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Denitrification Losses from Outdoor Piglet Production: Spatial and Temporal Variability
Author(s) -
Petersen S.O.,
Kristensen K.,
Eriksen J.
Publication year - 2001
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/jeq2001.3031051x
Subject(s) - denitrification , environmental science , transect , nutrient , spatial variability , zoology , hydrology (agriculture) , nitrate , environmental chemistry , agronomy , nitrogen , ecology , chemistry , biology , statistics , mathematics , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , engineering
Animal welfare considerations have stimulated the development of outdoor piglet ( Sus scrofa ) production systems, but the high levels of nutrients excreted suggest that nutrient losses from this system may be high. This study first described the spatial distribution of denitrification activity in a 5‐ × 5‐m grid within and outside a paddock immediately after the sows (32 sows ha −1 for 6 mo) were removed in October 1997, and again the following March. Denitrification rates averaged 0.01 kg N ha −1 d −1 outside, and 0.5 kg N ha −1 d −1 inside the paddock in October, while the corresponding figures in March were 0.01 and 0.1 kg N ha −1 d −1 The highest denitrification rates were observed around the feeder, and this was also the case for concentrations of dissolved organic C and inorganic N in the soil. A statistical model that included both soil parameters and distance to feeder and huts gave the best description of the variability, but there was no significant autocorrelation between sampling points. In a second phase, seasonal variation of denitrification activity within a paddock (12 sows ha −1 yr −1 ) was quantified; 10 soil cores were sampled along a transect 11 times between March 1998 and February 1999. There was a significant positive effect of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) on denitrification at <25% gravimetric soil moisture (i.e., to November in this study). Both climate and management (position of huts and feeder) appeared to influence denitrification, which was estimated to be 69 kg N ha −1 yr −1 , or 11% of the N surplus of this production system.