scholarly journals Examining the Quality of a Compost Product Derived from Sargassum

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-336
Author(s):  
Kevin T. Walsh ◽  
Tina M. Waliczek
Keyword(s):  
Food Waste ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Wood Chips ◽  
Beach Sand ◽  
Fish Waste ◽  
Industry Standards ◽  
Beach Communities ◽  
Analytical Services

The free-floating algae known as sargassum (Sargassum fluitans and Sargassum natans) drifts onto coastlines throughout the Atlantic Ocean during spring and summer months. Beach communities seek to maintain tourist appeal and, therefore, remove or relocate the sargassum drifts once it collects on shore. Maintenance efforts have attempted to incorporate the sargassum into dunes and beach sand. However, not all communities have the resources to manage the biomass and must dispose of it in a landfill. The utility of the seaweed biomass as a fertilizer for plant growth has been renowned for centuries. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the appropriate proportion of sargassum for other compost ingredients used in a large-scale composting system to create a quality product for utilization in horticultural and/or agricultural products. This study used ≈32 yard3 of sargassum as part of 96 yard3 of compost material that also included food waste, fish waste, and wood chips. Four protocols were prepared and included either 25% or 41.5% sargassum and various proportions of food or fish waste and wood chips, which are ingredients that would be readily available in coastline communities, to determine the ideal ratios of materials to create a quality compost. Piles were turned regularly and monitored for pH, moisture, and temperatures according to compost industry standards and approximately every 5 to 7 days. Piles cured for 4 to 8 weeks and the entire composting process lasted 5 months. Samples of compost were collected and tested through the Agricultural Analytical Services Laboratory’s U.S. Composting Council’s Seal of Testing Approval Program at Pennsylvania State University. All final compost products and protocols had reasonable quality similar to those required by current compost standards. However, the protocol incorporating equal parts sargassum (41.5%) and wood chips (41.5%), fish waste (4%), and food waste (13%) had the best results in terms of organic matter content and overall nutrient levels. Therefore, this study determined that waste management industries can use sargassum as a feedstock through a large-scale composting system to create a desirable compost product that could be used in the horticulture industries. Sargassum could also be composted and then returned to the shoreline, where it would help build soils and vegetation.

scholarly journals Chemical and Physical Properties of Soil Amended with Pecan Wood Chips

HortScience ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 891-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed B. Tahboub ◽  
William C. Lindemann ◽  
Leigh Murray
Keyword(s):  
Physical Properties ◽  
Soil Ph ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Wood Chip ◽  
Aggregate Stability ◽  
Application Rate ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Wood Chips ◽  
Silty Clay ◽  
Application Rates

The pruning wood of pecan [Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch] is often burned. Chipping and soil incorporation of pruning wood is becoming more popular as a result of environmental constraints on burning. The objective of our research was to determine how pecan wood incorporation into soil affects the soil chemical and physical properties. Pecan wood chips were incorporated into a silty clay soil at rates of 0, 4484, 8968, 13,452, and 17,936 kg·ha−1 in Summer 2002, 2003, and 2004. Some plots received nitrogen at a rate of 0, 15.2, 30.5, 45.7, and 61.0 kg·ha−1 to adjust the C : N ratio of trimmings to 30 : 1. Ammonium sulfate, as a nitrogen source to balance the C : N ratio of pecan wood chips, reduced soil pH. However, the wood chip amendments alone did not reduce soil pH. Soil salinity (as determined by electrical conductivity) and bulk density were unaffected by wood chip incorporation regardless of application rate or number of applications. Incorporation of pecan chips had little effect on soil moisture content, but the soil had an inherently high waterholding capacity. Pecan wood chip incorporation significantly increased soil organic matter content and aggregate stability, particularly at the higher application rates and with repeated amendment. The incorporation of pecan pruning wood into the soil appears to improve soil tilth and aggregation while providing growers with an environmentally acceptable means of disposal.

scholarly journals Geographic patterns of biodiversity in European coastal marine benthos

2016 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 507-523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herman Hummel ◽  
Pim Van Avesaath ◽  
Sander Wijnhoven ◽  
Loran Kleine-Schaars ◽  
Steven Degraer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Local Variation ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Coastal Marine ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
The Cost

