Gross Nitrogen Transformations in an Agricultural Soil after Repeated Dairy-Waste Application

Measurements of gross N transformation rates are important to properly understand N cycling processes in agricultural soils where both productive and consumptive processes occur. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of repeated application of dairy-waste compost (DC), liquid dairy-...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Soil Science Society of America journal 2006-07, Vol.70 (4), p.1338-1348
Main Authors: Habteselassie, M.Y, Stark, J.M, Miller, B.E, Thacker, S.G, Norton, J.M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
agricultural soils
Agriculture
alkaline soils
ammonium sulfate
biological activity in soil
calcareous soils
composted manure
Composting
Dairy farms
dairy manure
fertilizer application
irrigated soils
liquid manure
mineralization
Nitrification
Nitrogen
Organic waste treatment
Soil sciences
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Summary:Measurements of gross N transformation rates are important to properly understand N cycling processes in agricultural soils where both productive and consumptive processes occur. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of repeated application of dairy-waste compost (DC), liquid dairy-waste (LW), and ammonium sulfate (AS) on gross N mineralization and nitrification rates and N supplying potential of an agricultural soil. Our goal was to examine both production and consumption of inorganic N for their effects on the balance between N supply from treated dairy-wastes and plant N demand. Treatments were applied at rates approximately equivalent to 100 and 200 kg available N ha⁻¹ for 6 yr annually. Field-based N¹⁵ pool dilution techniques and laboratory incubation experiments were employed to measure gross rates and mineralization potential of the soil. Both levels of DC raised the labile organic N pool significantly but only the high level DC significantly increased the decomposition rate constant (k). The mean gross N mineralization rates for 1999 to 2002 for the high levels of DC, LW, and AS were 5.72, 2.89, and 1.27 mg N kg⁻¹ d⁻¹, whereas gross nitrification rates were 10.24, 1.57, and 0.74 mg N kg⁻¹ d⁻¹, respectively. Net mineralization rates were
ISSN:0361-5995
1435-0661
DOI:10.2136/sssaj2005.0190