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Title: PHOSPHORUS UPTAKE IN A LOESS HILLS MIXED SPECIES RIPARIAN BUFFER

Author
item KELLY, J - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
item Kovar, John
item Moorman, Thomas
item SOKOLOWSKY, R - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/4/2004
Publication Date: 11/4/2004
Citation: Kelly, J.M., Kovar, J.L., Moorman, T.B., Sokolowsky, R. 2004. Phosphorus Uptake in a Loess Hills Mixed Species Riparian Buffer [CD-ROM]. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts. Madison, Wisconsin.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Until recently, little information has been collected on the ability of streamside vegetation to retain or slow the movement of phosphorus (P). The objective of this study is to determine the suitability of a buffer strip containing rapidly growing trees and harvestable grasses as means to capture and export excess P from a loess based hydrologic source area. The buffer was established in the spring of 2001 and contained parallel strips of alfalfa, switchgrass, and cottonwood. An established smooth brome buffer strip on the opposite side of the drainage way was used as a control. Samples of above and below ground biomass from all four cover types were collected at the end of the growing season for a period of three years. Sample dry weights were determined and the roots and shoots analyzed for P concentration. At the end of three growing seasons total biomass (g/m2) for each cover type was alfalfa 901, switchgrass 1409, cottonwood, 2323, and smooth brome (control) 657. P levels in vegetation (g/m2) were alfalfa 2.3, switchgrass 2.8, cottonwood 3.0, and smooth brome 1.7. All three cover types accumulated more P than the smooth brome indicating that any of the study species were better accumulators of P than the typically used smooth brome.