Abstract
Manure phosphorus (P) accumulation in soils is of environmental concern. The objectives were to determine P concentrations and fate in soils following 119 years of manure and 89 years of chemical fertilizer application. The recovery and distribution of P were evaluated for five years in soils from the untreated check, and soils amended with manure, fertilizer-P, or NPK. Total P concentrations were significantly higher in fertilizer-treated surface soils, compared to manure application. Treated plots had significantly higher P concentrations than the check. Virtually all of the added P was accounted for, either remaining in the soil or harvested in grains. Over 50% of fertilizer-P and about 38% of manure-P were found in the top 15 cm of the soil. A majority (81–99%) of the added fertilizer-P was found in the top 30 cm, while about 40% of manure-P leached down to the 30–90 cm level of the soil profile. Following 119 years of moderate application, manure-P did not reach deeper than 90 cm, suggesting that leaching to groundwater is not a concern at this site. Preserving P in the lower soil profile could enhance the potential for plant uptake.
Highlights
Large-scale livestock feeding operations have resulted in high volumes of concentrated manure applied to nearby land for economically efficient waste disposal [1]
The average N:P ratio of the applied manure was about 3.3:1, which is equivalent to 40.8 kg P ha−1 from 1899 to 1966 and 81.5 kg P ha−1 from 1967 to 2018 that was applied every four years
Due to a change in rate, P input to soil from manure was lower than fertilizer-P from 1930 to 1966, but higher from 1967 to 2018 (Table 2)
Summary
Large-scale livestock feeding operations have resulted in high volumes of concentrated manure applied to nearby land for economically efficient waste disposal [1]. From 2015 to 2017, livestock production in the U.S increased from 647 million to 677 million heads [2] and generated over 330 million tons of wet-weight manure based on estimation conducted using the method by Zhang and Schroder [3]. Manure has been traditionally applied based on crop nitrogen (N) demand. Manure-P applied to soils increased from 15 to 24.3 Tg year−1 from 2000 to 2010 [8,9]. Ten percent of P inputs from either fertilizers or manure to soils may be lost to aquatic systems (~2–3 Tg P year−1 ) [10,11]. With increasing concerns about harmful algal blooms (HABs) [12], it is crucial to understand the fate of manure-P in the environment
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