Impact on C and N dynamics of simultaneous application of pig slurry and wheat straw, as affected by their initial locations in soil

Abstract

The joint management of animal manures and plant biomass as straw on agricultural soils may be a viable option for reducing the environmental impacts associated with livestock production and recycling nutrients efficiently. To investigate this option, an incubation in controlled conditions examined how the simultaneous addition of 15N-labeled pig slurry and 13C-labeled wheat straw, either on the soil surface or incorporated into the soil, affected the mineralization of C from the organic materials and the soil N dynamics. Samples from a typic hapludalf were incubated for 95 days at 25°C with eight treatments: unamended soil (S), wheat straw left on the soil surface (Ws), wheat straw incorporated in the soil (Wi), pig slurry on the soil surface (Ps), pig slurry incorporated in the soil (Pi) and three combinations of the two amendments: Pi + Ws, Pi + Wi, and Ws + Ps. Carbon dioxide and 13CO2 emissions and soil N content were measured throughout the incubation. Pig slurry stimulated the decomposition of straw C only when wheat straw and pig slurry were left together on the soil surface. Incorporation of both wheat straw and pig slurry did not modify straw C mineralization when compared to straw incorporation alone but this promoted a higher rate of N immobilization. The results suggest that when pig slurry is used in field under no-till conditions, the best strategy to preserve environmental quality with regard to CO2 emissions would be to apply pig slurry underneath the crop residues.