Dissertation
COMPOSTED BIOSOLIDS AS A NUTRIENT SUBSTITUTE FOR GOLF COURSE FAIRWAYS
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
01/2017
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/117253
Abstract
Golf courses are artificially managed environments where maintenance decisions are driven by playing field quality which includes both turfgrass aesthetics and plant health. Across the United States, including Hawaii and Alaska, there are approximately 16,000 golf courses which rely on the application of nitrogen (N) to supplement nutrient requirements of the turfgrass plant. Eagle’s Pride golf course is located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), just south of the city of Dupont, WA. As a means for cost savings and waste diversion, Eagle’s Pride partnered with the on-base composting facility (Earthworks) to evaluate whether applications of composted biosolids could be an effective nutrient substitute on its golf course fairways.
Golf course management includes manipulation of the soil environment, to assess soil and plant responses to a composted biosolid treatment in a turgrass system, soil physical and chemical properties were evaluated using a novel method to select sites with similar soil properties. Turfgrass growth and aesthetics were evaluated following the application of a composted biosolid and, nearly all turfgrass response variables were decreased and then, equal to or greater than, comparisons with a control at seven and 21 days post-treatment, respectively. Turfgrass tissue N concentration reflected the amount of applied N as opposed to the source of N. Turfgrass soil responses of pH and NH4-N concentration showed little to no variation in response to applications of a composted biosolid, while changes in volumetric water content (VWC), total C, total N, and NO3-N levels were observed in comparisons with a control. Both bacterial and fungal community structure were unaffected by the addition of a composted biosolid, although microbial community structure was altered in response to site conditions. Control plots absent fertilizer and composted biosolids treatments never fell below an unacceptable level of turfgrass quality in two years of study.
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Details
- Title
- COMPOSTED BIOSOLIDS AS A NUTRIENT SUBSTITUTE FOR GOLF COURSE FAIRWAYS
- Creators
- Nathan Eugene Stacey
- Contributors
- Joan R Davenport (Advisor)Doug P Collins (Committee Member)Gwen K Stahnke (Committee Member)Tarah S Sullivan (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 147
- Identifiers
- 99900581716201842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation