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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lincoln, Nebraska » Agroecosystem Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #123358
Title: LONG-TERM MANURE AND FERTILIZER APPLICATION EFFECTS ON PHOSPHORUS AND NITROGEN IN RUNOFF.

Author
item Eghball, Bahman
item Gilley, John
item BALTENSPERGER, D - U OF NE/LINCOLN
item BLUMENTHAL, J - U OF NE

Submitted to: Transactions of the ASAE
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/11/2002
Publication Date: 11/11/2002
Citation: EGHBALL, B., GILLEY, J.E., BALTENSPERGER, D.D., BLUMENTHAL, J.M. LONG-TERM MANURE AND FERTILIZER APPLICATION EFFECTS ON PHOSPHORUS AND NITROGEN IN RUNOFF.. TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERS. 2002.45(3):687-694

Interpretive Summary: Long-term manure and fertilizer applications to a soil can influence phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) transport in runoff. This study was conducted to determine P and N transport in runoff following long-term (since 1953) and recent manure and fertilizer applications. The study area has been under continuous corn and furrow irrigation. Surface soil samples were collected and placed in large shallow pans. Manure and fertilizer were mixed with the soil in one set of pans while no treatment was applied to the other set (residual long-term effect). Simulated rainfall was then applied to the soil during initial and wet (24 hr later) events. Manure added just before simulated rainfall resulted in significantly greater concentrations of dissolved P, bioavailable P, particulate P, total P, nitrate, and ammonium than when the last manure application was the previous year. Bioavailable P is the algae-available fraction and particulate-P is the sediment- bound P. Soil test P level was not a significant factor in dissolved P loss when manure was applied just before rainfall. Similar P losses were observed for manured or no manure treatments when the applications were made at least one year earlier. Loss of nitrate and ammonium in runoff were not influenced by long-term fertilizer application, but significantly increased with increasing N application rate made just before rainfall. Phosphorus concentration in runoff decreased for the first 45 minutes of runoff but N losses continued to decrease for the entire 2 hours runoff period. Manure and fertilizer should not be applied when probability of rainfall immediately following application is great, even if nutrients are incorporated.

Technical Abstract: Long-term manure and fertilizer applications to a soil can influence phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) transport in runoff. This study was conducted to determine P and N transport in runoff following long-term (since 1953) and recent manure and fertilizer applications. The study area has been under continuous corn and furrow irrigation. Duplicate soil samples were collected in 1998 from the top 10-cm of selected plots (16) and later placed in 32 1-m2 soil pans. Manure and fertilizer were mixed with the soil inside 16 pans while no treatment was applied to the other half (residual long-term effect). Simulated rainfall was then applied to the soil during initial and wet (24 hr later) events. Manure added just before simulated rainfall resulted in significantly greater concentrations of dissolved P (DP), bioavailable P (BAP), particulate P (PP), total P (TP), NO3-N, and NH4- N than when the last manure application was the previous year. Soil test P level was not a significant factor in DP loss when manure was applied just before rainfall. When the last manure application was the previous year, similar losses of DP, BAP, PP, and TP were measured on the manure and no manure treatments. Loss of NO3-N and NH4-N in runoff were not influenced by long-term fertilizer application, but significantly increased with increasing N application rate, when N was applied just before rainfall. Phosphorus concentration in runoff decreased with time of runoff up to 45 min, after which the P concentration remained constant. Loss of NO3-N, NH4-N, and total N continued to decrease for the entire runoff period. Manure and fertilizer should not be applied when probability of rainfall exists.