| Title |
Evaluation of Physicochemical Characteristics and Plant Growth in Bio-Artificial Soils with Hydrogels Immobilizing Nitrogen Fixation Bacteria |
| Authors |
Hwang, In-Hyuk ; Lee, Kyung-Ho ; Yang, Keun-Hyeok ; Mun, Ju-Hyun |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5659/JAIK_SC.2017.33.8.37 |
| Keywords |
Artificial soil ; Hydrogel ; Physicochemical characteristics ; Plant growth ; Nitrogen fixation bacteria |
| Abstract |
This study developed a biological artificial soils to promote the plant growth. The bio-artificial soil is composed of the neutralized particles achieving the fineness of natural soils and hydrogels immobilizing nitrogen fixation bacteria. The particles are obtained from the crush of aerated concrete with dry density not exceeding 450 kg/m3 and then suspended into monophoshpate solution for neutralization. To examine the practical application of the bio-artificial soil, various physicochemical characteristics (soil moisture, pH, cation exchange capacity, electrical conductivity, carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, and total organic content) were measured at immediately before planting and an age of 28 days after planting, and compared with the adequate ranges recommended in the landscape standard specification. The plant growth in the bio-artificial soil was ascertained from the evaluation of the variation of height, width of crown, and coverage in the indian rubber tree, parlour palm, broadleaf liriope, and tiny ardisia. Test results showed that the plant growth in the bio-artificial soil was approximately 13% greater than that measured in the existing artificial soils using perlite. The optimum content of hydrogels containing nitrogen fixation bacteria in the bio-artificial soil depends on the type of plant. Ultimately, the developed bio-artificial soil has an excellent potential for artificial soils in building greening system. |