Ecosystem Biomass, Carbon, and Nitrogen Five Years after Restoration with Municipal Solid Waste

Abstract

Escalating municipal solid waste generation coupled with decreasing landfi ll space needed for disposal has increased the pressure on military installations to evaluate novel approaches to handle this waste. One approach to alleviating the amount of municipal solid waste being landfi lled is the use of a new garbage-processing technology that sterilizes and separates waste into inorganic and organic components. Th us, a study was initiated to evaluate the eff ectiveness of using the organic component (Fluff ) as a soil amendment for establishing native prairie grasses on disturbed U.S. Army training land. Th e Fluff material was incorporated (10-20 cm) into a highly degraded sandy loam soil located in a borrow pit at Fort Benning Military Reservation, GA, in 2003. Th e Fluff was applied at rates of 0, 18, 36, 72, and 143 Mg ha -1 and seeded with native prairie grasses to assess its eff ect on aboveground and belowground biomass production and C and N cycling aft er 5 yr. An unseeded control (no Fluff ) treatment was also evaluated as a comparison of natural recovery. Aft er 5 yr, revegetation resulting from natural recovery in the unseeded control was sparse. However, Fluff addition improved native grass establishment, with greater biomass production being observed with increasing rates. Fluff addition also decreased soil bulk density and increased soil C and N concentrations. Th ese results show that Fluff can be eff ectively used in land rehabilitation and revegetation practices as well as to improve C and N cycling of highly degraded soils for periods exceeding 5 yr aft er application.

Fuzzy Indicator Approach: Development of Impact Factor of Soil Amendments

“…In the first case, the evaluation of the effectiveness of using polyacrylamide application as an amendment to reduce subsoil compaction was evaluated (Busscher et al, 2006). In the second, the evaluation of the organic matterial "Fluff" as a soil amendment for establishing native prairie grasses was evaluated (Watts et al, 2012).…”

“…The process uses a hydrolyzer with pressurized heat and steam to break molecular bonds and destroy pathogens (Bouldin and Lawson Inc., 2000). The end product is an aggregate organic material called "Fluff" which has a similar consistency to wood pulp (Watts et al, 2012). A study was conducted by Watts et al (2012) to evaluate the effectiveness of using Fluff as a soil amendment for establishing native prairie grasses on disturbed U.S. Army training lands.…”

“…The end product is an aggregate organic material called "Fluff" which has a similar consistency to wood pulp (Watts et al, 2012). A study was conducted by Watts et al (2012) to evaluate the effectiveness of using Fluff as a soil amendment for establishing native prairie grasses on disturbed U.S. Army training lands. The data from this study are shown in Tables 2 -4 and was used for computations of IFS and IFS presented in this publication.…”

“…Table 4. Root C and N concentrations for the Fluff application rates 5 year after restoration of disturbed U.S. Army training land as presented in Watts et al (2012).…”

“…In this paper, the use of fuzzy set theory to develop an impact factor indicator for soil amendments is elaborated. The theoretical outputs are illustrated using published experimental data from Busscher et al (2007) and Watts et al (2012).…”