Researcher(s)
- Chelsea Flaherty, Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware
Faculty Mentor(s)
- Paul Imhoff, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware
Abstract
Impact of Biochar Amended Soils on Vegetation of Coastal Meadow and Living Shoreline Ecosystems
Chelsea C. Flaherty, Simanta Azad, Jules Bruck, Paul T. Imhoff
To confront the environmental troubles caused by nutrient pollution and shoreline erosion in the Delaware Inland Bays, biochar, a charcoal-like substance obtained from the pyrolysis of wood waste, was applied onto a coastal meadow and a living shoreline site. We are investigating the effectiveness of biochar amendment to the soil/sediment of each ecosystem by assessing the vegetation growing at both sites. The coastal meadow consists of six treatment sections where a northeastern wildflower seed mixture was planted: Rudbeckia hirta is the dominant species. Three alternating sections have soil amended with 4% (w/w) biochar, while the other three sections serve as control groups composed of 0% (w/w) biochar. Alternately, the living shoreline site consists of four sections where Spartina alterniflora, a native marsh grass, was planted. Two alternating sections have sediments enhanced with 4% (w/w) biochar, while the other two serve as the control with 0% (w/w) biochar. The fundamental objective of this study is to monitor changes in plant growth at each site over time as a result of biochar amendment. After approximately sixteen months of measurement, the biochar amended plots in the coastal meadow have significantly greater plant growth than the control plots. Meanwhile, the living shoreline biochar-amended plots experienced a slight decrease in plant growth and displayed less plant cover than that of the control plots. This is believed to be because of the higher pore water electrical conductivity of the biochar-amended plots in the living shoreline, likely causing stress from excess salinity and reducing plant cover and health.