Mulch reduced nutrient loss but caused limited vegetative cover. The study found that soil properties, such as the carbon-to-nitrogen (C:N) ratio and nitrogen content, play a vital role in the magnitude and patterns of nitrogen leaching. Additionally, it was speculated that the presence of soil minerals, such as iron and calcium, successfully retained phosphorus in the amended soils. The shear and hydraulic properties of the soils improved with the incorporation of amendments. Based on the results of the tub studies, leaf compost identified as a suitable OA for plants and water quality. However, the tub studies had limitations in their evaluation of compost amendments derived from different feedstock sources and their impacts on native vegetation growth. Therefore, a pot study was conducted to determine the optimum mixing ratios of soils and OAs to facilitate rapid vegetation growth. Three types of composts (turkey litter, food waste and yard waste) with varying nutrient properties were tested. A wood-based biochar was the fourth chosen OA because of its valuable use in agriculture and environmental remediation. The findings showed that turkey litter compost severely inhibited growth at higher application rates due to excess salts content. However, this compost showed improved plant nitrogen and leaf area whenever vegetation was established. Alternatively, biochar, while not inhibiting growth, resulted in visibly weak plant morphology, and led to nitrogen deficiencies. Yard waste and food waste composts showed positive impacts in terms of coverage, leaf area index and plant N contents. Between the tub studies and the pot study, yard waste compost has consistently emerged as the favorable soil amendment. Given biochar's well documented advantages for water quality and soil structural properties, a scaled-up mesocosm experiment that simulated sloped road shoulders was conducted to test the effectiveness of combining compost and biochar in urban soils, aiming to meet vegetation and water quality goals. The runoff phosphorus and nitrogen mass transports were highest (261 mg-P/m2 and 8645 mg-N/m2 , respectively) when compost was the sole amendment mixed into the control soil. However, adding biochar to the soil reduced these losses by up to 5.6x for phosphorus and 8.8x for nitrogen compared to compost. Strong correlation between soil C:N and effluent N was noted, higher ratios (>20:1) reduced nitrogen losses. Biochar, due to its high carbon content and pH, also helped retain phosphorus in the soils. Conversely, compost, being more readily decomposable than biochar, caused nutrients to run off. Compost-biochar mixtures also showed greater plant growth compared to the control soil.Together, this research shows that not all high-nutrient OAs provide favorable outcomes when incorporated into soils to enhance the OM content. Leaf or yard waste-based composts are preferred for roadside vegetation due to their reduced issues related to nutrient losses compared to other nutrient-rich materials tested in this study. However, the yard waste compost incorporation rate should be limited to achieve a soil OM increase of 1-2% to prevent high nutrient levels in the runoff. Furthermore, combining biochar and yard waste compost offers a promising approach for construction projects particularly on steep terrains to achieve and preserve a balanced soil-water-plant ecosystem.

Electronic reproduction.
Ann Arbor, Mich. :
ProQuest,
2024

Mode of access: World Wide Web

ISBN: 9798383173640Subjects--Topical Terms:

557376
Environmental engineering.
Subjects--Index Terms:

ErosionIndex Terms--Genre/Form:

