Nutrient losses in field-scale surface runoff from claypan soil receiving turkey litter and fertilizer

<p>The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) aims to target prevalent poor water quality status. Of the various contributing sources agriculture is particularly important due to the high loading rates of sediment and nutrient losses associated with fertilisation, sowing, and cropping regimes. Understanding soil nutrient status and the potential pathways for nutrient loss either through point or diffuse sources is an important step to improve water quality from an agricultural perspective. Research has demonstrated extensive in-field variability in soil nutrient status. A sampling regime that explores this variability at a sub-field scale is necessary. Traditional soil sampling consists of taking 20-30 cores per field in a W-shaped formation to produce a single bulked core, however, it generally fails to locate nutrient hotspots at finer resolutions. Inappropriate generalised fertilisation and management recommendations can be made in which nutrient hotspots or deficient zones are overlooked. Gridded soil sampling can reveal the full degree of in-field variability in nutrient status to inform more precise and site-specific nutrient applications. High soil phosphorus levels and the concept of legacy nutrient accumulation due to long-term over-application of phosphorus fertiliser in addition to animal slurry is a problem across the island of Ireland.</p><p>This research aims to locate and quantify the presence of soil nutrient hotspots at several field-scale locations in the cross-border Blackwater catchment in Northern Ireland / Republic of Ireland. Based on 35 m sampling grids, the nutrient content at unsampled locations in each field was determined using GIS interpolation techniques. Particular attention was paid to phosphorus, given its role in eutrophication. Gridded soil sampling enables the identification of nutrient hotspots within fields and when combined with an analysis of their location in relation to in-field landscape characteristics and knowledge of current management regimes, the risk of nutrient or sediment loss potential may be defined. This research concluded that traditional W soil sampling of producing one average value per field is not appropriate to uncover the degree of spatial variability in nutrient status and is inappropriate for catchment management of agricultural systems for controlling nutrient losses. Soil sampling at multiple locations per field is deemed to be cost-prohibitive for many farmers. However, sub-field scale soil sampling and appropriate geostatistical interpolation techniques can reveal the degree of variability and suggest an appropriate resolution for field-scale nutrient management that may be necessary to achieve measurable improvements in water quality.</p>

Download Full-text

Field Scale Simulation of Nutrient Losses

Developments in Environmental Modelling - Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution: Model Selection and Application ◽

10.1016/b978-0-444-99505-6.50018-6 ◽

1986 ◽

pp. 277-293

Author(s):

G. Bendoricchio ◽

A. Rinaldo

Keyword(s):

Nutrient Losses ◽

Field Scale

Download Full-text

Evaluation of a Field-Scale Surface Aeration System in an Anaerobic Poultry Lagoon

Applied Engineering in Agriculture ◽

10.13031/2013.29546 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 26 (2) ◽

pp. 307-318 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

S. Mukhtar ◽

M. S. Borhan ◽

S. Rahman ◽

J. Zhu

Keyword(s):

Field Scale ◽

Surface Aeration ◽

Aeration System ◽

Scale Surface

Download Full-text

Effects of gravel-sand mulch on the runoff, erosion, and nutrient losses in the Loess Plateau of north-western China under simulated rainfall

Soil and Water Research ◽

10.17221/141/2019-swr ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 16 (No. 1) ◽

pp. 22-28

Author(s):

Yang Qiu ◽

Xinping Wang ◽

Zhongkui Xie ◽

Yajun Wang

Keyword(s):