Within the COST action EMBOS (European Marine Biodiversity Observatory System) the degree and variation of the diversity and densities of soft-bottom communities from the lower intertidal or the shallow subtidal was measured at 28 marine sites along the European coastline (Baltic, Atlantic, Mediterranean) using jointly agreed and harmonized protocols, tools and indicators. The hypothesis tested was that the diversity for all taxonomic groups would decrease with increasing latitude. The EMBOS system delivered accurate and comparable data on the diversity and densities of the soft sediment macrozoobenthic community over a large-scale gradient along the European coastline. In contrast to general biogeographic theory, species diversity showed no linear relationship with latitude, yet a bell-shaped relation was found. The diversity and densities of benthos were mostly positively correlated with environmental factors such as temperature, salinity, mud and organic matter content in sediment, or wave height, and related with location characteristics such as system type (lagoons, estuaries, open coast) or stratum (intertidal, subtidal). For some relationships, a maximum (e.g. temperature from 15–20°C; mud content of sediment around 40%) or bimodal curve (e.g. salinity) was found. In lagoons the densities were twice higher than in other locations, and at open coasts the diversity was much lower than in other locations. We conclude that latitudinal trends and regional differences in diversity and densities are strongly influenced by, i.e. merely the result of, particular sets and ranges of environmental factors and location characteristics specific to certain areas, such as the Baltic, with typical salinity clines (favouring insects) and the Mediterranean, with higher temperatures (favouring crustaceans). Therefore, eventual trends with latitude are primarily indirect and so can be overcome by local variation of environmental factors.

scholarly journals Results of municipal waste compost research over more than fifty years at the Institute for Soil Fertility at Haren/Groningen, the Netherlands.

1981 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-61
Author(s):  
S. de Haan
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Municipal Waste ◽  
Toxic Substances ◽  
Compost Soil ◽  
Municipal Waste Compost

Until about 1950, municipal waste compost in the Netherlands was used principally on agricultural soils (mainly reclaimed cut-over peat and heath soils). Between 1950 and 1970, about equal proportions of compost were utilized in agriculture, horticulture and in amenity areas. Since 1970, amenity areas have demanded more than 90% of the compost. The main producer of municipal waste compost in the Netherlands is the VAM Waste Disposal Company, with a production level of about 100,000 tonnes per year. Its domestic refuse recycling plant recovers about 33% of organic residues suitable for compost production. Microelement contents and Ca and S levels in the compost are high, N, P and K contents and availability are low, and the organic matter content is c. 30% (dry matter basis). Biennial applications of up to 40 t/ha of compost between 1948 and 1975 resulted in large increases in microelement concentrations in crops and especially in soils. The Zn content of crops in a range of compost/soil mixtures increased with increasing compost/soil ratio, and crop growth was greatest in 100% compost. The current tendency in the Netherlands towards large-scale recycling of municipal waste may lead to increased compost production. Because the recreational sector can only absorb limited quantities, this compost would largely be disposed of on agricultural land. In such a situation limits for maximum permissible concentrations of potentially toxic substances in this compost, and maximum permissible application rates, would need to be set: for sewage sludge such limits already exist. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)

Large-scale mapping of soil organic matter content by regression kriging in Zala County

2013 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gábor Szatmári ◽  
Annamária Laborczi ◽  
Gábor Illés ◽  
László Pásztor
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Mean Absolute Error ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Absolute Error ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Mean Square ◽  
Regression Kriging ◽  
Soil Organic Matter Content

