Important Research

[Danoinark]

From the Harrison Daily Times

Ashley Paul, 18, and Wes Paul, 14, live on a cattle farm near Batavia. They both enjoy riding four-wheelers and being outdoors. Wes is in FFA and BETA at school, and Ashley is a member of those organizations plus FBLA. They also worked together on their science project over the past year and during regional competition secured a trip to the Intel International Science and Engineering competition.

The children of Cathie and Phillip Paul are Alpena's first team to qualify for international competition, an event that expects to award $4 million in cash and prizes.

The Pauls said they got the idea for measuring natural filtration of water from Oklahoma's court case alleging chicken waste pollution from Arkansas is entering Oklahoma water sources in the Illinois River and other sources.

They had three mentors on the project, Alpena science and engineering fair sponsor Mark Welch, Alpena FFA sponsor Chris Adams and Dr. Dirk Phillip from the University of Arkansas.

The students used flats of dirt in the greenhouse for their test project to see if cowpeas and foxtail millet would absorb phosphates before the minerals reached the water, Ashley explained. Cowpea was picked because it is a legume and adds nitrogen to the soil; foxtail has a fibrous root system, like a net, to catch phosphates. Both plants are good for wildlife.

They tested the soil to determine how much phosphorus was retained; the plants to see how much phosphorus they had absorbed; and the water to check the concentration of minerals.

They had three models in the greenhouse, to test for application of 2 tons, 4 tons and 6 tons of chicken litter. The test included a flat without any plants.

They started the project June 30. After the plants were thriving, they cut a row every two weeks for six weeks, ending that portion of the project Sept. 15.

Every two weeks:

* Ashley tested water samples to determine phosphates per million in the water.

* They sent soil samples through the county agent's office.

* Leaf samples were sent to the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville for Dr. Phillip to analyze.

The students noted that the UA researcher also helped them with setup and testing of plants, showing Ashley how to test the water. While she specialized in the water, Wes worked with the plants.

Their research determined that both plants trapped minerals along riparian waterways, but foxtail was better at absorbing phosphates. Their research showed plants along riparian waterways can make a difference in water quality.

Asked if the project was complicated, Ashley smiled, "Yes. It was a very big project and we had to learn how to sort the data. This had enormous amounts of data and cooperation."

They completed their project in early February.

Asked about questions they see since completing their project in early February, Wes said they should have run the water through the soil multiple times, like the rains over the past month.

Ashley said they would test to see if phosphates are stored in roots along with blades and leaves.

That could be part of Wes's project in 2009.