Abstract
In the overland flow wastewater treatments and the constructed wetlands, the purification by soil infiltration units is enhanced using vegetation. However, wetland plants (i.e. cattail (Typha latifolia)) and trees, rather than agronomic crops, have been used in conventional systems. We carried out laboratory-scale soil infiltration experiments using two forage crops, tall fescue (Festuca araundinacea) and white clover (Trifolium repens) while using livestock wastewater for irrigation. The purpose of the study was to clarify the amount of accumulation of available phosphorus and exchangeable cations in the soil and its effect on the plant growth. The application of livestock wastewater increased available phosphorus, and exchangeable potassium and sodium in the upper soil. The soil sodification, examined based on exchangeable sodium ratio and plant growth, was not very significant after 10 months of livestock wastewater application. Growing forage crops on the soil infiltration system may be a promising technology to improve crop production and treatment efficacy.
