10.5071/20THEUBCE2012-1DV.2.4
Giannoulis, K.D.
K.D.
Giannoulis
Molla, A.
A.
Molla
Skoufogianni, E.
E.
Skoufogianni
Dimirkou, A.
A.
Dimirkou
Danalatos, N.G.
N.G.
Danalatos
NO<sup>-</sup><sub>3</sub>-N Uptake by Switchgrass as a Soil Quality Improvement Index
ETA-Florence Renewable Energies
2012
Conference paper
Biomass
2012
en
978-88-89407-54-7
3 Pages
application/pdf
Proceedings of the 20th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 18-22 June 2012, pp. 480-482
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is an important perennial energy crop. In this work, the uptake of NO -3-N by switchgrass as an index of soil quality improvement was studied in a pot experiment. Totally 24 pots with a peat-soil substratum of 1 kg were prepared receiving NO -3–N up to a concentration of 44 ppm. In half pots, a zeolite-bentonite 3:1 mix was added (total 10 gr per pot). Switchgrass variety Alamo was sown in each pot on July 20th (2011) and a nutrient solution of ammonium nitrate at three levels was supplied to correspond to N dressings of 0, 80 and 200 kg N/ha. Upon harvest, the average height of switchgrass to the pots with the zeolite-bentonite mix included/not included was 109 and 101 cm, respectively. Dry weights reached 16.5 gr versus 14.7 gr for each case respectively. The amount of NO -3–N remained in the soil was lower in the case of the pots with the zeolite-bentonite mix included fluctuating at levels lower than 8 mg NO -3-N /kg soil in the purpose of zero dressing treatment. More detailed results presented in the paper, demonstrate that switchgrass can be considered as a particularly environmental-friendly crop for biofuel production characterized by a great NO -3-N adsorption rate and soil improvement characteristics.
Proceedings of the 20th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 18-22 June 2012, Milan, Italy, pp. 480-482