Influence of Mount St. Helens volcanic ash on alfalfa growth and nutrient uptake
Concern has been expressed that large amounts of volcanic ash from the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens may have created potential nutritional problems associated with forage production in northern Idaho and eastern Washington to the extent that adjustments need to be made in soil test correlation data. The objectives of this greenhouse study were to : (1) determine the effect of varying amounts of volcanic ash mixed into soils of northern Idaho on total alfalfa biomass production, and (2) to determine the effect of various soil/ash mixtures on the nutrient concentrations of P, K, S, Ca, Mg, Mn and Zn in alfalfa. Alfalfa was grown in eight different northern Idaho soils amended with differing levels of volcanic ash (0, 20, 35, 50 and 75%) in the greenhouse. The alfalfa seeds were inoculated and fertilizer P and S were added to all treatments. Total plant biomass and P, K, S, Ca, Mg, Mn and Zn plant concentrations were measured. The eight were pooled for analysis and it was found that increasing amounts of volcanic ash increased alfalfa biomass production. Plant P, S, Ca, Mg and Zn concentrations also increased with increasing levels of ash. Conversely, increasing levels of ash resulted in lower alfalfa tissue K and Mn concentrations. 13 references, 7 figures.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of Idaho, Moscow
- OSTI ID:
- 6094501
- Journal Information:
- Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal.; (United States), Vol. 15:4
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ALFALFA
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
PLANT GROWTH
ASHES
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
CALCIUM
UPTAKE
IDAHO
LAND POLLUTION
MAGNESIUM
MANGANESE
PHOSPHORUS
POTASSIUM
SOILS
SULFUR
ZINC
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FERTILIZERS
MT ST HELENS
NUTRIENTS
PRODUCTIVITY
VOLCANOES
ALKALI METALS
ALKALINE EARTH METALS
CASCADE MOUNTAINS
DATA
ELEMENTS
FEDERAL REGION X
GROWTH
INFORMATION
LEGUMINOSAE
METALS
MOUNTAINS
NONMETALS
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
PLANTS
POLLUTION
RESIDUES
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
USA
WASHINGTON
560303* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology- Plants- (-1987)