APPLICATION OF SPENT MUSHROOM COMPOST TO ANTHRACITE MINE SOILS: BIOMASS PRODUCTION, SOIL FERTILITY, AND SPATIAL INVENTORY OF SUITABLE MINE SITES
Open Access
- Author:
- Banfill, James Steven
- Graduate Program:
- Soil Science
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- December 10, 2014
- Committee Members:
- Richard Charles Stehouwer, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Douglas Alan Miller, Committee Member
Douglas Brian Beegle, Committee Member
David Eissenstat, Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- coal mine reclamation
spent mushroom compost
warm-season grass
biomass
switchgrass
landscape fragmentation - Abstract:
- Growth of the mushroom industry in southeastern Pennsylvania has increased demand for hay bio-feedstock, an ingredient in mushroom-growth substrate, while increasing the amount of spent mushroom compost (SMC), a post-production waste product, in need of disposal. SMC is nutrient-rich material and can potentially serve as a soil amendment to produce quick-growing grass species on abandoned mine land (AML) in the nearby Anthracite Coal. Grass-based biomass produced on AML can, in turn, serve as an ingredient in mushroom production, thereby allowing for tactical nutrient management with a potential market incentive. In order to evaluate the use of SMC as a soil amendment for hay production on mine soils, agronomic rates (0 Mg ha-1, 34 Mg ha-1, 67 Mg ha-1) were applied to a pre-existing stand of warm-season switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) on an Udorthent strip mine and to switchgrass, giant miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus), timothy-grass (Phleum pratense), orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata), and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) on a coal refuse pile. Dry-matter yields indicate warm-season grasses are well suited biomass production and, once established, can produce 10-14 Mg ha-1 with annual SMC applications. Tissue and soil nutrient-test data suggest SMC amendments are capable of meeting grass nutrient requirements and building soil fertility in the top 10 cm of soil. Surface application of SMC is a suitable method for initial reclamation or improvement of previously reclaimed land with low soil fertility. However, high phosphorus level and landscape fragmentation of AML lands, indicated by geospatial analysis, are potential limiting factors for SMC applications to AML sites. SMC-based reclamation on active mine sites with site-specific nutrient management may help to overcome these limitations in the Anthracite Coal Region of Pennsylvania.