Manure Deposition Research Articles

A French inventory of gaseous emissions (CH 4, N 2O, NH 3) from livestock manure management using a mass-flow approach

A new methodology based on (1) national data concerning livestock and rearing practices and (2) a mass-flow approach was developed to quantify ammonia (NH 3), methane (CH 4) and nitrous oxide (N 2O) emissions resulting from manure management in France. A literature review was performed to determine emission factors for each animal type and each management stage. A Microsoft Access® database containing these emission factors, the census data and manure compositions was then developed, allowing the calculation of gaseous emissions by the mass-flow approach. From this database, a national gas emissions inventory resulting from manure management was drawn up for the year 2003. Total NH 3 emissions were estimated at 382 kt N, mainly arising from cattle (72%). Greenhouse gas emissions were estimated at 14.0 Tg CO 2-eq. for N 2O and 10.2 Tg CO 2-eq. for CH 4. Most of the N 2O emissions occurred after the deposition of manure on soil during cattle grazing, while the CH 4 was mainly produced during the period where cattle manure remained in livestock buildings and in outside storage facilities. Moreover, an evaluation of the uncertainty was performed considering the standard deviation obtained for the emission factors.

SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF SOIL PHOSPHORUS ACROSS SELECTED NEW YORK DAIRY FARM PASTURES AND HAY FIELDS

Despite concerns that traditional soil sampling strategies are insufficient for assessing risk of surface water P contamination, there is no consensus that changes to these strategies, such as spatially explicit or discrete soil sampling within a field, represent enough of an improvement to justify the added cost. We conducted a study on four fields located on two dairy farms in Delaware County, New York, to characterize the spatial variability of P, Ca, Mg, Al, and Fe within two pastures and two hay fields at a 10-m scale and to interpret soil test P distribution relative to landscape and cultural practices. Pasture P distribution was characterized by various P hot spots that may be indicative of manure deposits by grazing animals. Hay fields contained large areas with elevated P relative to the rest of the field, with high-P areas occurring mostly near the gate and road where manure applications would be most accessible. Differences in soil properties associated with different soil map units also appear to partially explain P and Fe distributions in the mixed hay field. Results from a rainfall simulation study suggest that the use of a composite sampling strategy or an average P value for an entire field can potentially mask soil test P patterns such as those in the hay fields and result in an inaccurate estimation of P losses to surface waters. However, a composite sampling strategy may give a better estimation of P losses from pastures with hot spots because of the compositing effect whereby soluble P concentrations are affected by sorption processes that are controlled by low-P sediments.

Ground Cover Impacts on Nitrogen Export from Manured Riparian Pasture

Maintaining ground cover of forages may reduce the export of nitrogen (N) from pastures. The objective of this work was to determine the effect of ground cover on N export from pastured riparian areas receiving simulated rainfall. Plots were established on two adjacent sites in the North Carolina Piedmont: one of 10% slope with Appling sandy loam soils and a second of 20% slope with Wedowee sandy loam soils. Both sites had existing mixed tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.)-dallisgrass (Paspalum dilatatum Poir.) vegetation. Forage stands were modified to represent a range of ground cover levels: 0, 45, 70, and 95% (bare ground, low, medium, and high cover, respectively), and amended with beef steer (Bos taurus) feces and urine (approximately 200 kg N ha-1). For all rain events combined, mean nitrate N export was greatest from bare ground and was reduced by 34% at low cover, which did not differ from high cover. Mean ammonium N export was slightly elevated (approximately 1.37 kg N ha-1) in months when manures were applied and negligible (<0.02 kg N ha-1) in all other months. For all rain events combined, mean export of total N was greatest from bare ground and was reduced by at least 85% at all other cover levels. Whereas site did not impact N export, results indicated that cover and time of rainfall following manure deposition are important determinants of the impact of riparian grazing.

