Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Field nitrogen budgets and post-harvest soil nitrate as indicators of N leaching to groundwater in a Pacific Northwest dairy grass field

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Dairy farms in the U.S. are expected to use farm-field nitrogen (N) budgeting techniques to determine appropriate agronomic manure application rates for crops. As part of nutrient management, post-harvest soil nitrate sampling is often relied upon to indicate the amount of N not used for crop growth during the growing season. A 4–1/2-year study was conducted that quantified the major N inputs, outputs, and residuals (soil and groundwater) at a commercial dairy field overlying a shallow unconfined aquifer in the Pacific Northwest. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the relationships between two indicators, (1) N mass residuals estimated by farm-field N budget and (2) post-harvest soil nitrate residuals, against measured groundwater nitrate-N concentrations following high seasonal recharge. A mass balance mixing-box spreadsheet model that accounts for the hydrogeologic characteristics of the site was used to quantitatively predict the impact of excess farm-field N on underlying shallow groundwater nitrate-N concentrations. Despite intensive sampling of N balance components and post-harvest soil nitrate conditions, the N-budget-predicted groundwater nitrate-N was 37% of the average field-measured early winter groundwater concentration. The post-harvest soil nitrate-predicted groundwater nitrate-N concentration was 140% of that measured in the field. Neither indicator provided a reliable prediction of the groundwater quality response to land application of nutrients using the spreadsheet model in this poorly drained/high water table setting. The mixing-box model provides a basic tool for testing hypothetical nutrient management scenarios in a variety of conditions. However, groundwater nitrate monitoring data are needed to determine actual outcomes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bradbury KR, Rothschild ER (1985) A computerized technique for estimating the hydraulic conductivity of aquifers from specific capacity data. Ground Water 23:240–246

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buczko U, Kuchenbuch RO, Lennartz B (2010) Assessment of the predictive quality of simple indicator approaches for nitrate leaching from agricultural fields. J Environ Manag 91:1305–1315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cannavo R, Recous S, Parnaudeau V, Reaug R (2008) Modeling N dynamics to assess environmental impacts of cropped soils. Adv Agron 97:131–174

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carey B (2002) Effects of land application of manure on groundwater at two dairies over the Sumas–Blaine surficial aquifer: implications for agronomic rate estimates. Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, Washington. Publication Number 02-03-007. https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/SummaryPages/0203007.html

  • Carey B (2004) Quality assurance project plan: groundwater, soil, and crop nitrogen at a field where dairy waste is used as fertilizer in Whatcom County. Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, WA. Publication Number 04-03-112. https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/SummaryPages/0403112.html

  • Carey B, Cummings R (2012) Sumas–Blaine aquifer nitrate contamination summary. Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, Washington. Publication Number 12-03-026. https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/summarypages/1203026.html

  • Carey BM, Harrison JH (2014) Nitrogen dynamics at a manured grass field overlying the Sumas–Blaine Aquifer in Whatcom County. Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, Washington. Publication Number 14-03-001. https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/SummaryPages/1403001.html

  • Chantigny MH, Angers DA, Rochette P, Pomar C, Pelster DE (2014) Evidencing overwinter loss of residual organic and clay-fixed nitrogen from spring-applied 15N-lablelled pig slurry. Can J Soil Sci 94:1–8

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chesnaux R, Allen DM (2008) Simulating nitrate leaching profiles in a highly permeable vadose zone. Environ Model Assess 13:527–539

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chesnaux R, Allen DM, Graham G (2007) Assessment of the impact of nutrient management practices on nitrate contamination in the Abbotsford–Sumas Aquifer. Environ Sci Technol 41:7229–7234

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cox SE, Kahle SC (1999) Hydrogeology, ground water quality, and sources of nitrate in lowland glacial aquifers of Whatcom County, Washington, and British Columbia, Canada. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 98-4195. Tacoma, Washington: U.S. Geological Survey

  • de Ruijter FJ, Boumans LJM, Smit AL, van den Berg M (2007) Nitrate in upper groundwater on farms under tillage as affected by fertilizer use, soil type and groundwater table. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 77:155–167

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Delgado JA, Shaffer M, Hu C, Lavado R, Cueto-Wong J, Joosse P, Sotomayor D, Colon W, Follett R, DelGrosso S, Li X, Rimski-Korsakov H (2008) An index approach to assess nitrogen losses to the environment. Ecol Eng 32:108–120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Derby NE, Casey FXM, Knighton RE (2009) Long-term observations of vadose zone and groundwater nitrate concentrations under agriculture. Vadose Zone J 8(2):290–300

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Drury CF, Yang JY, De Jong R, Yang XM, Huffman EC, Kirkwood V, Reid K (2007) Residual soil nitrogen indicator for agricultural land in Canada. Can J Soil Sci 87:167–177

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Durand P, Breuer L, Johnes PJ (2011) Nitrogen processes in aquatic ecosystem. In: Sutton MA, Howard CM, Erisman JW, Billen G, Bleeker A, Grennfelt P, van Grinsen H, Grizzetti B (eds) The European nitrogen assessment—sources, effects and policy perspectives. Cambridge University Press, New York, pp 126–146

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Freeze RA, Cherry JA (1979) Groundwater. Prentice Hall Inc, Englewood Cliffs, p 604

    Google Scholar 

  • Green CT, Fisher LH, Bekins BA (2008a) Nitrogen fluxes through unsaturated zones in five agricultural settings across the United State. J Environ Qual 37:1073–1085

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Green CT, Puckett LJ, Bohlke JK, Bekins BA, Phillips SP, Kauffman LJ, Denver JM, Johnson HM (2008b) Limited occurrence of denitrification in four shallow aquifers in agricultural areas of the United States. J Enivron Qual 37:994–1009

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harter T, Menke J (2005) Cow numbers and water quality—is there a magic limit? A groundwater perspective. (Revision of a manuscript in Proceedings, National Alfalfa Symposium, 13–15 December 2004, San Diego, California; University of California Cooperative Extension, University of California, Davis)

  • Harter T, Kourakos G, Lockhart K (2014) Assessing potential impacts of livestock management on groundwater. NI R 14-03 Supplemental Paper 2. Durham, NC, Duke University

  • Healy RW, Scanlon BR (2010) Estimating groundwater discharge. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hii B, Liebscher H, Mazalek M, Tuominen T (1999) Ground water quality and flow rates in the Abbotsford aquifer, British Columbia. Environment Canada, Vancouver

    Google Scholar 

  • Jabro JD, Kim Y, Evans RG, Iversen WM, Stevens WB (2008) Passive capillary sampler for measuring soil water drainage and flux in the vadose zone: design, performance, and enhancement. Appl Eng Agric 24(4):439–446

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones M (1998) Geologic framework for the Puget sound aquifer system, Washington and British Columbia, Professional Paper 1424-C. Tacoma, Washington. U.S. Geological Survey

  • Kuipers PJ, Ryan MC, Zebarth BJ (2014) Estimating nitrate loading from an intensively managed agricultural field to a shallow unconfined aquifer. Water Qual Res J Can 49(1):10–22

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kutchta SH (2012) The effect of nitrogen, water and alley management strategies on nitrate and water loss from the root zone in perennial red raspberry. Masters thesis, University of British Columbia

  • Liebscher H, Hii B, McNaughton D (1992) Nitrates and pesticides in the Abbotsford aquifer, Southwestern British Columbia. Inland Waters Directorate, Environment Canada, North Vancouver

    Google Scholar 

  • Meisinger JJ, Calderon FJ, Jenkinson DS (2008) Soil nitrogen budgets. In: Schepers JS, Raun WR (ed) Nitrogen in agricultural systems, agronomy monograph number 49. pp 505–562

  • Oenema O, Kros H, De Vries W (2003) Approaches and uncertainties in nutrient budgets: implications for nutrient management and environmental policies. Eur J Agron 20:3–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oenema J, Burgers S, Verloop K, Hooijboer A, Boumans L, ten Berge H (2010) Multiscale effects of management, environmental conditions, and land use on nitrate leaching in dairy farms. J Environ Qual 39:2016–2028

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pitz C (2014) Spreadsheet models for determining the influence of land applications of fertilizer on underlying groundwater nitrate concentrations. Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, Washington. Publication Number 14-03-018. https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/documents/1403018.pdf

  • Rankinen K, Salo T, Granlund K (2007) Simulated nitrogen leaching, nitrogen mass field balances and their correlation on four farms in south-western Finland during the period 2000–2005. Agric Food Sci 16:387–406

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rozemeijer JC, Broers HP, van Geer FC, Bierkens MFP (2009) Weather-induced temporal variations in nitrate concentrations in shallow groundwater. J Hydrol 378:119–127

