Construction and Demolition Waste as Substrate Component Improved the Growth of Container-Grown Duranta repens

Jingjing Jia, Zhiguo Zhang, Zhijuan Tai, Ming Yang, Yuxin Luo, Zhuo Yang and Yumei Zhou ()
Additional contact information
Jingjing Jia: School of Ecological Technique and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai 201418, China
Zhiguo Zhang: School of Ecological Technique and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai 201418, China
Zhijuan Tai: Department of Ecology, Changbai Mountain Academy of Sciences, Baihe 133633, China
Ming Yang: School of Ecological Technique and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai 201418, China
Yuxin Luo: School of Ecological Technique and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai 201418, China
Zhuo Yang: School of Ecological Technique and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai 201418, China
Yumei Zhou: School of Ecological Technique and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai 201418, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 2, 1-16

Abstract: Small size construction and demolition waste (CDW) is rarely reused and consequently causes environmental problems. CDW can increase aeration porosity of soil due to the big surface area and water absorption. In order to investigate the feasibility and function of CDW as a component of container substrate, we mixed four small sizes CDW (<10 mm) of 0–3, 3–6, 6–8, and 0–10 mm with clay soil according to the mass ratios of 20%, 35%, and 50% to plant one-year old Duranta repens cuttings, clay soil (CS) and pure CDW (CW) as the controls. Cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) were performed to screen the most suitable particle size and proportion of CDW for plant growth and physiological function. The substrate containing 50% 3–6 mm CDW (S6) had the higher aeration porosity, lower water loss, better water retention and permeability, and therefore higher PCA score. The total branch length of plants in the S6 was increased by 18% and 71%, leaf area by 116% and 444%, and net photosynthetic rate by 10% and 59% compared to CS and CW, respectively. The suitable CDW has potential to improve substrate properties and can effectively improve plant growth. Meanwhile, the reuse of CDW can partially alleviate the problem of construction waste disposal and environmental pollution, and provide reference for the research on the combination of CDW and landscaping.

Keywords: construction and demolition waste; physicochemical properties; clay soil; size; proportion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/2/1585/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/2/1585/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:2:p:1585-:d:1035132

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().