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Effect of urine volume on nitrate leaching in the northeast USA

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Abstract

To investigate how the urine volume (i.e. size of cow) affects how much NO3-N is leached from a urine deposition in the climatic conditions of the northeast USA, a field study using large drainage lysimeters to measure NO3-N leaching loss from synthetic urine applied in spring, summer and fall in 1-, 2-, and 3-l volumes to an orchardgrass (Dactyls glomerata L., c.v. ‘Pennlate’) sward was conducted from April 1997 to March 1999. The study site was located in central Pennsylvania on a Hagerstown silt loam soil (fine, mixed, mesic Typic Hapludalf). It was found that increasing urine volume increased the amount of urine N leached but had no significant effect on the apparent percent of urine N leached. The apparent percent of urine N leached was 25% averaged over all treatment times and volumes and was 21% for spring and summer applied urine and 32% for fall applied urine.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service, Curtin Road, University Park, 16802-3702, USA

    W.L. Stout

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Stout, W. Effect of urine volume on nitrate leaching in the northeast USA. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 67, 197–203 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025565502043

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