Soluble Metal Leaching from a Poultry Litter–Amended Udult under Pasture Vegetation

Abstract

More than 1 billion broiler chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) are produced annually in Arkansas, with nearly 900 Gg of waste (i.e., litter) generated. Poultry litter is typically land applied as a means of disposal to nearby pastures as an organic fertilizer. Aside from essential plant nutrients, poultry litter also contains heavy metals, yet little is known about the potential of these metals to leach from soils with a history of litter application. The objective of this study was to continuously monitor the seasonal and annual effect of poultry litter application rate on soil leachate concentrations and leaching losses of metals (As, Cd, Se, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, and Zn) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Shreb.) pasture using automated equilibrium‐tension lysimeters over a 2‐yr period. Average annual drainage was 447, 235, and 592 mm in Year 1 (May 2003 through April 2004) and 833, 589, and 827 mm in Year 2 (May 2004 through April 2005) for control, low‐ (5.6 Mg ha−1), and high‐litter (11.2 Mg ha−1) treatments, respectively. Drainage was similar among treatments during all time periods except for Winter (November through January) Year 1. Flow‐weighted mean concentrations of Mn during Spring Year 1 (February through April 2004) and Ni and Cu for the whole year differed among litter treatments, but there were no consistent trends. In Spring Year 2 (February through April 2005), flow‐weighted mean concentrations of Cr and Fe differed among litter treatment, but there were no consistent trends. Metal leaching losses did not differ among litter treatment during Year 1. In Year 2, leaching losses of Zn, Fe, and As differed among litter treatments during Summer, Fall, and Winter, respectively, but there were no consistent trends. Results indicate that poultry litter application rate did not affect metal leaching within two the first 2 yr of altered management; thus simply reducing application rates in areas with a history of litter application may not ensure a short‐term reduction of potential further surface and groundwater impairment.

Soil Respiration as Affected by Long-Term Broiler Litter Application to a Udult in the Ozark Highlands

“…Research was initiated in 2002 at the Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Fayetteville, AR (36°05′49.18′′ N, 94°10′44.65′′ W; elevation, 394.7 m) (Pirani et al, 2006) in an area mapped as a Captina silt loam (fine‐silty, siliceous, active, mesic Typic Fragiudult) (USDA‐NRCS, 2013). Each of six field plots (6‐m long by 1.5‐m wide) had a 5% west‐to‐east slope, had a history of land‐applied BL before 2002, and was initially chosen based on similar soil pH (6.2 ± 0.5 [SE]) and high Mehlich‐3–extractable P (210 ± 24 mg kg −1 ) in the top 5 cm (Pirani et al, 2006). The soil textural class in the 0‐ to 10‐cm depth interval was confirmed to be silt loam, with 63% silt and 5.5% clay (Pirani, 2005).…”

Heavy Metals in Water Percolating Through Soil Fertilized with Biodegradable Waste Materials

“…The lowest amounts of copper and nickel were leached from the NPK treatment, and the lowest quantities of manganese and iron were leached from the control treatment. Pirani et al (2006), who analyzed trace element leaching from poultry litter-amended pastures, reported that reduced application rates of poultry litter did not rapidly decrease the amounts of As, Cd, Se, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, and Zn leached out to subsurface waters.…”

Evaluation of Poultry Litter Amendment to Agricultural Soils: Leaching Losses and Partitioning of Trace Elements in Collard Greens

“…Animal manures can be soil applied as fresh material or after composting (Moss et al 2002). However, one major concern associated with land application of the above byproducts is the potential for contamination of environment by trace elements and/or pathogens (Gupta and Charles 1999;Jackson et al 2003;Basta et al 2005;Pirani et al 2006) and, in turn, entry of these contaminants into human food chain. With the increased interest of producers and consumers towards the use of organic amendments as substitute for conventional chemical fertilizers, the use of organic amendments in agriculture will increase significantly.…”