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Phytotechnology with Biomass Production
The results showed that the application of amendments positively affected
the growth parameters of Miscanthus (Figures 5.8). The biggest effect was
observed when plants grew in soil amended by mineral fertilizers, while the
application of ash showed minimal increases of the growth parameters.
The increase of growth parameters promoted the enhancement of above
ground biomass yield, and the degree of this enhancement was correlated
with growth parameters, though for each the enhancement was different. In
the case of ash application, yield increased by only 6.5% compared with the
control, while the addition of mineral fertilizer or sewage sludge significantly
increased the biomass yield by 2–2.3 times. As a result, Miscanthus productivity in the second year was 11.6 t dry matter (DM) ha −1 with sludge and
11.9 t DM ha −1 with mineral fertilizer. This research confirms earlier reported
data (An et al., 2011; Kołodziej et al., 2016) that sewage sludge is conducive to
increasing Miscanthus biomass yield.
The results illustrate that application of soil amendments can increase plant
productivity by 50%–140% and that one can obtain Miscanthus yields similar
to arable lands. Special attention should be paid to using sewage sludge as a
promising substitute for organic fertilizers while growing M. × giganteus on
postmining lands.
5.6 Geography and Soil Types
In the extensive review of Heaton et al. (2010) there is a very useful discussion
of the impact of geology and soil type on M. × giganteus productivity. They
cite several studies which indicate that an optimum soil is neither too sandy
nor too dense, but intermediate in texture. This increases both water-holding capacity and aeration. Depth of soil is also important as water capacity
depends on both texture and depth of soil. Capacity may be underestimated
if a site is underlain by very porous rock which can effectively release water
to the overlying soil during drought events or which can be reached by plant
roots. Reasonable levels of clay improve capacity to store essential minerals
including K, Ca, Mg, and cationic trace elements. Lee et al. (2017) attributed
the N response observed in their long-term study in part to the sandy nature
of the soil being used and its relatively low retention of N. Organic matter
increases the formation of aggregates and improves the overall tilth of the soil.
In its native habitat of Japan, M. sinensis is able to pioneer and grow on volcanic
ash-derived soils, and tolerates high levels of Al at low pH (Stewart et al., 2009).
It contributes large amounts of organic matter to the developing soil in those
conditions, where frequent fires over millennia have also contributed biochar.
As an example of successful production of Miscanthus on a potentially
unfavorable site, we may consider the work of Skousen and co-workers in
West Virginia (Scagline et al., 2015; Skousen et al., 2013). The site (38°49′ N,