ESTCP Project #1011, Rhizosphere
Final Report
4.2 Performance Confirmation Methods
Table 3. Expected performance and performance confirmation methods.
Expected Performance
Performance
Performance Criteria
Actual (post demo)
Metric (pre demo)
Confirmation Method
Primary Criteria (performance objectives) (Qualitative)
Ease of use
Minimal operator training
Experience from other
Data and techniques from
required
demonstration operations.
other projects and
Stand establishment in
understanding of the soil-
plots.
microbial system provided
insight for sampling and
analyses.
Primary Criteria (performance objectives) (Quantitative)
Measurable treatment
Statistical analyses of
Statistical analyses of
Use of factorial analysis and
benefit
concentration data or
concentration data or
biomarker-GDD normalized
degradation rates
degradation rates
data to show statistical
significance for plant
treatments for specific
petroleum fractions
Measurable treatment
Statistical analyses of
Statistical analyses of
Statistical analyses of
benefit manifested in
microbial data
microbial data
microbial data showing
microbial changes
fertilizer effect on bacteria
and plant effect on fungi
4.3. Data Analysis, Interpretation and Evaluation
4.3.1 Data Normalization. Our data were from sites that had significantly different
temperatures. Additionally, the actual treatment times at each site varied due to differences in
starting and ending times for the performance evaluation period at each site. Concentrations of
petroleum were also variable within each site. Although steps were taken to mix the soil prior to
the study to normalize concentration differences, logistics issues caused by the remoteness of the
locations hindered thorough mixing. Moreover, the amount of mixing that would be done at a
typical site would be minimal or none. To help account for these, data were normalized relative
to both a biomarker--to normalize concentration differences, or the spatial domain-- and also
on growing degree days--to normalize for differences in temperature and subsequent biological
activity among the three locations, or the time domain.
The data used in the statistical analyses were from all three sites and biomarker normalized using
decalin as the biomarker. Decalin was used because it is recalcitrant, and we found very low
amounts of hopane at the Galena site, but acceptable amounts of decalin at all three sites. Using
decalin allowed us to pool the biomarker-normalized data across all the sites. Data for the initial
sampling times, ti, and final sampling times, tf, at each site were used in the depletion
calculations
26
Previous Page
