Slag
Slag
Slag is a by-product of the steel making industry. For each ton of steel a ton to a ton and a half of slag was produced. Slag is an inefficient soil medium for establishing plants; as its steep slopes, porosity and typically high pH create a challenging environment for plants to establish themselves.
In
light of this, Pittsburgh City Planning approached the Environmental Protection
Agency with a proposal to develop a multi-tiered experiment to understand the
potential for revegetating steep slag slopes without incurring the costs (and
disruption to the tenuous ecosystem) of additional grading. The upper slopes,
graded by the developers for the housing development, will receive an expensive
but well thought out soil and vegetation planting. A research team led by soils
scientist John Buck of Civil and Environmental Consultants, with botanist Sue
Thompson of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and members of the STUDIO
developed a greenhouse study and on-site test plot program. The intent of the
study is to outline a program of successful low maintenance revegetation, which
targets soil remediation and a vegetation mix which provides maximum habitat
value and aesthetic opportunity through the use of native plants. 