Aspen’s microbes purify oily ground
metla.fi Aspen has been considered almost useless species of wood. Recently, researchers have got new dimensions out of it.The newly discovered properties of the aspen were reported by the Finnish Tekniikka&Talous magazine.
Aspen is also able to purify salt affected soils, a factor, which may become markedly significant in the future. Worldwide, due to irrigation, wide areas of arable land have become increasingly salty, and thus deserted.
For instance in the river delta region of Iraq the Arab relatives of the Finnish aspen have been found to be the most salt tolerant trees on the area’s salty terrain. There is seven million hectares of salt affected soil, which has been salinated by irrigation and is in need of soil purification near China’s northeastern city of Harbin.
The Finnish Forest Research Institute Metla cultivates aspen at Haapastensyrjä Tree Breeding Centre in Loppi. The aspen trees are grown in oily gravel, which has been acquired from the waste treatment company Ekokem.
- This is the real stuff. The soil of oil spill regions is usually sand, comments Senior Researcher at the Finnish Forest Research Institute Pertti Pulkkinen.
In addition to aspen, great soil improvers for polluted soil are for instance willow, silver birch, and different grasses and legumes. Their root systems make the soil favourable for microbes that essentially break down pollution.
www.tekniikkatalous.fi
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