HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (14) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Russelle, M. P. Articles by Vance, C. P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Russelle, M. P. Articles by Vance, C. P. GeoRef GeoRef Citation Agricola Articles by Russelle, M. P. Articles by Vance, C. P. Related Collections Ground Water Quality Bioremediation and Biodegradation Alfalfa Organic Compounds

TECHNICAL REPORT
BIOREMEDIATION AND BIODEGRADATION

Alfalfa Rapidly Remediates Excess Inorganic Nitrogen at a Fertilizer Spill Site

^a USDA-ARS, 439 Borlaug Hall, Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108-6028
^b Minnesota Dep. of Agriculture, 90 W. Plato Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55107
^c HDR Engineering, 6190 Golden Hills Dr., Minneapolis, MN 55416
^d Dakota Growers Pasta Co., Carrington, ND 58421

Corresponding author (russelle{at}soils.umn.edu)

Received for publication March 13, 2000. By 1996, standard remediation techniques had significantly reduced the concentration of nitrate nitrogen (NO^-₃–N) in local ground water at the site of a 1989 anhydrous ammonia spill, but NO^-₃–N concentrations in portions of the site still exceeded the public drinking water standard. Our objective was to determine whether local soil and ground water quality could be improved with alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). A 3-yr study was conducted in replicated plots (24 by 30 m) located hydrologically upgradient of the ground water under the spill site. Three alfalfa entries [`Agate', Ineffective Agate (a non-N₂–fixing elite germplasm similar to Agate), and MWNC-4 (an experimental germplasm)] were seeded in the spring of 1996. Corn (Zea mays L.) or wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was seeded adjacent to the alfalfa each year. Crops were irrigated with N-containing ground water to meet water demand. During the 3-yr period, about 540 kg of inorganic N was removed from the aquifer through irrigation of 4.9 million L water. Cumulative N removal from the site over 3 yr was 972 kg N ha^-1 in Ineffective Agate alfalfa hay, compared with 287 kg N ha^-1 for the annual cereal grain. Soil solution NO^-₃ concentrations were reduced to low and stable levels by alfalfa, but were more variable under the annual crops. Ground water quality improved, as evidenced by irrigation water N concentration. We do not know how much N was removed by the N₂–fixing alfalfas, but it appears that either fixing or non-N₂–fixing alfalfa will effectively remove inorganic N from N-affected sites.

Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. F. S. Lamb, M. P. Russelle, and D. M. Fenton Field-based Selection Method Creates Alfalfa Populations That Differ in Nitrate Nitrogen Uptake Crop Sci., March 19, 2008; 48(2): 450 - 457. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. F. S. Lamb, M. P. Russelle, and M. A. Schmitt Alfalfa and Reed Canarygrass Response to Midsummer Manure Application Crop Sci., September 23, 2005; 45(6): 2293 - 2300. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. P. Russelle and A. S. Birr Large-Scale Assessment of Symbiotic Dinitrogen Fixation by Crops: Soybean and Alfalfa in the Mississippi River Basin Agron. J., November 1, 2004; 96(6): 1754 - 1760. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. W. Singer and K. J. Moore Nitrogen Removal by Orchardgrass and Smooth Bromegrass and Residual Soil Nitrate Crop Sci., July 1, 2003; 43(4): 1420 - 1426. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]