Assessing the Effectiveness of Biomass Harvesting at Reducing Phosphorus Loss in Wetland Mesocosms (UROP)

Abstract

This undergraduate research project assessed how phosphorus levels in student-designed mesocosms in Saint Paul have changed in the span of two years since experimentation on the effectiveness of biomass harvesting. Throughout 2017 and 2018, each mesocosm tank was maintained regularly with 3.75 gallons of water containing 0.06mg/L of phosphorus, and plants were harvested seasonally to assess how much phosphorus can be removed by each species. Soil and plant samples taken in summer and fall of 2020 indicate that soil phosphorus levels increased without fertilizer application and plant harvesting, and phosphorus contained in the plant matter decreased.