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Ammonia Volatilization from Liquid Swine Manure Applied to Cropland
Author(s) -
Hoff J. D.,
Nelson D. W.,
Sutton A. L.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq1981.00472425001000010020x
Subject(s) - volatilisation , manure , ammonia volatilization from urea , liquid manure , ammonia , tonne , chemistry , environmental science , zoology , environmental chemistry , agronomy , organic chemistry , biology
Randomized complete block design field experiments were conducted to determine the effects of rates and methods of liquid swine manure application on volatile NH 3 ‐N losses from cropland. In addition, a greenhouse study was conducted to determine the effect of wind on the rate of NH 3 ‐N volatilization from soil and the accuracy of NH 3 ‐N loss measurements under field conditions. A partially closed system was utilized to directly collect volatilized NH 3 ‐N from microplots. The NH 3 ‐N collection system did not accurately estimate volatile N losses when windy conditions existed as often encountered in the field. Using direct measurement of NH 4 + ‐N in waste before and after exposure to the atmosphere to correct for the low estimates of NH 3 ‐N loss under field conditions, an average of 48.1% of the volatilized N was collected under greenhouse conditions with relatively constant temperature and wind. The rate of NH 3 ‐N loss from manure increased with increasing temperature and air movement. The proportions of the applied NH 4 + ‐N lost as NH 3 ‐N during a 3.5‐day sampling period in the spring from swine manure (pH 6.4) applied to soil (pH 6.4) and corrected for the effect of wind were: 14.0%, 12.2%, and 11.2% for the 90, 135 and 180 metric ton/ha, respectively, of surface applied liquid swine manure; 2.5% for both the 90 and 180 metric ton rates, respectively, of injected liquid swine manure; 14.7% for surface applied urea fertilizer (168 kg N/ha); and 65.8% of the applied NH 4 + ‐N from swine manure surface applied (90 metric tons/ha) on a plastic liner. Fresh swine manure (pH 7.8) surface applied at the rate of 135 metric tons/ha on greenhouse loam soil (pH 7.0) lost 82.5% of the applied NH 4 + ‐N in an 8‐day sampling period.