Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003
To: MULCH-L@cornell.edu (MULCH-L)
From: Steve Vanek
Subject: sawdust/woodchip amendments to soilHello all -- I'm looking for any results, anecdotal or otherwise, that have been seen with adding sawdust or woodchips to soil as an amendment. This is a question from a farmer in upstate New York participating in the NEON (Northeast Organic Network) project. He finds that large-texture wood chips help to improve soil structure and would be interested in hearing what other folks around the world have seen. In spite of what might be thought about a high carbon amendment immobilizing Nitrogen, his theory is that the specific surface area of wood chips is so small that they do not interact appreciably in this way, but provide direct water channels and "habitat" for fungi, etc.
Steven Vanek
NEON NY Regional Coordinator
Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14853___________________________________________________From: Cafesombra@aol.com
Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003
Subject: Re: sawdust/woodchip amendments to soil
To: MULCH-L@cornell.eduSaturating woodchips in urine neutralizes its capacity to leach more nitrogen from the soil. Woodchips off a stable floor for example may be saturated enough.
Jennifer Chesworth
Sombra Buena Organic Forest Products
______________________________________________________________ From: William Cook
To: mulch-l@cornell.edu (MULCH-L)
Subject: Fwd: Search Results
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003Y'all....especially Steve Vanek
This is from Agricola, inserting woodchips and soil as keywords....
WmCook
Subject: Search Results from Cambridge Scientific Abstracts
Database: AGRICOLA; Query: KW=(woodchips and soil)
Record 1 of 5
Influence of organic by products and nitrogen source on chemical and microbiologial status of an agricultural soil
Author: Entry, JA; Wood, BH; Edwards, JH; Wood, CW
Author Affiliation: Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn University, AL
Source: Biology and fertility of soils. 1997. v. 24 (2) p. 196-204
ISSN 0178-2762
Publisher: Berlin, Germany : Springer-Verlag.
Abstract
We assessed the influence of the addition of four municipal or agricultural by-products (cotton gin waste, ground newsprint, woodchips, or yard trimmings), combined with two sources of nitrogen (N), [ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) or poultry litter] as carbon (C) sources on active bacterial, active fungal and total microbial biomass, cellulose decomposition, potential net mineralization of soil C and N and soil nutrient status in agricultural soils. Cotton gin waste as a C source promoted the highest potential net N mineralization and N turnover. Municipal or agricultural by-products as C sources had no affect on active bacterial, active fungal or total microbial biomass, C turnover, or the ratio of net C:N mineralized. Organic by-products and N additions to soil did not consistently affect C turnover rates, active bacterial, active fungal or total microbial biomass. After 3, 6 or 9 weeks of laboratory incubation, soil amended with organic by-products plus poultry litter resulted in higher cellulose degradation rates than soil amended with organic by-products plus NH4NO3. Cellulose degradation was highest when soil was amended with newsprint plus poultry litter. When soil was amended with organic by-products plus NH4NO3, cellulose degradation did not differ from soil amended with only poultry litter or unamended soil. Soil amended with organic by-products had higher concentrations of soil C than soil amended with only poultry litter or unamended soil. Soil amended with organic by-products plus N as poultry litter generally, but not always, had higher extractable P, K, Ca, and Mg concentrations than soil amended with poultry litter or unamended soil.
Publication Year: 1997
CN: Call Number DNAL QH84.8.B46
Record 2 of 5
The use of woodchips and other wood fragments as soil amendments
Author: Lunt, Herbert A
Source: Bulletin / Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station ; no. 593 46 p. : ill. ; 23 cm
Bibliography: p. 45-46.
Publisher: New Haven : Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, 1955.
Language: English
Publication Year: 1955
Publication Type: Monograph; Bibliographies
Descriptors: Wood waste as mulch, soil conditioner, etc; Wood chips
Call Number: DNAL 100 C76St (1) no.593
Record 3 of 5
Effect of Meloidogyne arenaria and mulch type on okra in microplot experiments
Author: Ritzinger, CHSP; McSorley, R; Gallaher, RN
Author Affiliation: EMBRAPA, Acre, Brazil
Source: Journal of nematology. Dec 1998. v. 30 (4,suppl.) p. 616-623
ISSN 0022-300X
Includes references
Publisher: Lawrence, Kan. : Society of Nematologists.
Abstract
The effects of perennial peanut (Arachis glabrata) hay, an aged yard-waste compost (mainly woodchips), and a control treatment without amendment were determined on two population levels of root-knot (Meloidogyne arenaria) nematode over three consecutive years in field microplots. Okra (Hibiscus esculentus, susceptible to the root-knot nematode) and a rye (Secale cereale) cover crop (poor nematode host) were used in the summer and winter seasons, respectively. The organic amendment treatments affected plant growth parameters. In the first year, okra yields were greatest in peanut amended plots. Yield differences with amendment treatment diminished in the second and third years. Okra plant height, total fruit weight, and fruit number were greater with the lower population level of the root-knot nematode. Residual levels of nutrients in soil were greater where root-knot nematode levels and damage were higher and plant growth was poor. Nutrient levels affected the growth of a subsequent rye cover crop.
