ABSTRACT:
Final cover material at the Coffin Butte landfill in Benton County. Oregon, is difficult to revegetate because of unfavorable physical and chemical properties. Highrate sludge applications were proposed to establish and maintain vegetation for stabilization of the cover material and protection against erosion. Because state and federal regulatory agencies indicated sludge application rates in excess of normal agricultural use were not beneficial, a demonstration project was undertaken. Plots amended with 67.3 tons and 134.5 tons of sludge/hectare were developed on a completed cell at the landfill in the fall of 1981 and seeded with a cover crop. Dry matter yields and plant tissue quality were measured the following spring and compared with adjacent plots that received applications of commercial fertilizer as dictated by standard agricultural practices. Results indicated that sludge use at rates higher than typical agronomic applications would be effective in the reclamation of similar drastically disturbed areas without adverse environmental effects.
Footnotes
S. A. Wilson and T. M. Rahe are soil scientists with Cascade Earth Sciences Ltd., 3425 Spicer Drive, Albany, Oregon 97321. W. B. Webber, Jr., is manager of Valley Landfills, Inc., P.O. Box 807, Corvallis, Oregon 97355.
- Copyright 1985 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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