Dolgozatunkban Zala megye feltalajainak szervesanyag-tartalmát kívántuk digitálisan térképezni regresszió krigeléssel a rendelkezésünkre álló Digitális Kreybig Talajinformációs Rendszer (DKTIR) adataira, illetve környezeti segédváltozókra alapozva. A térbeli kiterjesztések során különböző kombinációkban használtuk fel a talajképződési tényezőket, illetve DKTIR talajtérképi egységeit. Munkánk célja volt, hogy a regresszió krigelés modelljébe vont segédváltozó kombinációk minőségi hatását vizsgáljuk a becslő eljárás alapját jelentő többszörös lineáris regresszió modellre, illetve a becsült térkép pontosságára vonatkozóan.A szervesanyag-tartalom térbeli kiterjesztéséhez szükséges segédváltozókat a szakirodalom alapján választottuk ki. Segédadatként használtuk fel Zala megye digitális domborzatmodelljét, a 2009 és 2011 között készült MODIS műholdképekből származtatott vegetációs index állományokat, két klímaparaméter fedvényét, illetve a DKTIR talajtérképi egységeit. A regresszió krigeléssel becsült humusztartalom térképeket a DKTIR talajszelvény adataiból előzetesen leválogatott, a becslési eljárástól független kontroll adatpontokkal értékeltük. A validációhoz származtattuk a ME (Mean Error), a MAE (Mean Absolute Error), az RMSE (Root Mean Square Error), illetve az RIi(%) (Relative Improvement) paraméterek értékeit, ahol utóbbi az egyes térképek pontosságának relatív növekedését fejezi ki egy viszonyítási alapnak választott térképhez képest.A vizsgalati eredmenyek alapjan a terbeli talajinformaciok segedadatkent torten. felhasznalasa jelentősen novelte a regresszio modellek determinacios koefficienseinek erteket, illetve a becsult humuszterkepek pontossagat. A talajtani segedinformaciokat is figyelembe vevő regresszio modellek R2 ertekei — ket eset kivetelevel — joval meghaladtak a 30%-ot, vagyis a szervesanyag-tartalom terbeli valtozekonysaganak tobb mint egyharmadat voltak kepesek determinalni. A validacios mutatok alapjan azon terkepek bizonyultak pontosabbnak, melyekben a DKTIR talajok textura es vizgazdalkodasi tulajdonsagait (DKTIR-F) hasznaltuk fel talajtani segedvaltozokent. A legalacsonyabb MAE ertekkel (0,747) a domborzati es eghajlati talajkepző tenyezőket, illetve a DKTIR-F talajterkepi egyseget segedvaltozokent alkalmazo humuszterkep rendelkezett, ezen terkep eseten az RIi(%) parameter erteke 21%-nak adodott. A mutatok alapjan ezen terkep adta a legpontosabb becslest a mintaterulet szervesanyag-tartalmara, hisz a felhasznalt segedvaltozokon keresztul figyelembe veszi a mintaterulet szervesanyag-tartalmat alapvetően befolyasolo eroziot es akkumulaciot, illetve a talajok fizikai feleseget, mely utobbi hatassal van a vizhaztartasra, a beszivargasra, a kilugozasra es ezeken keresztul a humuszkepződes folyamatara. A biologiai talajkepző tenyezőt reprezentalo MODIS vegetacios index allomanyok eseteben megfigyelhető volt, hogy segedadatkent tortenő alkalmazasuk eseten kevesbe pontos becsleseket kaptunk osszevetve az ezen segedadatokat mellőző becslesekkel.Munkánkat a K105167 számú OTKA, illetve a TÁMOP-4.2.2.A-11/1/KONV-2012-0013. pályázatok támogatják.

scholarly journals Clomazone Leaching Estimate in Soil Columns Using the Biological Method

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
G.A.M. PEREIRA ◽  
L.H. BARCELLOS JR. ◽  
V.A. GONÇALVES ◽  
D.V. SILVA ◽  
A.A. SILVA
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Chemical Control ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Biological Method ◽  
Soil Columns ◽  
Rain Simulation ◽  
Do So

ABSTRACT The chemical control of weed is a necessary practice in large-scale agriculture. However, when herbicides are used in the wrong way, they can remain into soil for long periods and/or be leached in its profile, and they may even contaminate groundwater. In this research, clomazone leaching in soil samples collected from different Brazilian regions was estimated by biological method. To do so, columns containing soils were used, and samples were collected every 5 cm. After preparing columns and applying a 1,500 g a.i. ha-1 clomazone dose, rain simulation was performed. Sorghum was used in order to detect the herbicide. More than 60% similarity was found for the studied variables; it was chosen to use only data referring to toxicity percentage. Clomazone did not cause reduction in sorghum cultivated in Organosol, thus indicating a strong herbicide sorption in this soil. Increased pH in Oxisol reduced leaching. More rainfall caused increased herbicide leaching in Oxisol (pH 5.1) and Quartzarenic Neosol. The highest leaching occurred in soils with lower pH and lower organic matter content. It is possible to conclude that, in soils with higher organic matter content, clomazone has lower risks of being leached.

scholarly journals Comparing Mulches, Herbicides, and Cultivation as Orchard Groundcover Management Systems

1995 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
I.A. Merwin ◽  
D.A. Rosenberger ◽  
C.A. Engle ◽  
D.L. Rist ◽  
M. Fargione
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Polyester Fabric ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Wood Chips ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Polypropylene Film ◽  
Recycled Paper ◽  
Hudson Valley ◽  
Market Values

