Treatment of log yard runoff is required to avoid
contamination of receiving watercourses. The research aim was to assess
if infiltration of log yard runoff through planted soil systems is successful
and if different plant species affect the treatment performance at a fieldscale
experimental site in Sweden (2005 to 2007). Contaminated runoff
from the log yard of a sawmill was infiltrated through soil planted with
Alnus glutinosa (L.) Ga¨rtner (common alder), Salix schwerinii3viminalis
(willow variety ‘‘Gudrun’’), Lolium perenne (L.) (rye grass), and Phalaris
arundinacea (L.) (reed canary grass). The study concluded that there were
no treatment differences when comparing the four different plants with
each other, and there also were no differences between the tree and the
grass species. Furthermore, the infiltration treatment was effective in
reducing total organic carbon (55%) and total phosphorus (45%)
concentrations in the runoff, even when the loads on the infiltration
system increased from year to year
