Abstract
Nutrient buildup in the soil caused by increased animal manure and fertilizer use in agricultural and forestry practices may increase the potential for their loss from the soil, leading to groundwater contamination and nonpoint source pollution. Studies in the tropics have suggested that agroforestry practices can reduce such nutrient (especially nitrogen) losses because of enhanced nutrient uptake by tree and crop roots from varying soil depths, compared to more localized and shallow rooting depths of sole crop stands. In temperate systems, such benefits have been well documented for riparian forest buffer practices. Currently, other temperate agroforestry practices are also being considered for their potential to reduce runoff and leaching of chemicals and thereby improve environmental quality within the agricultural landscape. In this regard, the ‘Florida P-Index,’ which considers both phosphorus transport characteristics and management practices, may be a useful tool in the evaluation of nutrient management practices and environmental benefits of agroforestry. Preliminary results from an alleycropping site and a silvopastoral site on two different soil types in Florida suggest that both of these agroforestry practices will likely reduce nutrient loss compared to conventional agricultural practices. The primary aspects of P-Index include consideration of transport factors such as soil erosion, soil runoff class, leaching potential, and distance from a water body along with management factors such as soil test P, P application method, and source and rate of P application. P-Index evaluation of these studies indicates that both agroforestry sites can be on a nitrogen-based nutrient management program. The relevance of some management practices such as application of manure vs. inorganic fertilizer is also discussed in light of the P-Index and the two agroforestry practices.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Adjei M.B., Mislevy P., Quesenberry K.H. and Ocumpaugh W.R. 1987. Grazing-frequency effects on forage production, quality, persistence and crown total non-structural carbohydrate reserves of limpograss. Soil Crop Science Society of Florida Proceedings 47: 233–236.
Allen S.C. 2003. Nitrogen dynamics in a pecan (Carya illinoenis K. Koch)-cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) alley cropping system in the southern United States. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Florida.
Andrews W.J. 1994 Nitrate in ground water and spring water near four dairy farms in north Florida, 1990–93: U.S. Geological Survey water-resources investigations report 94–4162, 63 pp.
Ayoub A.T. 1999. Fertilizers and the environment. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 55: 117–121.
Bockman O.C., Kaarstad O., Lie O.H. and Richards I. 1990. Agriculture and Fertilizers. Agricultural Group, Norsk Hydro a.s. Oslo, Norway, 245 pp.
Bottcher A.B., Tremwel T.K. and Campbell K.L. 1995 Best management practices for water quality improvement in the Lake Okeechobee Watershed. Ecol Eng 5: 341–356.
Brady N.C. and Weil R.R. 2002. The Nature and Properties of Soils. 13th edition. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 960 pp.
Brandle J.R., Hodges L. and Wight B. 2000. Windbreak prac-tices. pp. 79–118. In: Garrett H.E., Rietveld W.J. and Fisher R.F. (eds), North American Agroforestry: An Integrated Science and Practice. American Society of Agronomy, Inc. Madison, Wisconsin.
Breeuwsma A. and Silva S. 1992. Phosphorus fertilization and environmental effects in the Netherlands and the Po region (Italy). Rep. 57. Agric Res Dep The Winand Staring Centre for Integrated Land, Soil and Water Research. Wageningen, The Netherlands, 38 pp.
Buresh R.J. and Tian G. 1997. Soil improvement by trees in sub-Saharan Africa. Agroforest Syst 38: 51–76.
Clason T.R. and Sharrow S.H. 2000. Silvopastoral practices. pp. 119–147. In: Garrett H.E., Rietveld W.J. and Fisher R.F. eds), North American Agroforestry: An Integrated Science and Practice. American Society of Agronomy, Inc. Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Di H.J. and Cameron K.C. 2002. Nutrient leaching in temperate agrocosystems: sources, factors, and mitigating strategies. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 64: 237–256.
Edmeades D.C. 2003. The long-term effects of manures and fertilizers on soil productivity and quality: a review. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 66: 165–180.
