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Lime placement on subsoil as a strategy to reduce phosphorus leaching from agricultural soils
Author(s) -
Andersson H.,
Bergström L.,
Djodjic F.,
Ulén B.,
Kirchmann H.
Publication year - 2016
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/sum.12290
Subject(s) - subsoil , leaching (pedology) , lime , topsoil , soil water , environmental science , agronomy , leachate , soil science , environmental chemistry , chemistry , geology , paleontology , biology
Leaching of phosphorus (P) from agricultural land is a major contributor to eutrophication of surface waters in many countries, and effective mitigation options to reduce P in leachate are needed. In this study, intact columns (0.77 m deep) of subsoil from three Swedish agricultural soils (one sand and two clay) were used to examine whether placing quicklime (calcium oxide, CaO) on the subsoil could reduce P leaching over a 3‐yr period. Leaching of particulate P ( PP ) was significantly less from clay soil columns with lime than from clay soil columns without ( P < 0.001 and P < 0.05, respectively), with a relative reduction of 49 and 51% in the two soils. Leaching of dissolved reactive P ( DRP ) was less from sand columns with lime than from sand columns without, although not significantly so due to large variation in P leaching between columns. These results indicate that placement of lime on subsoil has potential to reduce P leaching, especially of PP from clay soils. However, more studies including both topsoil and subsoil and a range of soil types are needed to assess the full potential of this P mitigation option.