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Phosphorus leaching through intact soil cores as influenced by type and duration of manure application

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Abstract

Leaching of phosphorus (P) in manure-amended soils has received increased attention as a significant source of non-point source P pollution. Intact soil cores were collected from fields on a farm in Southern New York to test the effects of long-term dairy or poultry manure application on P leaching. Nine fields were selected (four poultry, four dairy, and one unamended) to represent a broad range of P saturation levels (5.3 to 62.4%) in the topsoil (0–7.5 cm). Water was applied weekly at a rate matching a 1-year return period storm for the study area (230 mm h−1). Dissolved reactive P (DRP) losses in leachate from all soil cores ranged from 0.007 to 0.055 kg P ha−1, except in two fields with long-term histories of dairy and poultry manure application, where losses averaged 0.21 and 0.45 kg P ha−1, respectively. Hydrographs of the field with the dairy manure history suggested preferential flow as an explanation of leachate P enrichment. In the poultry manure amended field, high levels of soil P saturation throughout the profile suggested subsoil P desorption as a factor controlling leachate P. Surface application of dairy manure to the soil cores (167 kg total P ha−1) increased the mean leachate DRP concentration from 1.5 to 10.5 fold. After five leaching events spanning 22 days, DRP concentrations remained 2.0 to 13.4 fold above pre-manure application levels. This study points to saturation of P in subsoils by long-term manure application as a key concern to P loss in leachate and highlights the role of annual manure additions on subsurface P loss potential.

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Author notes

  1. Elizabeth H. Brock

    Present address: American Farmland Trust, Northeast Regional office, 112 Spring Street, Suite 207, Saratoga Springs, NY, 12866, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cornell University, 707 Bradfield Hall, Ithaca, NY, 19853, USA

    Elizabeth H. Brock

  2. Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Cornell University, 817 Bradfield Hall, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    Quirine M. Ketterings

  3. Soil Scientist, USDA-ARS-Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit, Building 3702, Curtin Road, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Peter J. A. Kleinman

Authors
  1. Elizabeth H. Brock
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  2. Quirine M. Ketterings
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  3. Peter J. A. Kleinman
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Correspondence to Quirine M. Ketterings.

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Brock, E.H., Ketterings, Q.M. & Kleinman, P.J.A. Phosphorus leaching through intact soil cores as influenced by type and duration of manure application. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 77, 269–281 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-006-9065-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-006-9065-3

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