2005 Annual Report 1.What major problem or issue is being resolved and how are you resolving it (summarize project aims and objectives)? How serious is the problem? What does it matter? Soils can become contaminated with Cd, Zn, Pb, As, Ni or other elements from agricultural practices (land application of manures, biosolids, composts, byproducts, P-fertilizers, pesticides), deposition of industrial aerosols (smelter fume contamination) and many other sources. High levels of Cu and Zn in swine and poultry manure may comprise phytotoxicity risk to sensitive crops and cause severe limits on cumulative manure application. Mineralized parent materials also generate metal rich soils. If Cd, Mo, Se, or Co are applied or occur naturally in excess, food-chain or feed-chain risks may result, while if soil Pb or As have accumulated in excess, soil ingestion may comprise risk. Additional elements may require evaluation for industrial byproducts considered for beneficial use on cropland. Previous work has shown that inorganic (Fe, Mn) and organic adsorption surfaces in manure or biosolids amended soils persistently reduce the phytoavailability of soil Cd, Zn and Cu compared to additions of metal salts. Organic matter may also be increased in manure and byproduct amended soils and limit Cu phytoavailability, and specific organic compounds such as glomalin may be increased by applied soil amendments. For manures rich in trace elements, it is important to determine whether applied Zn and Cu are likely to cause phytotoxicity after long-term use on cropland and the organic matter is biodegraded. Bioassay by pot tests of element phytoavailability in soils from long term well maintained field plots is needed to characterize how well adsorbents in the manure amended soils limit trace element phytoavailability. For some soils, trace element contamination may limit use in crop production (Cd, Pb), or may comprise risk to children if land use is changed to residential (Pb, As). More evidence is needed to win acceptance of in situ remediation of soils by incorporation of Fe-rich manures or byproducts. Some soils have become contaminated by Cd, especially rice soils, or sources lacking the 100-fold Zn co-contamination with Cd in mine wastes. Some Salinas Valley, CA, soils are rich in Cd from marine shale parent materials and cause production of high Cd vegetable crops which threaten market acceptance. Our research has clarified how such Cd contaminated soils comprise risk to humans who subsist on rice diets. Phytoextraction with hyperaccumulator plants appears to be the only cost-effective method to reduce such food-chain Cd risk. As with the Ni phytomining technology developed and commercialized in earlier research, improved cultivars of the Cd-Zn-hyperaccumulator Thlaspi caerulescens will have to be bred and practices for maximization of annual Cd phytoextraction demonstrated in order to commercialize our existing research. Additional byproducts may be found to provide benefit to growers but may contain trace elements for which risk characterization remains incomplete. Risk assessments need to be prepared for these additional byproducts, biosolids and manures to support State and Federal guidance and regulations for beneficial land application of these soil amendments. 2.List the milestones (indicators of progress) from your Project Plan. Objective 1: Characterize and reduce long-term phytoavailability of metals applied in manures and byproducts. At 15 months: Prepare manuscripts from ongoing study of reduced phytoavailability of Cd in Fe-rich biosolids amended soils. Collect long term manured soils; measure Zn & Cu phytoavailability. Evaluate methods to measure Glomalin in high Fe biosolids amended soils. Conduct risk assessment for other elements in byproducts. At 30 months: Evaluate relative contribution of Fe and Mn oxides and organic matter in limiting metal uptake or toxicity in manured soils. Identify more Fe-rich byproducts which could be added to manures and byproducts, and low cost method to make amorphous. By 45 months: Report relative importance of Fe and Mn oxides vs. organic matter changes on Cd, Zn and Cu availability to plants. At 60 months: Prepare guidance for adding Fe and Mn oxides to manures and byproducts to reduce risks from metals and phosphate. Complete publication of risk assessments for elements in byproducts which have not been well evaluated in manure or biosolids. Objective 2: Develop methods to phytoextract soil Cd. By 15 months: Test germplasm to choose parents for breeding. Validate method for soils where method may be used commercially. By 30 months: Make genetic crosses and test progenies for high yield and Cd phytoextraction. Conduct field trial of improved plants. By 45 months: Extend field demonstrations to rice and vegetable soils requiring Cd remediation. Develop efficient harvest method for short plants. By 60 months: Submit patent applications for improved cultivars. Cooperate in commercial use of plants and methods to manage plants. 4a.What was the single most significant accomplishment this past year? We identified that biosolids high in Fe had low water solubility of phosphate. Questions arose about whether this phosphate remained plant available or had been converted to forms which will not be useful in agriculture. Although adding Fe and Al may be able to reduce the water solubility of soil P and protect surface waters, if the less soluble P cannot be used by plants, the method would be less valuable. An experiment was conducted using soils from long term biosolids amended soils using wheat. All soils had high soil test phosphate, but low water soluble phosphate. Nutrients other than P needed to grow wheat on the soils were added. In all treatments tested, sorbed phosphate supplied adequate P for full yield of the plants. The results indicate that adding Fe or Al to manures or biosolids to reduce P solubility does not prevent plants and mycorrhizae from accessing the insoluble phosphate. 4b.List other significant accomplishments, if any. Thlaspi caerulescens grown on rice soils in Thailand grew well in a greenhouse test. A field test of high Cd accumulating southern France genotypes was initiated. Sought parties which need to remove Cd from contaminated or mineralized soils to obtain funding needed to conduct this research and prepared several proposals to text Cd remediation and phytoextraction on soils with high Cd:Zn ratios in addition to the tests of rice soils with geogenic ratio of Cd and Zn (1:100). 4c.List any significant activities that support special target populations. None. 5.Describe the major accomplishments over the life of the project, including their predicted or actual impact. New project just beginning in FY-2005; earlier accomplishments reported in predecessor project. 6.What science and/or technologies have been transferred and to whom? When is the science and/or technology likely to become available to the end-user (industry, farmer, other scientists)? What are the constraints, if known, to the adoption and durability of the technology products? Worked to communicate methods to combine byproducts rich in Fe, Mn and Al to manures and excessively manured soils to groups which need this technology. Gave invited presentation to regional and national meetings and discussed how risk assessment for other elements must be conducted so that any byproduct which may be used to limit P solubility will not cause other long term risks. In particular, the need to obtain balance between Fe and Mn to prevent induced-Mn deficiency, and between Ca and Mg to prevent future Mg deficiency must be achieved in byproduct utilization planning. Because more farmers are finding they will have less ability to apply manures on their own land due to excessive accumulated P, interest in using byproducts to reduce P solubility has increased. 7.List your most important publications in the popular press and presentations to organizations and articles written about your work. (NOTE: List your peer reviewed publications below). R.L. Chaney presented a lecture "Use and Abuse of 503C: Improved Risk Assessment for Contaminants in Non-Biosolids By-Products." at the Great Lakes Byproduct Management Association Annual Meeting and Conference (Decision Making for Blending By-Products: Putting the Pieces Together.) in Chicago, Dec. 2, 2004. Addressed why the CFR 503 rule should not be applied directly to other byproducts or wastes without consideration of the levels of metal sorbents, and the balance among elements for these amendments because they may be very unlike biosolids (the focus of the CFR 503 Rule).