(Created page with "{{alert|This page is in development|alert-under-construction}} This page provides information on wood chips. While providing extensive information on wood chips, there is a s...") |
|||
Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
==Overview and description== | ==Overview and description== | ||
+ | Wood chips are small- to medium-sized pieces of wood formed by cutting or chipping larger pieces of wood such as trees, branches, logging residues, stumps, roots, and wood waste. They include bark, wood, and often leaves. In stormwater applications, wood chips are used as a mulch to provide one or more beneficial functions. Potential benefits of wood chips include but are not limited to the following. They | ||
+ | *decompose slowly; | ||
+ | *slowly release nutrients; | ||
+ | *effectively retain and slowly release moisture; | ||
+ | *moderate temperature; | ||
+ | *provide weed control; | ||
+ | *are sustainabile; | ||
+ | *are typically rewlatively cheap to purchase; | ||
+ | *resist compaction; | ||
+ | *create a diverse environment for soil biota; and | ||
+ | *may sequester some pollutants. such as nitrogen. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Physical and chemical properties of wood chips vary depending on the source and method of production. | ||
==Applications for wood chips in stormwater management== | ==Applications for wood chips in stormwater management== |
This page provides information on wood chips. While providing extensive information on wood chips, there is a section focused specifically on stormwater applications for wood chips.
Wood chips are small- to medium-sized pieces of wood formed by cutting or chipping larger pieces of wood such as trees, branches, logging residues, stumps, roots, and wood waste. They include bark, wood, and often leaves. In stormwater applications, wood chips are used as a mulch to provide one or more beneficial functions. Potential benefits of wood chips include but are not limited to the following. They
Physical and chemical properties of wood chips vary depending on the source and method of production.
This section includes a discussion of chemical and physical properties of wood chips, and potential contaminants in wood chips,
Chemical and physical properties of wood chips
T
In this section we provide information on effects of wood chips on pollutant attenuation and on physical properties of soil and engineered media.
Recommended values for wood chips used in a growth media (Source: see reference list in this section) | |
pH | |
Electrical conductivity (ms/cm) | |
Cation exchange capacity (meq/100g) | |
Nitrogen (%) | |
Phosphorus (%) | |
Potassium (%) | |
Copper (% minimum) | |
C:N ratio (minimum) | |
Lignin (%) | |
Total organic matter (% minimum) | |
Moisture (%) | |
Ash content (%) | |
Impurities | |
Fiber content | |
Expansion | l/kg |
Water holding capacity | l/kg |
Prabhu and Thomas (2002) provide an extensive discussion of wood chips decomposition.