LS Bodenschutz und Rekultivierung
Refine
Year of publication
- 2013 (38) (remove)
Document Type
Keywords
- Kurzumtriebsplantage (2)
- ecosystem development (2)
- Agroforstsystem (1)
- Biomasse (1)
- DOC (1)
- Energieholzanbau (1)
- Kurzumtriebsplantagen (1)
- bioavailability (1)
- morphology (1)
- root growth (1)
- soil crusts (1)
Institute
BTU
Soils of former Manufactured Gas Plants (MGPs) are often contaminated with iron-cyanide (Fe-CN) complexes that originate from gas purification process. Cyanide is a potentially toxic substance and its presence in soil and groundwater may cause risk for human health as well as for the environment. MGPs were commonly built on the city suburban areas, which have spread ever since. Nowadays, these sites are typically located in inner cities, causing environmental thread, due to the leaching of pollutants. More recently, columns and batch experiments have been used to study fate and mobility of contaminants is soil. The release of iron-cyanide complexes under unsaturated flow conditions was evaluated with eight columns of 30 cm length and a diameter of 5,4 cm. Cyanide concentrations in the collected leachates were measured with Flow Injection Analysis (FIA). Additionally pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and various ion concentrations were determined. In order to compare the release of Fe-CN complexes in saturated conditions a batch experiment was conducted, where in defined time intervals, 1 ml of the extract water phase was analyzed for CN concentration. Study revealed an analogous trend of cyanide release in both experiments indicating primarily the release of formerly dissolved phase (hexacyanoferrates) followed by continual dissolution of ferric ferrocyanide. We conclude that batch experiments, conducted prior to column analysis, can serve as preliminary prediction of the water soluble cyanide fraction under unsaturated conditions.
Fast growing tree species in alley cropping systems and their influence on microclimate in Germany
(2013)
Als Pionierbaumart besiedelt die Robinie (Robinia pseudoacacia) schnell offene Flächen und gilt im Vergleich zu anderen mitteleuropäischen Baumarten als relativ gut angepasst an trockene Standorte mit lockeren Böden. Sie gehört zu den wenigen Baumarten Mitteleuropas, die zur biologischen Stickstoff-Fixierung (BNF) befähigt sind. In dieser Studie soll der jährliche Eintrag von Stickstoff (N) aus der biologischen N-Fixierung der Robinie in Kurzumtriebsplantagen und Agroforstsystemen abgeschätzt werden.
In initial ecosystems, concentrations of all macro- and micronutrients can be considered as extremely low. Plant litter therefore strongly influences the development of a degrader’s food web and is an important source for C and N input into soil in such ecosystems. In the present study, a 13C litter decomposition field experiment was performed for 30 weeks in initial soils from a post-mining area near the city of Cottbus (Germany). Two of this region’s dominant but contrasting pioneering plant species (Lotus corniculatus L. and Calamagrostis epigejos L.) were chosen to investigate the effects of litter quality on the litter decomposing microbial food web in initially nutrient-poor substrates. The results clearly indicate the importance of litter quality, as indicated by its N content, its bioavailability for the degradation process and the development of microbial communities in the detritusphere and soil. The degradation of the L. corniculatus litter, which had a low C / N ratio, was fast and showed pronounced changes in the microbial community structure 1–4 weeks after litter addition. The degradation of the C. epigejos litter material was slow and microbial community changes mainly occurred between 4 and 30 weeks after litter addition to the soil. However, for both litter materials clear indication of the importance of fungi for the degradation process was observed both in terms of fungal abundance and activity (13C incorporation activity).
Our investigations at the artificial catchment ´Chicken Creek´ in Lusatia/Germany aim to disentangle and understand the feedback mechanisms and interrelationships of processes and their co-development with spatial and temporal structures and patterns by studying this initial, probably less complex ecosystem. Intensive measurements were carried out in the catchment with regard to the development of surface structures, hydrological patterns, and vegetation dynamics.
During the first seven years, considerable changes within the catchment were observed. Both internal and external factors could be identified as driving forces for the formation of structures and patterns in the artificial catchment. Initial structures formed by the construction process and initial substrate characteristics were decisive for the distribution and flow of water. External factors like episodic events triggered erosion and dissection during this initial phase, promoted by the low vegetation cover and the unconsolidated sandy substrate.
The transformation of the initial geo-system into areas with evolving terrestrial or aquatic characteristics and from a very episodic to a more permanent stream network and discharge, together with the observed vegetation dynamics increased site diversity and heterogeneity with respect to water and nutrient availability and transformation processes compared to the more homogenous conditions at point zero.
The processes and feedback mechanisms in the initial development of a new landscape may deviate in rates, intensity and dominance from those known from mature ecosystems. It is therefore crucial to understand these early phases of ecosystem development and to disentangle the increasingly complex interactions between the evolving terrestrial and aquatic, biotic and abiotic compartments of the system. Artificially created catchments could be a suitable tool to study these initial developments at the landscape scale under known, designed and defined boundary conditions.