Nitrogen is shown to be an essential source for the growth of plants. However, the overuse of nitrogen creates an excess amount within the soil and Earth’s atmosphere. 

This project will be testing the difference between the usage of nitrogen fertilizer bought in stores to a plant-based nitrogen fertilizer created from the salt marshes’ plant Phragmites australis. The reason behind this is to see if a plant-based nitrogen fertilizer can be just as effective as the nitrogen fertilizer, thus causing a reduction of nitrogen.

The Phragmites australis will be turned into a powder-like substance used as a medium to mix with topsoil. The experiment will take place in a controlled environment where light and water intake will be monitored. At various stages of the project, there will be several measurements taken from seeding to germination, determining the height difference, and the percentages of nitrogen before and after the experiment. 

Testing future works for this experiment include testing different environments and observing over time the reduction of nitrogen within soil.