Ezenwa I.V., Kalmbacher R.S. and Mallett W.J. 2003. Projected timber yields of south Florida slash pine silvopasture in south-central Florida. Soil and Crop Science Society of Florida Proceedings 62: 47–50
Florida Department of Environmental Protection. 2001. Suwannee Basin Status Report. Division of Water Resource Management. Tallahassee, FL, 193 pp.
Fonyo C. and Flaig E. 1995. Phosphorus budgets for Lake Okeechobee tributary basins. Ecol Eng 5: 209–227.
Garrett H.E. and McGraw R.L. 2000. Alley cropping practices. pp. 149–188. In: Garrett H.E., Rietveld W.J. and Fisher R.F. (eds), North American Agroforestry: An Integrated Science and Practice. American Society of Agronomy, Inc. Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Graetz D.A. and Nair V.D. 1999. Inorganic forms of phosphorus in water and soils. Chapter 6. pp. 171–186. In: Reddy K.R., O’Connor G.A. and Schelske C.L. (eds), Phosphorus Biogeochemistry of Sub-Tropical Ecosystems. C.R.C. Press. New York, USA.
Graetz D.A., Nair V.D., Voss R.L. and Portier K.M. 1999. Phosphorus accumulation on land utilized by dairies and beef ranches. Agric Ecosyst Environ 75: 31–40.
Hatzell H.H. 1995. Effects of waste-disposal practices on groundwater quality at five poultry (broiler) farms in north-central Florida, 1992–1993: U.S. Geological Survey water-resources investigations report 95–4064, 35 pp.
Heathwaite L., Sharpley A. and Gburek W. 2000 A conceptual approach for integrating phosphorus and nitrogen management at watershed scales. J Environ Qual 29: 158–166.
Hochmuth G.J. 2000 Management of nutrients in vegetable production systems in Florida. Soil and Crop Science Society of Florida Proceedings 59: 11–13.
Katz B.G., Hornsby H.D., Bohlke J.K. and Mokray M.F. 1999. Sources and chronology of nitrate contamination in springs, Suwannee River Basin, Florida: U.S. Geological Survey water-resources investigations report 99–4252, 54 pp.
Kidder G., Chamblis C.G. and Mylavarapu R. 2002. UF/IFAS standard fertilization recommendations for agronomic crops. SL129, Soil & Water Science, Cooperative Extension Service, IFAS, p. 9.
Lee K.H. and Jose S. 2003. Soil respiration and microbial biomass in soils under alley-cropping and monoculture cropping systems in southern U.S.A. Agroforest Syst 58: 45–54.
Moore P.A. Jr, Joern B.C. and Provin T.L. 1998. Improvements needed in environmental soil testing for phosphorus. pp. 21–29. In: Sims J.T. (ed.), Soil Testing for Phosphorus: Environmental Uses and Implications. SERA-IEG 17 USDA-CREES Regional Committee: Minimizing Agricultural Phosphorus Losses for Protection of the Water Resource.
Mueller D.K. and Helsel D.R. 1996. Nutrients in the Nation’s waters-Too much of a good thing? U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1136, 26 pp.
Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Practice Standard 1999. Nutrient Management. Code 590. Technical Guide. Section IV. NRCS, FL, 8 pp.
Nair PKR 1993. An Introduction to Agroforestry. Kluwer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 499 pp.
Nair P.K.R., Buresh R.J., Mugendi D.N. and Latt C.R. 1999. Nutrient cycling in tropical agroforesty systems: myths and science. pp. 1–31. In: Buck L.E., Lassoie J.P. and Fernandes E.C.M. (eds), Agroforestry in Sustainable Agricultural Systems. CRC Press. LLC, Boca Raton, Florida, USA.
Nair V.D., Portier K.M., Graetz D.G. and Walker M.L. 2004. An environmental threshold for degree of phosphorus saturation in sandy soils. J. Environ Qual 33: 107–113.
Nair V.D., Graetz D.A. and Dooley D.O. 2003. Phosphorus release characteristics of manure and manure-impacted soils. J. Food, Agric Environ 1: 217–223.
