From jackrowe@compuserve.com Sat Oct 18 15:46:13 1997 Date: Sat, 18 Oct 1997 15:11:53 -0400 From: Jack Rowe To: UNC Perm List , Envirolink Perm List Subject: Dynamic accumulator list [The following text is in the "ISO-8859-1" character set] [Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set] [Some characters may be displayed incorrectly] Here's an incomplete list of Dynamic Accumulators... can't remember some of these species names off the top of my head... if anyone can add nutrients and/or plants to this list, please post the additions to the group! Jack APPENDIX D: DYNAMIC NUTRIENT ACCUMULATORS In theory, at least, all plants are dynamic accumulators, since all plants will contain more or less of some particular nutrient(s) according to their own needs. In this area, there is room for some interesting research - for instance, human and animal nutritional studies have information on particular nutrients to be found in concentration in different plants. Further, plants differ in their incorporation of carbon (plant equivalent of human dietary fiber, sort-of), so that elements other than those traditionally seen as "nutrients" need also to be considered (carbon, for example, is needed for balancing nitrogenous materials in composts and mulches and is central to soil humus production). Healthy accumulator plants existing in quantity in an area can be considered as indicators for presence in the soil of their corresponding minerals. In pastures and composts -- as in Human and animal nutrition -- complete supply of all needs relies less on "scientific" design for minimum species needed (multi-vitamin approach), and more on inclusion of a balanced mix of as-wide-as-possible a variety of different plants (balanced-diet approach). Alfalfa (Medicago sativa... other Medicagos?): Nitrogen, Iron, Phosphorous. Borage: Silica and Potassium. Buckwheat (Fagopyrum spp): Phosphorous. Carrots (Dauca carota -- sp?): Magnesium and Potassium. Cattail (Typha): Nitrogen. Chickweed (Stellaria): Potassium, Phosphorous, Manganese. Cleavers (Gallium spp.): Sodium, Calcium. Clovers: Nitrogen, Phosphorous. Comfrey: Silica, Nitrogen, Magnesium, Calcium, Potassium, Iron. Dandelion: Sodium, Silica, Magnesium, Calcium, Potassium, Phosphorous, Iron, Copper. Dock (Rumex crispus... Sorrel, R. acetosa?): Calcium, Potassium, Phosphorous. Horsetail (Equisetum spp.): Silica. Lamb's Quarters (Chenopodium alba, gigantium... Epazote, C. ambrosioides?): Nitrogen, Calcium, Potassium, Phosphorous, Manganese. Marigold (Tagetes spp.): Phosphorous. Mustard (Juncea spp... Cole plants in general are high in Ca and P): Calcium (can be used as a cover crop to buffer acid soils if calcuim is present, or to chelate Ca in same), Nitrogen, Iron. Oats (Avena sativa): Nitrogen; oats produce more growth in late fall/early winter than in spring (unlike ryegrass and wheat, which produce more in spring -- 55-65% of season total in fall for oats, as opposed to 38% for "Elbon" rye and about the same for wheat). Oats are not as winter-hardy as "Elbon" rye, nor do they yield as much over the season, but the above varieties will yield more dry matter during the fall season. Ryegrass: Nitrogen (ryegrass produces the most "forage" [read "green matter"] of the conventional winter cover crops).