Natural (hay, wood chips, recycled paper pulp) and synthetic (polypropylene film and polyester fabric) mulches were compared with mechanical tillage and residual herbicides as orchard groundcover management systems (GMSS). In two New York orchards-the Clarke farm and Hudson Valley Lab (HVL—GMSS were applied from 1990 to 1993 in 1.8-m-wide strips under newly planted apple (Malus domestica; `Liberty', `Empire', `Freedom', and advanced numbered selections from the disease-resistant apple breeding program at Geneva, N.Y.) trees. GMS impacts on soil fertility, tree nutrition and growth, yields, crop value, and vole (Microtus spp.) populations were evaluated. After 3 years at the Clarke orchard, extractable NO3, Mn, Fe, B, and Zn concentrations were greater in soil with herbicides than synthetic mulches; soil K and P concentrations were greater with herbicides and wood chips than synthetic mulches. At the HVL orchard, topsoil NO3, K, and Mg concentrations were greater with hay mulch than herbicides or other mulches; Mg, Fe, and B concentrations were lower in soil with wood chips than other GMSs. Soil organic matter content was not affected by GMS. Apple leaf N, K, Cu, and Zn concentrations were greater with herbicides, hay mulch, and polypropylene mulch than cultivation or recycled paper mulch at the HVL orchard during hot, dry Summer 1991. Despite transient differences among GMSS during the initial years, after 4 years of treatments there were no consistent GMS trends in cumulative tree growth or gross yields. The higher establishment and maintenance costs of several mulches were offset by their prolonged efficacy over successive years; crop market values from 1992 to 1994 were considerably greater for trees with polypropylene film, polyester fabric, and hay mulches than herbicides, cultivation, or other mulches. Voles caused more serious damage to trees in synthetic and hay mulches, despite the use of mesh trunk guards and rodenticide bait.

Estimate Soil Organic Matter Content in the Heihe River Basin Using Hyperspectral Method

2012 ◽  
Vol 500 ◽  
pp. 838-842
Author(s):  
Hai Ying Li ◽  
Hong Chun Peng
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Heihe River Basin ◽  
Heihe River ◽  
Soil Organic Matter Content ◽  
Wide Range

.Soil properties are very absent and sorely needed for many models. Conventional measurements are expensive and many samples are required. Hence it is difficult to quantitatively analysis them at a large-scale region. Hyperspectral methods are now used for the rapid characterization of a wide range of soil. In this paper, it was used to estimate organic matter content in soil of Heihe River basin. A total of 84 samples were collected and their reflected spectral were measured with ASD spectrometers. Then the organic matter were predicted using four forms of spectra and PLS method. The results show:1) the hyperspectral remote sensing can be used to predict soil organic matter content, and the precision can meet the requirement; 2) the best region of spectrum is 400~800nm in R, 1/R and Log (1/R) formation, and the FDR and FD(Log (1/R)) centered in 800nm based on the correlation coefficient and Variable Importance in Projection.

scholarly journals Composting as an Alternative Management Strategy for Sargassum Drifts on Coastlines

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jen A. Sembera ◽  
Erica J. Meier ◽  
Tina M. Waliczek
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Invasive Species ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Food Waste ◽  
Management Strategy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Wood Chips ◽  
Beach Communities

Massive drifts of sargassum (Sargassum fluitans and Sargassum natans) float onto the United States Gulf, Atlantic, and European shorelines regularly throughout the spring and summer months. To maintain tourist appeal and subsequently, the tourism industry, the standard practice of Texas beach communities has been to mechanically remove the sargassum seaweed and integrate it into dunes along the shoreline or dispose of the material in the landfill. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential to manage the invasive species sargassum using composting and to test the quality of the resulting compost. This study used ≈12 yard3 of sargassum as a feedstock mixed with cafeteria food waste and local wood chips, using a total of ≈72 yard3 of feedstocks, to create nearly 25 yard3 of stabilized compost. The final compost products were of equal or higher quality to current compost standards. Therefore, this study determined that the composting and waste management industries can use sargassum as a feedstock to create a desirable compost product that could be used in the horticulture and agriculture industries, while helping to manage this invasive species.

HEAVY METAL SPECIATION IN BOTTOM SEDIMENTS OF THE VYSHNEVOLOTSKY RESERVOIR

2018 ◽  
pp. 46-54
Author(s):  
O. A. Lipatnikova
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Bottom Sediments ◽  
Metal Speciation ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Water Reservoir ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Heavy Metal Speciation ◽  
Mobile Forms ◽  
Manganese Hydroxides

The study of heavy metal speciation in bottom sediments of the Vyshnevolotsky water reservoir is presented in this paper. Sequential selective procedure was used to determine the heavy metal speciation in bottom sediments and thermodynamic calculation — to determine ones in interstitial water. It has been shown that Mn are mainly presented in exchangeable and carbonate forms; for Fe, Zn, Pb и Co the forms are related to iron and manganese hydroxides is played an important role; and Cu and Ni are mainly associated with organic matter. In interstitial waters the main forms of heavy metal speciation are free ions for Zn, Ni, Co and Cd, carbonate complexes for Pb, fulvate complexes for Cu. Effects of particle size and organic matter content in sediments on distribution of mobile and potentially mobile forms of toxic elements have been revealed.

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