Nair V.D. and Graetz D.A. 2002. Phosphorus saturation in Spodosols impacted by manure. J Environ Qual 31: 1279–1285.
Nair V.D., Graetz D.A. and Reddy K.R. 1998. Dairy manure influences on phosphorus retention capacity of Spodosols. J Environ Qual 27: 522–527.
Nair V.D., Graetz D.A. and Portier K.M. 1995. Forms of phosphorus in soil profiles from dairies of South Florida. Soil Sci Soc Am J 59: 1244–1249.
Pautler M.C. and Sims J.T. 2000. Relationships between soil test phosphorus, soluble phosphorus, and phosphorus saturation in Delaware soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 64: 765–773.
Pote D.H., Daniel T.C., Sharpley A.N., Moore P.A. Jr, Edwards D.R. and Nichols D.J. 1996. Relating extractable soil phosphorus to phosphorus losses in runoff. Soil Sci Soc Am J 60: 855–859.
Robinson J.S. and Sharpley A.N. 1996. Reaction in soil of phosphorus released from poultry litter. Soil Sci Soc Am J 60: 1583–1588.
Schultz R.C., Colletti J.P., Isenhart T.M., Marquez W.W. and Ball C.J. 2000. Riparian forest buffer practices. pp. 189–281. In: Garrett H.E., Rietveld W.J. and Fisher R.F. (eds), North American Agroforestry: An Integrated Science and Practice. American Society of Agronomy, Inc. Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Sharpley A.N. 1999. Global issues of phosphorus in terrestrial ecosystems. Chapter 1. pp. 15–46. In: Reddy K.R., O’Connor G.A. and Schelske C.L. (eds), Phosphorus Biogeochemistry of Sub-Tropical Ecosystems. C.R.C. Press. New York, USA.
Sharpley A.N., McDowell R.W. and Kleinman P.J.A. 2001. Phosphorus loss from land to water: integrating agriculture and environmental management. Plant Soil 237: 287–307.
Sharpley A.N., Daniel T.C., Sims J.T. and Pote D.H. 1996. Determining environmentally sound soil phosphorus levels. J Soil Water Conserv 51: 160–166.
Sims J.T., Simard R.R. and Joern B.C. 1998. Phosphorus loss in agricultural drainage: Historical perspective and current research. J Environ Qual 27: 227–293.
Soil Survey Staff 1999. Soil taxonomy: a basic system of soil classification for making and interpreting soil surveys (2nd ed.). USDA-NRCS Agric Handbook 436. U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington, DC, 869 pp.
Terry D.L. and Kirby B.J. 2003. Commercial Fertilizers 2002. Association of American Plant Food Control Officials and The Fertilizer Institute. Lexington, KY, USA, 41 pp.
USDA-NRCS 1997. Alley cropping, Conservation practice job sheet 311, 4 pp.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) 2002. National Water Quality Inventory. EPA 841-R-02–001. USEPA Office of Water Quality, Washington, DC, 20460, 207 pp.
Woodard K.R., French E.C., Sweat L.A., Graetz D.A., Sollenberger L.E., Macoon B., Portier K.M., Rymph, S.J., Wade B.L., Prine G.M. and Van Horn H.H. 2003. Nitrogen removal and nitrate leaching for two perennial, sod-based forage systems receiving dairy effluent. J Environ Qual 32: 996–1007.
Workman S.W., Bannister M.E. and Nair P.K.R. 2003. Agroforestry potential in the southeastern United States: Perceptions of landowners and extension professionals. Agroforest Syst 59: 73–83.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2004 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Nair, V.D., Graetz, D.A. (2004). Agroforestry as an approach to minimizing nutrient loss from heavily fertilized soils: The Florida experience. In: Nair, P.K.R., Rao, M.R., Buck, L.E. (eds) New Vistas in Agroforestry. Advances in Agroforestry, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2424-1_19
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2424-1_19
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-6673-2
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-2424-1
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive