Most recent

30 Sep 2019

Assessing nitrogen and phosphorus removal potential of five plant species in floating treatment wetlands receiving simulated nursery runoff

Jonathan T. Spangler, David J. Sample, Laurie J. Fox (Virginia Tech), Joseph P. Albano (USDA) and Sarah A. White (Clemson University)

Floating treatment wetlands (FTW) consist of a raft containing hydroponically grown wetland plants. FTW performance in reducing nitrogen (N) and phosporus (P) in runoff from commercial nurseries was evaluated in two, 8-week trials using replicated mesocosm experiments, with five monoculture species, alone and in mixtures. Panicum virgatum was the best performer, removing 65% P and 82% N. FTW plants transplanted into containers grew well for four weeks after transplanting, potentially providing a saleable product. FTW can reduce N and P in runoff from commercial nurseries. However, more research is needed to evaluate specific plant species and extend applications to the field scale. 

Click here to read the research article

9 Sep 2019

Floating treatment wetland aided nutrient removal from agricultural runoff using two wetland species

Jonathan T. Spangler, David J. Sample, Laurie J. Fox, James S. Owen Jr (Virginia Tech) and Sarah A. White (Clemson University)

Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) consist of rafts upon which wetland plants are grown. While FTWs  have been found to reduce nutrients in runoff, data on commercial nurseries application is limited. We simulated FTW application to ponds collecting nursery runoff using Pontederia cordata and Juncus effuses in a mesocosm experiment. Pontederia cordata was clearly superior, removing more than 90% of total P and 84% of total N at high and low nutrient concentrations, respectively.  Plant uptake transitioned from a slow establishment phase to maximum treatment after four to five weeks. This research demonstrates FTWs may provide effective treatment of nursery runoff.

Click here to read the research article

19 Aug 2019

Water Quality Characterization of Storm and Irrigation Runoff from a Container Nursery

Mohammad Nayeb Yazdi, David J.Sample, Durelle Scott, James S.Owen, Mehdi Ketabchy, and Nasrin Alamdari (Virginia Tech)

Runoff from container nurseries contains nutrient and sediment from fertilizer and irrigation. We assessed runoff total suspended solids (TSS), N as total N (TN), and P as total P (TP) from a 5.2 ha production area of a mid-Atlantic nursery. TN and TP storm loads were approximately 900, 35 and 50 times greater than irrigation loads.  While TN and TP were comparable to urban runoff, TSS was 2-4 times greater. The Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) was calibrated to the results and used to generate annual TSS, TN, and TP loading, providing a valuable planning tool for nurseries.

Read the article here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.326

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Description of research activities

A national team of scientists is working to encourage use of alternative water resources by the nation’s billion-dollar nursery and floriculture industry has been awarded funds for the first year of an $8.7 million, five year US Department of Agriculture – National Institute of Food and Agriculture –Specialty Crop Research Initiative competitive grant.

The team will develop and apply systems-based solutions to assist grower decision making by providing science-based information to increase use of recycled water.  This award from the NIFA’s Specialty Crop Research Initiative is managed by Project Director Sarah White of Clemson University.  She leads a group of 21 scientists from nine U.S. institutions.

Entitled “Clean WateR3 - Reduce, Remediate, Recycle – Enhancing Alternative Water Resources Availability and Use to Increase Profitability in Specialty Crops”, the Clean WateR3 team will assist the grower decision-making process by providing science-based information on nutrient, pathogen, and pesticide fate in recycled water both before and after treatment, average cost and return-on investment of technologies examined, and model-derived, site specific recommendations for water management.  The trans-disciplinary Clean WateR3 team will develop these systems-based solutions by integrating sociological, economic, modeling, and biological data into a user-friendly decision-support system intended to inform and direct our stakeholders’ water management decision-making process.

The Clean WateR3 grant team is working with a stakeholder group of greenhouse and nursery growers throughout the United States.

For example, at the University of Florida graduate student George Grant is collecting data on removal of paclobutrazol, a highly persistent plant growth regulator chemical, from recirculated water using granular activated carbon (GAC) filters. This is being done in both research greenhouses and in a commercial site. The GAC filters can remove more than 90% of chemical residues, and are proving to be a cost-effective treatment method.

 

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