Evaluation of particulate matter concentrations by crop cultivation in reclaimed land Reduction of particulate matter by crop cultivation

Saemangeum is reclaimed land with developing 29,100 ha of land and 11,800 ha of fresh lake located in Korea. The soil in Saemangeum has a dry surface characteristic with a low moisture content ratio due to salinity and silt nature, hence the vegetation cover is low compared to other areas. Due to these soil properties, the exposed land area is large and fugitive dust from the exposed land disperses to nearby areas. Fugitive dust can be reduced by spraying water, using windbreak or vegetation cover. Vegetation cover methods in Saemangeum include growing halophytes or cultivating salt-tolerant crops. Crop cultivation has the advantage of increasing farmers' profits and securing food, and is expected to reduce fugitive dust and particulate matter, so it is considered as a way of reducing fugitive dust in Saemangeum reclaimed land. Thus, the purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of suppressing the generation of particulate matter and scattering dust by cultivating winter forage crops on the Saemangeum reclaimed land. While growing 0.5 ha of barley, 0.5 ha of potato and 0.5 ha of triticale in Saemangeum reclaimed land, the concentration of particulate matter was monitored according to agricultural work and growth stage. Changes in the concentrations of PM-10, PM-2.5, and PM-1.0 were monitored from March 2020 to June 2021 on the leeward, the windward and centering on the crop field. As a result of monitoring, In the early stage of crop growth, the concentrations of PM-10 increased by 5% in barley (0.1m canopy) and potato (0.05m canopy),the concentrations of PM-2.5 increased by 1% in barley, and decreased by 1% in potatoes. In the last stage of crop growth, the concentrations of PM-10 decreased by 21% in barley (1.1 m in canopy) and 2% in potato (0.3 m in canopy), and the concentrations of PM-2.5 decreased by 1% in barley and potatoes. Cultivation of crops in the Saemangeum reclaimed land reduced the generation of fugitive dust and was effective in reducing the concentration of particulate matter.