Raleigh, NC | mislam25@ncsu.edu

I joined North Carolina State University as a Ph.D. student in the Spring-2021 Semester. I completed my BS in Soil, Water and Environment and MS in Environmental Science from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.  My current research focuses on managing compacted construction sites and roadside soils to improve stormwater infiltration primarily through the incorporation of composts. In addition, different types of vegetation cover establishment, especially pollinator-friendly wildflowers as an alternative to grass cover in roadside soils is a part of my research works. I am using Drone for vegetation cover monitoring and analyzing images using ArcGIS and data in R software. Previously, I presented my research works at International Erosion Control Association Annual Conference 2022 and MS4 Conference 2022. My goal is to join industry after graduation and excel in my career there.

Session Code: A1

Track: Current Research (hosted by CREF)

Session Name: Impact of Soil Carbon and Water Dynamics

Session Time: Wednesday, Jan 25, 8:15 to 9:45 AM

Presentation Title: Compost Incorporation Improves Water Infiltration, Carbon Storage and Associated Soil Properties

Presentation Description: The construction of roads, buildings, and other structures can result in highly disturbed and compacted soils causing substantial surface runoff, soil erosion, and reduced hydraulic conductivity. To assess the benefits of compost incorporation to alleviate soil compaction and facilitate water infiltration, two compost sources were mixed with silty loam and clay loam soils at a 0, 15, 30 and 50 % rates on a volume basis and homogenous mixtures were packed in 15 cm (7.62 cm diameter) soil columns. A water head of 10 cm was passed through the columns for six consecutive months at 15-day intervals and infiltration rates were determined. Infiltration rate increased randomly in the initial days, then gradually became almost stable after 2.5 months in both soils, possibly due to compost decomposition and soil stabilization. In silty loam soil, infiltration increased relative to unamended soil by 6-7 (42.20-39.90 cm/h) and 11 (68.30-70.90 cm/h) times in 30 and 50 % compost amended soils, respectively. In clay loam soil, the increases were 5-6 (31.33-32.50cm/h) and 9-10 (51.53-55.17cm/h) times the unamended soil (5.63 and 4.95 cm/h, respectively). There was no difference between the compost sources. In addition, 30 % and 50 % compost treatments significantly reduced bulk density, particle density, and increased porosity, field capacity water content, and plant available water in both soils. Higher compost rate increased wilting point water content in silty loam but decreased it in clay loam soil, possibly due to increasing macropores from compost decomposition. Moreover, organic matter and total nitrogen also increased with increasing compost rates and the highest carbon (7-11%) and nitrogen (0.35-0.8%) were found in 50 % compost amended soils even after 6 months. Overall, compacted urban soils may require a minimum of 30 % compost to increase water infiltration, soil carbon storage to combat climate change and restore the natural function of soils to be effective.