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Effects of Long‐term Application of Slurry on Soil Nitrogen Mineralization
Author(s) -
Maidl F. X.,
Fischbeck G.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
journal of agronomy and crop science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.095
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1439-037X
pISSN - 0931-2250
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-037x.1989.tb00722.x
Subject(s) - slurry , agronomy , mineralization (soil science) , leaching (pedology) , nitrification , environmental science , nitrogen , arable land , nitrogen cycle , manure , soil water , chemistry , soil science , environmental engineering , biology , ecology , agriculture , organic chemistry
Field trials were conducted for two years on two farms which differed in long‐term application of slurry in order to study the long‐term effect of slurry and the effect of application time (no slurry, slurry autumn, slurry spring) on the dynamics of nitrogen in the soil. The results can be summarized as follows: On the farm with long‐term application of slurry, (“livestock farm”), nitrate‐content in the soil was markedly higher than on the farm without slurry application (“arable farm”). This is due to a more intensive N‐mineralization during autumn and spring. On the livestock farm a remarkably high mineralization of nitrogen was observed at soil temperatures near 0°C, while on the “arable farm” N‐mineralization started only at temperatures above +4°C. The high N‐mineralization during autumn on the “livestock farm” implies the risk of N leaching into deeper soil layers during winter. Slurry application caused a large increase of mineralized nitrogen in soil. No site‐differences in decomposition of actual slurry applications have been observed. High N infiltration‐rates may occur when slurry is applied in autumn, depending on the amount of autumn and winter rainfall. Thes risk of nitrogen leaching also persists, when slurry is applied in spring and crops with late N‐uptake are cultivated (e.g. sugar beet). The intensive leaching of nitrogen after application of slurry is caused by the fast nitrification of slurry‐NH 4 , which may happen even at low temperatures.