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- Title
Comparison of the abilities of redtop ( Agrostis alba L.) and zoysiagrass ( Zoysia japonica Steud.) to purify liquid animal waste.
- Authors
Takada-Oikawa, Naoko; Kawanabe, Sukeo; Oshida, Toshio; Itagaki, Shin-ichi; Onozawa, Minori; Sakurai, Masumi
- Abstract
The animal waste treatment facility of Azabu University utilizes cultivation beds where liquid animal waste is purified by filtration through soil and vegetation. The beds are presently covered with zoysiagrass ( Zoysia japonica Steud.), which thrives in warm weather. However, the purification activities of this grass decrease during winter dormancy. To improve purification activity between autumn and early spring, we introduced redtop ( Agrostis alba L.), which thrives in cool conditions, into an experimental bed and compared the purification efficiency with that of zoysiagrass. Drainage purified through the bed of redtop showed significantly lower values of turbidity, chemical oxygen demand, total phosphorus and ammonium-nitrogen concentrations, and significantly higher nitrate-nitrogen concentrations than that through zoysiagrass during the late vegetative stage when redtop had the highest biomass. This suggested vigorous nitrification activity of rhizosphere under aerobic conditions afforded by redtop. The high purification efficiency of redtop appeared to be associated with better essential salts absorption and improved physicochemical properties of soil supporting its growth. The results showed that the purification efficiency of redtop is higher than that of zoysiagrass under seasonal low temperatures.
- Subjects
ANIMAL waste; MACHINE separators; TURBIDITY; NITRIFICATION; RHIZOSPHERE; WASTE gas purification; ZOYSIA
- Publication
Grassland Science, 2006, Vol 52, Issue 1, p15
- ISSN
1744-6961
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1744-697X.2006.00042.x