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Effects of deer grazing and fence‐line pacing on water and soil quality
Author(s) -
McDowell R.W.,
Drewry J.J.,
Paton R.J.
Publication year - 2004
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.1475-2743.2004.tb00374.x
Subject(s) - grazing , surface runoff , environmental science , soil water , hydrology (agriculture) , water quality , sediment , zoology , agronomy , soil science , ecology , geology , biology , geomorphology , geotechnical engineering
. We studied the effects of red deer grazing and fence‐line pacing on soil losses of contaminants (suspended sediment, Escherichia coli , phosphorus) and nitrogen species (ammonia, nitrate) via overland flow and soil physical properties (macroporosity, bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity, K sat ) soon after (1 day) and 6 weeks after grazing on a Pallic pastoral soil in southern New Zealand. Fence‐line pacing decreased the soil volume occupied by water, macroporosity and K sat , while increasing suspended sediment (to 0.226 g 100 mL −1 ), total P (to 2.0 mg L −1 ), mainly as particulate P (up to 90% of total P), and E. coli (to 3.52 log 10 c.f.u. 100 mL −1 ) concentrations in overland flow at 1 day after grazing compared with soils from the rest of the paddock (0.148 g 100 mL −1 , 0.86 mg L −1 and 2.86 log 10 c.f.u. 100 mL −1 , respectively). Although concentrations in overland flow were less at 6 weeks after grazing than at 1 day after grazing, losses of P, especially in fence‐line soils, were still above recommended limits for surface water quality. Compared to P, losses of N species would be unlikely to have a significant impact on downstream water quality. Management strategies should be directed towards minimizing the occurrence of fence‐line pacing to prevent contaminant loss and maintain water and soil quality.