Water regime of mechanical—biological pretreated waste materials under fast-growing trees

Abstract

In this study mechanical—biological pre-treated waste material (MBP) was tested for suitability to serve as an alternative surface layer in combination with fast-growing and water-consumptive trees for final covers at landfill sites. The aim was to quantify evapotranspiration and seepage losses by numerical model simulations for two sites in Germany. In addition, the leaf area index (LAI) of six tree species over the growing season as the driving parameter for transpiration calculations was determined experimentally. The maximum LAI varied between 3.8 and 6.1 m² m^—2 for poplar and willow clones, respectively. The evapotranspiration calculations revealed that the use of MBP waste material for re-cultivation enhanced evapotranspiration by 40 mm year^{— 1} (10 %) over an 11 year calculation period compared to a standard mineral soil. Between 82% (for LAI_max = 3.8) and 87% (for LAI_max = 6.1) of the average annual precipitation (506 mm) could be retained from the surface layer assuming eastern German climate conditions, compared with a retention efficiency between 79 and 82% for a mineral soil. Although a MBP layer in conjunction with water-consumptive trees can reduce vertical water losses as compared to mineral substrates, the effect is not sufficient to meet legal regulations.