Tuesday, 8 November 2005
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Utilizing Hybrid Poplar Trees to Phytoremediate Soils with Excess Phosphorus.

Marla S. McIntosh and Amy Neal. University of Maryland, 6117 Plt.Sci.Bldg.-U. of MD, Dept. of Natural Res. Sciences, College Park, MD 20742-5565

Phytoremediation has the potential to effectively remove excess phosphorus from soils contaminated by repeated applications of poultry litter. We conducted field experiments on plots of differing P availability at a poultry farm in MD to evaluate the potential of using fast-growing, hybrid poplar trees to efficiently remove P from the soil. Soil and plant tissue samples were analyzed for nutrient concentrations. Based on leaf and stem biomass data, we developed a P budget to estimate the phytoremediation capacity for hybrid poplars grown on soils amended with poultry litter. The concentration of P in the leaves and stems of hybrid poplars increased with increasing soil P availability. During the two years of this study, a substantial portion of P was contained in the leaf tissue. Thus, annual removal of leaves along with scheduled coppicing and removal of trunks and leaves would most effectively reduce soil P. Hybrid poplar plantings would also serve to reduce runoff, which is the primary non-point source of P entering the Chesapeake Bay.

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