Grain Size ◽

Surface Runoff ◽

Soil Loss ◽

Bare Soil ◽

Western China ◽

Nutrient Losses ◽

Gravel Mulch ◽

Runoff And Soil Loss ◽

North Western ◽

Fine Gravel

Gravel mulching is a characteristic agricultural technique that has been used for hundreds of years in the north-western Loess Plateau of China. However, the effects of the gravel-sand mulch on the processes of the runoff, soil erosion, and nutrient losses are neither fully distinguished nor even known in many parts of the world. This study investigated how different gravel particle sizes in the mulch affected the runoff, erosion as well as the extent of the nutrient losses in the surface runoff. The laboratory experiments were conducted using a rainfall simulator with three gravel mulch treatments: (1) fine gravel mulch (FG); (2) medium gravel mulch (MG); (3) coarse gravel mulch (CG) and a control group, bare soil (BS). The results of these rainfall simulation experiments gave estimates on how the grain size influences the runoff and losses of the soil and its nutrients. Applying the gravel mulch significantly delayed the runoff’s starting time when compared with the bare soil. Both the total runoff and soil loss increased with the grain size of the gravel mulch. Compared with the bare soil, the lowest surface runoff and soil loss was observed from the fine gravel treatment. These results clearly show that gravel mulch plays an important role in the runoff and sediment generation processes, and that it significantly reduces the surface runoff and soil loss. The losses of the total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and total organic carbon (TOC) from the bare soil were much higher than those under the gravel mulching. The fluctuations in these nutrient-loss processes were the most intense in the CG treatment, while the TC content, in initial runoff, was significantly higher in the FG than the other treatments. Our findings suggest gravel mulch is a useful water and soil conservation technique in the loess area of north-western China, and these results can inform one on the theoretical principles for properly utilising gravel-mulched fields.

Download Full-text

Effect of No-Till and Extended Rotation on Nutrient Losses in Surface Runoff

Soil Science Society of America Journal ◽

10.2136/sssaj2013.01.0045 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 77 (4) ◽

pp. 1329-1337 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Martin J. Shipitalo ◽

Lloyd B. Owens ◽

James V. Bonta ◽

William M. Edwards

Keyword(s):

Surface Runoff ◽

Nutrient Losses ◽

No Till

Download Full-text

Effect of polyacrylamide and gypsum on surface runoff, sediment yield and nutrient losses from steep slopes

Agricultural Water Management ◽

10.1016/j.agwat.2011.01.007 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 98 (6) ◽

pp. 999-1004 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

A. Kumar ◽

A. Saha

Keyword(s):

Sediment Yield ◽

Surface Runoff ◽

Nutrient Losses ◽

Runoff Sediment ◽

Steep Slopes

Download Full-text

Method for Analyzing Field Scale Surface Irrigation Uniformity

Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering ◽

10.1061/(asce)0733-9437(1988)114:1(74) ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 114 (1) ◽

pp. 74-88 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Albert J. Clemmens

Keyword(s):

Surface Irrigation ◽

Field Scale ◽

Irrigation Uniformity ◽

Scale Surface

Download Full-text

Effects of rainfall intensity on runoff and nutrient loss of gently sloping farmland in a karst area of SW China

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0246505 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (3) ◽

pp. e0246505

Author(s):

Yiwen Yao ◽

Quanhou Dai ◽

Ruxue Gao ◽

Yixian Gan ◽

Xingsong Yi

Keyword(s):

Surface Runoff ◽

Rainfall Intensity ◽

Simulation Method ◽

Nutrient Loss ◽

Rainfall Simulation ◽

Karst Area ◽

Nutrient Losses ◽

Nutrient Runoff ◽

Karst Areas ◽

Sloping Farmland

Nutrient losses from sloping farmland in karst areas lead to the decline in land productivity and nonpoint source pollution. A specially tailored steel channel with an adjustable slope and underground hole fissures was used to simulate the microenvironment of the "dual structure" of the surface and underground of sloping farmland in a karst area. The artificial rainfall simulation method was used to explore the surface and underground runoff characteristics and nutrient losses from sloping farmland under different rainfall intensities. The effect of rainfall intensity on the nutrient loss of farmland on karst sloping land was clarified. The results showed that the surface was the main route of runoff and nutrient loss during the rainy season on sloping farmland in karst areas. The influence of rainfall intensity on the nutrients in surface runoff was more substantial than that on underground runoff nutrients. Nutrient loss was more likely to occur underground than on the surface. The losses of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total potassium in surface and underground runoff initially increased and then gradually stabilized with the extension of rainfall duration and increased with increasing rainfall intensity and the amount of nutrient runoff. The output of nutrients through surface runoff accounted for a high proportion of the total, and underground runoff was responsible for a low proportion. Although the amount of nutrients output by underground runoff was small, it could directly cause groundwater pollution. The research results provide a theoretical reference for controlling land source pollution from sloping farming in karst areas.

Download Full-text