Abstract
Surface applied liquid dairy manure application (i.e., broadcasting) after alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) harvest is a common practice. Low disturbance manure incorporation (LDMI) may offer multiple benefits including lower ammonia (NH3), greenhouse gas (GHG) and hydrologic nutrient losses compared to broadcast. However, few studies have simultaneously quantified LDMI impacts on alfalfa yield, NH3 and greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes. We measured NH3, nitrous oxide (N2O), and methane (CH4) fluxes for liquid dairy manure treatments applied to alfalfa plots for broadcast and LDMI over three seasons (2014 to 2016) in central Wisconsin, USA. There were minor differences in alfalfa yield and nitrogen (N) uptake across treatments and years. Shallow disk injection and aerator/band reduced NH3 loss by 95 and 52% of broadcast, respectively, however both substantially increased N2O fluxes (6 and 4.5 kg ha−1 year−1 versus 3.6 kg ha−1 year−1 for broadcast, respectively). The magnitude and timing of N2O fluxes were related to manure application and precipitation events. Average CH4 fluxes were similar among methods and increased with soil moisture after manure application. Results highlight the importance of quantitatively evaluating agri-environmental tradeoffs of LDMI versus broadcast manure application for dairy farms.
Highlights
Dairy manure is an important crop nutrient source, careful management is needed to optimize nutrient use efficiency and minimize atmospheric and hydrologic losses associated with land application of manure
The objective of our study was to quantify the impacts of Low disturbance manure incorporation (LDMI) and broadcast liquid dairy manure application on alfalfa dry matter yield, N uptake, and fluxes of NH3 -N, nitrous oxide (N2 O)-N, and CH4 over three field seasons at a research farm in central Wisconsin
Average GWP followed a similar pattern as CO2 likely due to the dominance of CO2 emission compared to other gases and its large influence on the Impacts of liquid dairy manure application method after alfalfa harvesting on NH3, N2 O, and CH4 fluxes using broadcast and LDMI methods were investigated for three field seasons in central Wisconsin on a somewhat poorly drained silt loam soil
Summary
Dairy manure is an important crop nutrient source, careful management is needed to optimize nutrient use efficiency and minimize atmospheric and hydrologic losses (overland flow, leaching) associated with land application of manure. Cold climate dairies generate manure year-round but can have limited time windows and fields for application due to the short growing season and other cropping system limitations. At low application rates and when applied before any regrowth, few negative yield impacts have been noted [1,2,3]. Another concern with applying manure on hay forage crops is forage quality/palatability, Coblentz et al [4] found no deleterious effects of applying liquid dairy manure on forage nutritive value. Several studies indicate manure application to stands with optimum soil fertility are
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