Model Analysis Of An Overland Flow Waste Treatment System. I. Accumulation Of Dry Matter And Plant Nutrients With Time

Abstract

Land application is widely used for treatment of animal waste. One of the methods is overland flow treatment where soil properties favor surface runoff over infiltration. In these systems the land is graded to a uniform slope on which a grass cover is established. The grass is then harvested periodically. In this article an empirical model is used to describe accumulation of dry matter and plant nutrients with time. Data from a field study are used to illustrate the procedures for model parameter evaluation. Treatments of the study included a control, inorganic fertilizer, and three loading rates with effluent from a swine lagoon. The empirical model of crop growth provides a relatively simple means of