Erosion testing with UC Riverside

Last summer, Aguinaga Green was ask to participate in erosion testing performed by the University of California – Riverside.

August 8th. 2009 a site was burned by members of the Riverside Fire Department and treatments were randomized within each of three rows with a variation in the compost application.

Two composting media were applied in different thickness. One consisted of “CLEAN GREEN COMPOSTED MATERIAL” and the other of “COMPOSTED BIOSOLID WASTE”
AGUINAGA GREEN provided all the clean green mulch for the project.

The testing plots are shown here on a hillside near the university - being discussed between AG and the university project manager. Rain events were monitored and runoff samples were collected from plastic bins following each storm event. Samples were analyzed for volume, pH, salinity, phosphorus, ammonia, nitrates, etc.

The sites were planted with seeds native to the area at twice the suggested rate per acre to assure a visually strong result.

Of great interest to us was that even after following the complete growing season – there was no result at all, on the biosolid plots - which is adequately shown even in the now-spent and cycled landscape test plots.

Our beliefs towards biosolids are further fortified that among other things that the salinity, heavy ammonia and phosphorus contained in this particular biosolid waste had an adverse impact – or curtailed the germination of the seeds spread under control in the project.