Call Number: DNAL QL391.N4J62
AN: Accession Number: IND22005384
Record 4 of 5
Using woodchips of specific species in composting
Application as soil conditioners and low grade fertilizers
Authors: Frankos, NH; Gouin, F; Sikora, LJ
Source: BioCycle. May/June 1982. v. 23 (3) p. 38-40. ill
ISSN 0276-5055
Notes: Includes 13 ref.
Language: English
Publication Type: Book chapter / Journal article
Classification: J500 SOIL FERTILITY, FERTILIZERS, AND MANURES
Call Number: NAL 57.8 C734
Subfile: AGRICOLA
Accession Number: IND82068479
Alert Info: 20001231
Record 5 of 5
Evaluating composts to produce wildflower sods on plastic
Author: O'Brien, TA; Barker, AV
Source: Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science. May 1997. v. 122 (3) p. 445-451
ISSN 0003-1062
Notes: Includes references
Publisher: Alexandria, Va. :
Abstract
This research evaluated production of wildflower sods in soil and composts of mixed municipal solid waste, biosolids and woodchips, fall leaves, and mixed agricultural wastes. Soil or composts were laid on plastic sheeting in outdoor plots, and a mixture of wildflower seeds was sown in July and in September in separate experiments. Quality of sods was assessed in two growing seasons. Best sods with respect to seed germination, stand establishment, and intensity and diversity of bloom over two seasons occurred in mature biosolids compost and in agricultural waste compost. These composts were low in ammonium but rich in total N. Gemination and growth of wildflowers were limited by high ammonium concentrations in immature biosolids composts. Nitrogen deficiency limited sod growth and quality in leaf composts. Poor N nutrition and weed competition restricted sod production in soil. Fertilization of soil promoted unacceptably large weed growth. Summer seeding or fall seeding resulted in good sods, but many annual flowers that appeared in the summer seeding were absent in the fall-seeded planting. Using plastic-lined plots was a convenient system for evaluating composts and other media in outdoor culture.
Call Number: DNAL 81 SO12
Accession Number: IND20624663
______________________________________________________________ From: Minifarms@aol.com
Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003
Subject: sawdust
To: MULCH-L@cornell.eduTwo experiences: Sawdust if it is not tilled into the soil will not take the N.
Lubbock TX I had a 2 m. wide bed planted in two rows of tomatoes and with no rain in weeks I had to irrigate every second day. I went to a horse stable and hauled sawdust with manure to the garden and covered the bed with 8 inches of it. Worked. Irrigated once or twice per week.
I was teaching a workshop 30 minutes drive outside Nairobi. Cotton Blackland soil and dry as a gourd. Cracks two inches wide. They wanted to plant as soon as we could. Two miles down the highway was a packing plant. The manager let us take all the sawdust with cow manure [from the trucks] that we wanted. Covered the beds about six inches deep. Hand tilled it in. Planted and watered. A man visiting said that his school teacher who was an organic gardener said that one should never use raw sawdust in the garden. I told him that his teacher was right. We were desperate with that soil and I was holding my breath the garden would be a failure. I did not mention this to the gardeners. They had a beautiful crop. Sometimes you have to throw out the rules.
Ken Hargesheimer
Mini-Farms Network
______________________________________________________________ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003
From: "Carsky, Robert (IITABE)"
Subject: RE: sawdust/woodchip amendments to soil
To: MULCH-L@cornell.edu
Steve,
Type 'ramial chipped wood' on google and you will get the work being done at the University of Laval (Gilles Lemieux) with relatively large wood chips.
Regards,
Bob Carsky
IITA-Benin______________________________________________________________ From: "Carlos J. Perez"
To: MULCH-L@cornell.edu
Subject: Re: sawdust/woodchip amendments to soil
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003
Dear Mr. Vanek,
My experience with woodchip is related to horses. We are keeping three horses in separate rooms. The bed is made of cedar and mahogany woodchips that we collect from a local timber shop. Every week we change the bed whichis mixed with urine and horse manure. We then pile up the old bed and spread it in the soil (pasture, fruit and forest trees) 4 to 5 months later. In the composting process it reaches high temperatures until the chips become black. All this is very empirical, because we don´t measure any parameters or nutrient evolution.
However, we have observed that the soil capacity to retain moisture is higher. During the dry season, young fruit trees don´t have to be irrigated every day; what we do is we put a mulch of composted woodchips (about three
inches thick) around the tree canopy, and apply water every three to four days. When we add the woodchips we don´t add chemical fertilizers because we believe that the woodchips already contain some from the urine and the horse manure. The fruit trees are producing well and seem healthy.
If you obtain more scientific information let me know.
Carlos J. Pérez
(Nicaragua)
Former Cornell University Ph.D. graduate______________________________________________________________ From: EAT
Date: Mar 19, 2003
To: MULCH-L@cornell.edu
Subject: Re: sawdust/woodchip amendments to soilDear Mr Vanek,
It would be interesting to know also the case of crop response to wood chips (or manure from wood chips) from tree species (such as Eucalyptus spp.) known to have allelopathic effects on other plant species.Charles Wasonga
Environmental Action Team
Kitale, Kenya