Distributed hydrological modeling of total dissolved phosphorus transport in an agricultural landscape, part II: dissolved phosphorus transport

Abstract. Reducing non-point source phosphorus (P) loss to drinking water reservoirs is a main concern for New York City watershed planners, and modeling of P transport can assist in the evaluation of agricultural effects on nutrient dynamics. A spatially distributed model of total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) loading was developed using raster maps covering a 164-ha dairy farm watershed. Transport of TDP was calculated separately for baseflow and for surface runoff from manure-covered and non-manure-covered areas. Soil test P, simulated rainfall application, and land use were used to predict concentrations of TDP in overland flow from non-manure covered areas. Concentrations in runoff for manure-covered areas were computed from predicted cumulative flow and elapsed time since manure application, using field-specific manure spreading data. Baseflow TDP was calibrated from observed concentrations using a temperature-dependent coefficient. An additional component estimated loading associated with manure deposition on impervious areas, such as barnyards and roadways. Daily baseflow and runoff volumes were predicted for each 10-m cell using the Soil Moisture Distribution and Routing Model (SMDR). For each cell, daily TDP loads were calculated as the product of predicted runoff and estimated TDP concentrations. Predicted loads agreed well with loads observed at the watershed outlet when hydrology was modeled accurately (R2 79% winter, 87% summer). Lack of fit in early spring was attributed to difficulty in predicting snowmelt. Overall, runoff from non-manured areas appeared to be the dominant TDP loading source factor.

Movement of coliform bacteria and nutrients in ground water flowing through basalt and sand aquifers.

Large-scale deposition of animal manure can result in contamination of surface and ground water and in potential transfer of disease-causing enteric bacteria to animals or humans. We measured total coliform bacteria (TC), fecal coliform bacteria (FC), NO3, NH4, total P, and PO4 in ground water flowing from basalt and sand aquifers, in wells into basalt and sand aquifers, in irrigation water, and in river water. Samples were collected monthly for 1 yr. Total coliform and FC numbers were always higher in irrigation water than in ground water, indicating that soil and sediment filtered most of these bacteria before they entered the aquifers. Total coliform and FC numbers in ground water were generally higher in the faster flowing basalt aquifer than in the sand aquifer, indicating that the slower flow and finer grain size may filter more TC and FC bacteria from water. At least one coliform bacterium/100 mL of water was found in ground water from both basalt and sand aquifers, indicating that ground water pumped from these aquifers is not necessarily safe for human consumption according to the American Public Health Association and the USEPA. The NO3 concentrations were usually higher in water flowing from the sand aquifer than in water flowing from the basalt aquifer or in perched water tables in the basalt aquifer. The PO4 concentrations were usually higher in water flowing from the basalt aquifer than in water flowing from the sand aquifer. The main concern is fecal contamination of these aquifers and health consequences that may arise from human consumption.

RUNOFF NUTRIENT AND FECAL COLIFORM CONTENT FROM CATTLE MANURE APPLICATION TO FESCUE PLOTS

ABSTRACT: Grazed pastures represent a potential source of non-point pollution. In comparison to other nonpoint sources (e.g., row-cropped lands), relatively little information exists regarding possible magnitudes of pollution from grazed pasture; how that pollution is affected by weather, soil, management and other variables; and how the pollution can be minimized. The objective of this study was to assess how the quality of runoff from fescue plots is influenced by duration of cattle manure application (4–12 weeks) and manure application strategy (none, weekly application of 1.4 kg/plot, and monthly application at 5.6 kg/plot). Additional analyses were performed to relate runoff quality to the timing of sample collection. The study was conducted at the University of Kentucky Maine Chance Agricultural Experiment Station north of Lexington. Plots (2.4 m wide by 6.1 m long) were constructed and established in Kentucky 31 fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) to represent pasture. Grazing was simulated by application of beef cattle manure to the plots. Runoff was generated by applying simulated rainfall approximately 4, S and 12 weeks following initiation of manure application. Runoff samples were collected and analyzed according to standard methods for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and fecal coliforms (FC). Runoff concentrations of N and P from manure-treated plots were low and generally not consistently different from control plot concentrations or related to manure application strategy. Runoff FC concentrations from manure-treated plots were higher than from control plot concentrations. Runoff concentrations of ammonia N, total Kjeldahl N, ortho-P and FC decreased approximately exponentially in response to increasing time of sample collection. These findings suggest that manure deposition on well-managed pasture at the rates used in this study might have a negligible impact on nutrient content of runoff.

