Nutrient losses to soil from field storage of solid poultry manure

Abstract

. Nutrient losses to soil from field storage of solid poultry manure. Can. J. Soil Sci. 79: 183-189. The study was done to quantify the effect of uncovered field storage of solid poultry manure in south coastal British Columbia on a site where solid turkey manure was stored uncovered each fall and winter for approximately 6 yr. The soil was sampled to 370 cm depth in a transect with six sampling locations: two in the manure storage area, and two on either side of the manure storage area. The soil was analyzed for the concentrations of total organic C, total Kjeldahl N, ammonium, nitrate, K, P, Mg, and Na in addition to soil pH and electrical conductivity. The mass of nutrients to 370 cm depth was 39 700 and 330 kg NH 4 + -N ha -1 , 500 and 480 kg NO 3 --N ha -1 , 36 400 and 1440 kg K ha -1 , 12 100 and 2190 kg P ha -1 , 3150 and 1140 kg Mg ha -1 and 9850 and 975 kg Na ha -1 for the manure storage and non-storage sampling locations, respectively. The depth weighted average soil pH was 8.4 and 4.7 and average soil electrical conductivity was 3.3 and 0.3 dS m -1 for the manure storage and nonstorage sampling locations, respectively. The lack of an increase in soil nitrate concentration in the manure storage area was attributed to concentrations of free ammonia in soil solution toxic to nitrifying bacteria. The results highlight the high potential for nutrient loss from uncovered fall and winter field storage of poultry manure in south coastal British Columbia.Key words: Turkey manure, soluble C, soil ammonium, free ammonia, electrical conductivity Zebarth, B. J., Paul, J. W. et Chipperfield, K. 1999. Pertes en élément nutritif du sol résultant du stockage au champ à décou-vert du fumier de volaille solide. Can. J. Soil Sci. 79: 183-189. Nous avons quantifié l'effet du stockage à découvert au champ du fumier de volaille solide dans le sud-ouest de la Colombie-Britannique. L'expérience se déroulait à un endroit où du fumier solide de dinde avait été stocké à l'air libre chaque automne-hiver depuis environ 6 ans. Des prélèvements de sol étaient réalisés jusqu'à la profondeur de 370 cm, selon un transect comprenant 6 points d'échantillonnage: deux au site même du terrain de stockage et deux de chaque côté. Les analyses du sol portait sur les concentrations de C organique total, de N total mesuré au Kjeldahl, de l'ammoniac, du nitrate, de K, P, Mg et Na ainsi que sur le pH et la conductivité électrique. La masse des éléments nutritifs jusqu'à 370 cm de profondeur s'établissait, respectivement, à 39 700 et 330 kg N-NH 4 + , 500 et 480 kg N-NO 3 -, 36 400 et 1 440 kg K, 12 100 et 2 190 kg P, 3 150 et 1 140 kg Mg et 9 850 et 975 kg Na par hectare pour les prélèvements provenant du site même du stockage et pour ceux pris de chaque côté. De même, le pH moyen du sol pondéré en fonction de la profondeur du sol était, respectivement, de 8,4 et de 4,7 et la conductivité électrique de 3,3 et 0,3 dS m -1 . L'absence de tout accroissement de la concentration de nitrates du sol au lieu même du stockage est attribuée à l'effet toxiqu...

Minimising nutrient transfers from poultry litter field heaps

“…Compared to the control plots at the end of the study there were small but significant increases in soil nitrate concentration occurred under both the covered and enveloped field heaps, namely at the 60-90 cm depth under both the covered and enveloped treatments, and at the 0-30 cm depth under the enveloped plots. As these increases took place under enveloped heaps it is difficult to see how they reflect direct leaching of nutrients from the litter as previously reported by Zebarth et al (1999) following winter storage of poultry litter in uncovered field heaps over a 6 year period.…”

Evaluating the evidence-base for the Nitrate Directive regulations controlling the storage of manure in field heaps

“…In contrast, Doody et al (2012a) found no significant increase in soil P concentrations between 0 and 15 cm in the soil profile beneath covered poultry litter heaps after 90 days of storage. However, the sizes of the heaps in the study of Doody et al (2012a) were much smaller than those used by Frame et al (2007) and Zebarth et al (1999).…”

“…However, Frame et al (2007) reported a large increase in soil P beneath the turkey litter heaps increasing from <50 ppm to >150 ppm in the top 15 cm of the soil profile. Similarly Zebarth et al (1999) reported that there was a significant increase in extractable soil P concentrations to a depth of 180 cm in the soil profile under an uncovered poultry litter heap. In contrast, Doody et al (2012a) found no significant increase in soil P concentrations between 0 and 15 cm in the soil profile beneath covered poultry litter heaps after 90 days of storage.…”

Spatial and temporal variation in soil inorganic n concentration, and soil test P and K, in red raspberry fields and implications for soil sampling strategies

“…fertilizer band were measured only for 0-15 cm depth, whereas this pattern was measured throughout the root zone at some sites for soil test K. Similarly, Zebarth et al (1999b) found greater downward movement of K than of P where solid manure had been stored in field stockpiles. The random sampling strategy gives unbiased estimates of soil inorganic N and soil test P and K. However, the number of cores required to obtain a given precision for a given probability level are generally greater for the random than for the systematic sampling strategies.…”