Qx. Lin et Ia. Mendelssohn, THE COMBINED EFFECTS OF PHYTOREMEDIATION AND BIOSTIMULATION IN ENHANCING HABITAT RESTORATION AND OIL DEGRADATION OF PETROLEUM-CONTAMINATED WETLANDS, Ecological engineering, 10(3), 1998, pp. 263-274
The combined effects of biostimulation and phytoremediation as a means
of post-oil spill habitat restoration and enhancement of oil degradat
ion in the soil were evaluated. Marsh sods of Spartina alterniflora an
d Spartina patens were dosed with 0, 4, 8, 16 and 24 l m(-2) of south
Louisiana crude oil in the greenhouse. Plants were killed at oil dosag
es of 8 l m(-2) in the growing season following oil application. Two y
ears after application of the oil, S. alterniflora and S. patens indiv
iduals were transplanted into the oiled and unoiled sods. Fertilizer w
as applied 1 and 7 months after transplantation. Application of the fe
rtilizer significantly increased biomass of the transplants within 6 m
onths and regrowth biomass of the transplants 1 year after transplanta
tion for both plant species. The residual oil in the soil did not sign
ificantly affect the biomass of the S. patens transplants compared wit
h that in the no oil treatment, except at the highest oil level. Howev
er, regrowth biomass of the S. alterniflora transplants treated with f
ertilizer was significantly higher at all oil levels up to 250 mg g(-1
) than in the unoiled treatment, with or without fertilizer. The oil d
egradation rate in the soil was significantly enhanced by the applicat
ion of fertilizer in conjunction with the presence of transplants. The
se results suggest that vegetative transplantation, when implemented w
ith fertilization, can simultaneously restore oil contaminated wetland
s and accelerate oil degradation in the soil. (C) 1998 Elsevier Scienc
e B.V. All rights reserved.