Lipid biomarkers of manuring practice in relict anthropogenic soils

This investigation tests the extent to which free soil lipids reflect known manuring practices associated with a relict twelfth-to nineteenth-century anthropogenic deep top soil in West Mainland Orkney. The results demonstrate that total lipid extracts reflect the expected spatial variability in manuring intensity across the deep top soil area, declining with distance from the farmstead. Specific organic manure inputs are also identified; the presence of campesterol, sitosterol and 5β-stigmastanol confirm expected composted turf and ruminant animal manure application to the deep top soil area. A departure from the expected results is the presence of coprostanol, reflecting omnivorous animal manure deposition and confirmed as pig manure through the identification of hyodeoxycholic acid. These analyses establish that lipid biomarkers of past land-management activity are retained in medieval to early modern relict landscapes, and that they allow more precise identification of manure sources and patterns of deposition than conventional pedological techniques. Further, they suggest that historic documentation forms only a partial record of manuring practices

Disentangling Dung: Pathways to Stable Manure

(1998). Disentangling Dung: Pathways to Stable Manure. Environmental Archaeology: Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 123-126.

Phosphorus management on confinement dairies in southern Florida

Eliminating manure deposits from milk herd pasture through partial or total confinement of dairy animals is recognized as a waste management methodology which can have potential benefits for nutrient reduction in stormwater runoff. Though a common practice in other parts of the USA, high initial costs and risk associated with long term uncertainties of animal health and associated barn maintenance was sufficient to discourage South Florida dairymen from utilizing those systems. In 1987, new state regulations forced Lake Okeechobee area dairymen to design, construct, and operate animal waste management systems. The SFWMD provided cost-share support to one farm, Davie Dairy, Inc., to build and operate an animal confinement facility to demonstrate its feasibility as an effective nutrient control BMP for the area. Since its construction, the facility has contributed to a reduction of phosphorus in off-farm surface discharge and increased efficiency in milk production.

Stickstoff‐Eintrag und ‐Verbleib im Boden unter offenen und abgedeckten Mistmieten

Abstract Nitrogen penetration and persistence in soil under uncovered and covered farmyard manure heaps After deposition of cattle manure for 308 days neither the total nitrogen nor the nitrate but onlv the ammonia content in the soil (0–70 cm) was significantly increased. During a 258 days period from autumn to spring the observed microbial oxidation of penetrated ammonia to nitrate was tardy and by no means quantitative. So leaching of nitrate was hardly to be detected during the whole period. In the soil layer 40–70 cm a maximum of 1.6 g NO3−‐N/m2 was measured, which was in an equivalent range with the amounts detected by large scale investigations in agricultural soils at the same season. Therefore the manure heaps in question did not lead to an uncommon increase of nitrate in soil. The protection of the heaps against precipitation simply brought about small and only a few times significant reductions in soil Nmin content.

Chemical Water Quality of Runoff From Grazing Land in Nebraska: II. Contributing Factors

AbstractThe chemical quality of runoff water from a 32.5‐ha portion of a 40‐ha cow‐calf pasture area at the Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center near Clay Center, Nebr., was determined over a 3‐year period. Precipitation and hydrologic characteristics, stocking rates, and sediment contents in the runoff were used to predict the average concentrations of eight chemical constituents in the water. Predicted concentrations of NH4‐N, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, total phosphorus, total organic carbon, and chemical oxygen demand were directly related to the density of grazing livestock. A combination of one or more hydrologic or rainfall factors significantly improved the prediction. Leachates from the standing plant material, surface litter layer, surface soil, and manure deposits indicated manure and standing plant material were likely sources of most chemical constituents in runoff water. Chloride appeared to be a possible indicator of wildlife or livestock activity.

Biological and Ecological Investigations of Horn Flies in Central Texas: Influence of Time of Manure Deposition on Oviposition1

Fresh bovine manure was covered with emergence traps at 2-hr intervals during the day and night once a week from May to October to study the oviposition habits of the horn fly, Haematobia irritans (L.). The average production of adult horn flies per manure pat ranged from 39.9 between 8 and 10 AM to 99.0 between 2 and 4 AM. The overall production averages for the 22 weeks were 66.5 nies per pat; night averdge 81.5 per pat; day average 61.0 per pat. Thus, if provided with an oviposition medium, the horn fly female will oviposit day or night.