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Nitrate leaching and intensive outdoor pig production
Author(s) -
Worthington T. R.,
Danks P. W.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
soil use and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.709
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1475-2743
pISSN - 0266-0032
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-2743.1992.tb00895.x
Subject(s) - leaching (pedology) , environmental science , nitrate , stocking , aquifer , soil water , environmental engineering , crop production , environmental protection , groundwater , agriculture , ecology , soil science , geography , engineering , forestry , biology , geotechnical engineering
. The production of pigs in outdoor units is gaining in popularity in the United Kingdom and is often concentrated on free‐draining soils over important aquifers. Originally, stocking rates were sufficiently low to ensure the maintenance of a grass crop, but recently they have increased. Pigs are natural ‘rooters’ and wallowers and so cause damage to vegetation and soil structure. With overstocking these natural activities lead to considerable areas of bare, uncropped ground for much of the year. This paper assesses the potential for leaching of nitrate from such land, and makes recommendations for decreasing it.