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Surfactant-Modified Soil Amendments Reduce Nitrogen and Phosphorus Leaching in a Sand-Based Rootzone
Journal of Environmental Quality
|October 4, 2016
Summary
Surfactant-modified soil amendments effectively reduce nitrogen and phosphorus leaching in golf greens. These treatments offer a promising solution for preventing nutrient runoff into water bodies.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Soil Science
- Agronomy
Background:
- Golf putting greens, particularly those adhering to United States Golf Association standards, are prone to nutrient leaching, specifically nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P).
- Inorganic soil amendments are commonly employed to enhance soil properties like moisture and nutrient retention, potentially impacting nutrient leaching dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the efficacy of various soil amendments and surfactant-modified soil amendments in mitigating nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) leaching.
- To compare the performance of different amendment types, including zeolite and calcined clay, with and without surfactant modification.
Main Methods:
- Lysimeters were constructed with a sand-peat rootzone layer and a treatment layer of amendments (sand, sand-peat, zeolite, calcined clay, hexadecyltrimethylammonium-zeolite, hexadecyltrimethylammonium-calcined clay).
- A nutrient solution containing nitrate-N (NO-N), ammonium-N (NH-N), and orthophosphate-P was applied, and leachate was collected to quantify nutrient loss.
- Nutrient concentrations in leachate were analyzed to determine the retention capabilities of each treatment.
Main Results:
- Hexadecyltrimethylammonium-coated amendments significantly reduced nitrate-N (NO-N) leaching to undetectable levels.
- Both coated and uncoated amendments, particularly zeolite, substantially decreased ammonium-N (NH-N) leaching.
- Surfactant-modified amendments demonstrated a remarkable reduction in orthophosphate-P leaching, up to 97%, while peat exacerbated leaching.
Conclusions:
- Surfactant-modified soil amendments present a viable strategy for significantly reducing nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) leaching from golf greens.
- These advanced amendments can effectively capture leached nutrients, preventing their entry into surface and groundwater, thereby contributing to improved water quality.
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