Innovation Anthology #547:

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Forest regeneration scientist Dr. Joshua Sloan is comparing slow and quick release fertilizers for use in oil sands reclamation.

As he explains, when planting tree seedlings, quick release fertilizer is broadcast generally across the site.

But slow release fertilizer is applied differently.

DR. JOSHUA SLOAN: We’ll often apply them to a small hole directly adjacent to the seedlings. So we’ll go through and plant everything. And then we’ll come through again and just using a shovel, open up a small hole, drop in up next to the roots, and then close up the hole again. The thing to keep in mind with this, though, is that in our particular study, although we saw similar growth effects of the treatments, the immediately available fertilizer because its broadcast over a larger area and more prone to being lost by runoff or leaching through the soil or being taken up by competing vegetation, the immediately available fertilizers to get the same effect, had to be applied at a ten times higher rate compared to that of the controlled release products.

As Dr. Joshua Sloan reported to the CONRAD Symposium on Oil Sands Reclamation, his next step is a cost-benefit analysis on slow and quick release fertilizers.

Thanks today to Syncrude.

I’M CHERYL CROUCHER

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Syncrude

Program Date: 2013-04-02