554714
Electronic books.

Assessing the Impacts of Organic Amendments on Disturbed Soil Properties, Water Quality and Vegetation Growth.
LDR:06714ntm a22004097 4500 001 1151477
005 20241112095332.5
006 m o d
007 cr mn ---uuuuu
008 250605s2024 xx obm 000 0 eng d
020 $a 9798383173640
035 $a (MiAaPQ)AAI30990507
035 $a AAI30990507
040 $a MiAaPQ $b eng $c MiAaPQ $d NTU
100 1 $a Pamuru, Sai Thejaswini. $3 1478252
245 1 0 $a Assessing the Impacts of Organic Amendments on Disturbed Soil Properties, Water Quality and Vegetation Growth.
264 0 $c 2024
300 $a 1 online resource (171 pages)
336 $a text $b txt $2 rdacontent
337 $a computer $b c $2 rdamedia
338 $a online resource $b cr $2 rdacarrier
500 $a Source: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 86-01, Section: B.
500 $a Advisor: Davis, Allen P.;Aydilek, Ahmet H.
502 $a Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Maryland, College Park, 2024.
504 $a Includes bibliographical references
520 $a Deficiencies in essential organic matter (OM) are exhibited in disturbed roadside soils rendering them less favorable for plant growth. Vegetation plays a crucial role in maintaining the health of ecosystems, providing a myriad of benefits in protecting against soil erosion and effectively managing stormwater. National and state transportation departments are therefore prioritizing roadside vegetation using sustainable practices, leading to increased use of organic amendments (OAs) such as compost or related materials. OAs are commonly recycled and repurposed materials that serve as valuable soil conditioners, and their characteristics vary depending on their parent materials. Many OAs are cost-effective, readily available, and offer significant benefits to urban soils, which often are bereft of plant-essential nutrients and stability. This necessitates a better understanding of their impact on soil health and the environment, when applied at "acceptable" rates. This research aims to explore soil-water-plant interactions in urban soils (with and without OAs) focusing on vegetation establishment, soil fertility, and nutrient transport via leaching/runoff. Greenhouse and laboratory experiments were conducted to assess the potential use of these OAs for roadside projects.One set of experiments (greenhouse tub studies) focused on three OAs (leaf compost, shredded aged wood mulch, biosolids) which are widely available across Maryland. The amended soils were mixed to meet the topsoil OM requirements (4 - 8 %) of the state. Water quality results highlighted that the biosolids, while effective in retaining influent rainwater (tap water) phosphorus, caused significant nitrogen losses, exceeding typical stormwater concentrations by 40-200 times. Leaf compost also contributed to nitrogen leaching but only during the initial stages. Mulch reduced nutrient loss but caused limited vegetative cover. The study found that soil properties, such as the carbon-to-nitrogen (C:N) ratio and nitrogen content, play a vital role in the magnitude and patterns of nitrogen leaching. Additionally, it was speculated that the presence of soil minerals, such as iron and calcium, successfully retained phosphorus in the amended soils. The shear and hydraulic properties of the soils improved with the incorporation of amendments. Based on the results of the tub studies, leaf compost identified as a suitable OA for plants and water quality. However, the tub studies had limitations in their evaluation of compost amendments derived from different feedstock sources and their impacts on native vegetation growth. Therefore, a pot study was conducted to determine the optimum mixing ratios of soils and OAs to facilitate rapid vegetation growth. Three types of composts (turkey litter, food waste and yard waste) with varying nutrient properties were tested. A wood-based biochar was the fourth chosen OA because of its valuable use in agriculture and environmental remediation. The findings showed that turkey litter compost severely inhibited growth at higher application rates due to excess salts content. However, this compost showed improved plant nitrogen and leaf area whenever vegetation was established. Alternatively, biochar, while not inhibiting growth, resulted in visibly weak plant morphology, and led to nitrogen deficiencies. Yard waste and food waste composts showed positive impacts in terms of coverage, leaf area index and plant N contents. Between the tub studies and the pot study, yard waste compost has consistently emerged as the favorable soil amendment. Given biochar's well documented advantages for water quality and soil structural properties, a scaled-up mesocosm experiment that simulated sloped road shoulders was conducted to test the effectiveness of combining compost and biochar in urban soils, aiming to meet vegetation and water quality goals. The runoff phosphorus and nitrogen mass transports were highest (261 mg-P/m2 and 8645 mg-N/m2 , respectively) when compost was the sole amendment mixed into the control soil. However, adding biochar to the soil reduced these losses by up to 5.6x for phosphorus and 8.8x for nitrogen compared to compost. Strong correlation between soil C:N and effluent N was noted, higher ratios (>20:1) reduced nitrogen losses. Biochar, due to its high carbon content and pH, also helped retain phosphorus in the soils. Conversely, compost, being more readily decomposable than biochar, caused nutrients to run off. Compost-biochar mixtures also showed greater plant growth compared to the control soil.Together, this research shows that not all high-nutrient OAs provide favorable outcomes when incorporated into soils to enhance the OM content. Leaf or yard waste-based composts are preferred for roadside vegetation due to their reduced issues related to nutrient losses compared to other nutrient-rich materials tested in this study. However, the yard waste compost incorporation rate should be limited to achieve a soil OM increase of 1-2% to prevent high nutrient levels in the runoff. Furthermore, combining biochar and yard waste compost offers a promising approach for construction projects particularly on steep terrains to achieve and preserve a balanced soil-water-plant ecosystem.
533 $a Electronic reproduction. $b Ann Arbor, Mich. : $c ProQuest, $d 2024
538 $a Mode of access: World Wide Web
650 4 $a Environmental engineering. $3 557376
650 4 $a Geological engineering. $3 1186227
650 4 $a Soil sciences. $3 1179645
650 4 $a Geotechnology. $3 1179676
653 $a Erosion
653 $a Nutrient water quality
653 $a Organic amendments
653 $a Soils
653 $a Vegetation
655 7 $a Electronic books. $2 local $3 554714
690 $a 0775
690 $a 0466
690 $a 0481
690 $a 0428
710 2 $a ProQuest Information and Learning Co. $3 1178819
710 2 $a University of Maryland, College Park. $b Civil Engineering. $3 1372558
773 0 $t Dissertations Abstracts International $g 86-01B.
856 4 0 $u http://pqdd.sinica.edu.tw/twdaoapp/servlet/advanced?query=30990507 $z click for full text (PQDT)