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rudolph DL, Devlin JF, Bekeris L (2015) Challenges and a strategy for agricultural BMP monitoring and remediation of nitrate contamination in unconsolidated aquifers. Groundw Monit Remediat 35(1):97–109

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schröder JJ, Scholefield D, Cabral F, Hofman G (2004) The effects of nutrient losses from agriculture on ground and surface water quality: the position of science in developing indicators for regulation. Environ Sci Policy 7:15–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schröder JJ, Aarts HFM, van Middelkoop JC, Schils RLM, Velthop GL, Fraters V, Willems WJ (2007) Permissible manure and fertilizer use in dairy farming systems on sandy soils in The Netherlands to comply with the Nitrates Directive target. Eur J Agron 27:102–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seiling K, Kage H (2006) N balance as an indicator of N leaching in an oilseed rape-winter wheat-winter barley rotation. Agric Ecosyst Environ 115:261–269

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sonneveld MPW, Brus DJ, Roelsma J (2010) Validation of regression models for nitrate concentrations in the upper groundwater in sandy soils. Environ Pollut 158:92–97. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2009.07.033

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steenhuis TS, Yves Parlange J, Aburime SA (1995) Preferential flow in structured and sandy soils: consequences for modeling and monitoring. In: Wilson LG, Everett LG, Cullen SJ (eds) Handbook of vadose zone characterization and monitoring. Lewis Publishers, London, pp 61–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan DM (2008) Estimating plant-available nitrogen from manure. Oregon State University Extension Service. Report EM 8954-E. http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/20528/em8954-e.pdf

  • Sullivan DM, Cogger CG (2003) Post-harvest soil nitrate testing for manured cropping systems west of the Cascades. Oregon State University Extension. Publication EM 8832-E. http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pdf/em/em8832-e.pdf

  • Tooley J, Erickson D (1996) Nooksack watershed surficial aquifer characterization. Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, Washington. Publication No. 96-311. www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/96311.pdf

  • U.S. Soil Conservation Service (1992) Soil Survey of Whatcom County Area, Washington. U.S. Soil Conservation Service, Spokane

    Google Scholar 

  • van der Schans ML, Harter T, Leijnse A, Matthews MC, Meyer RD (2009) Characterizing sources of nitrate leaching from an irrigated dairy farm in Merced County, California. J Contam Hydrol 110:9–21

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Verloop J, Hilhorst GJ, Oenema J, Van Keulen H, Sebek LBJ, Van Ittersum MK (2014) Soil N mineralization in a dairy production system with grass and forage crops. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 98:267–280

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson LG, Dorrance DW (1995) Sampling from macropores with free-drainage samplers. In: Wilson LG, Everett LG, Cullen SJ (eds) Handbook of vadose zone characterization and monitoring. Lewis Publishers, London, pp 605–616

    Google Scholar 

  • Yuan L, Pang A, Huang T (2012) Integrated assessment on groundwater nitrate by unsaturated zone probing and aquifer sampling with environmental tracers. Environ Pollut 171:226–233

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zebarth BJ, Hii B, Liebscher H, Chipperfield K, Paul JW, Grove G, Szeto S (1998) Agricultural land use practices and nitrate contamination in the Abbotsford Aquifer, British Columbia, Canada. Agric Ecosyst Environ 69:99–112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zebarth BJ, Paul JW, Chipperfield K (1999) Nutrient losses to soil for field storage of solid poultry manure. Can J Soil Sci 79:183–189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zebarth BJ, Ryan MC, Graham G, Forge TA, Neilsen D (2015) Groundwater monitoring to support development of BMPs for groundwater protection: the Abbotsford–Sumas Aquifer Case Study. Groundw Monit Remediat 35(1):82–96

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the cooperation of the landowner. This work was funded by the Washington State Department of Ecology, Washington State University, the Washington State Department of Agriculture, and the Washington State Dairy Federation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Washington State Department of Ecology, P.O. Box 47710, Olympia, WA, 98504, USA

    Barbara M. Carey & Charles F. Pitz

  2. Washington State University, 2606 W. Pioneer Way E, Puyallup, WA, 98371, USA

    Joseph H. Harrison

Authors
  1. Barbara M. Carey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Charles F. Pitz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Joseph H. Harrison
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Barbara M. Carey.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Carey, B.M., Pitz, C.F. & Harrison, J.H. Field nitrogen budgets and post-harvest soil nitrate as indicators of N leaching to groundwater in a Pacific Northwest dairy grass field. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 107, 107–123 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-016-9819-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-016-9819-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation