H43G-1610
Anionic Polyacrylamide (PAM) and Extracellular Polysaccharides (EPS) effects on flocculation and aggregate stability of soil
Thursday, 17 December 2015
Poster Hall (Moscone South)
Ammar A Albalasmeh, Organization Not Listed, Washington, DC, United States, Mamoun A Gharaibeh, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan and Teamrat A Ghezzehei, University of California Merced, Merced, CA, United States
Abstract:
Soil structure influences many soil properties including aeration, water retention, drainage, bulk density, and resistance to erosion and indirectly influences most biological and chemical processes that occur in and around soil. A significant amount of literature showed that PAM plays an important role to control erosion. However, researchers are looking for more natural alternative for PAM. This study evaluated two anionic polymers including low and high molecular weight (MW), root exudates and bacterial exudates. We evaluated their influence on the rate and efficacy of colloid flocculation and the percent of water stable aggregates. We found that PAM was more effective than EPS in flocculating the colloids and all polymers increased the percent of stable soil aggregates although the PAM was more effective. These data suggest that the EPS would be less effective than PAM for reducing water erosion owing to its lesser flocculation and aggregate stabilizing potential.
