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Nitrate Leaching in a Sludge‐Treated Forest Soil
Author(s) -
Sidle R. C.,
Kardos L. T.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1979.03615995004300020006x
Subject(s) - leaching (pedology) , macropore , environmental science , tonne , nitrate , liter , hydrology (agriculture) , porosity , lysimeter , soil science , zoology , soil water , chemistry , geology , geotechnical engineering , biology , organic chemistry , mesoporous material , biochemistry , endocrinology , catalysis
Anaerobically digested liquid sludge was applied during two separate periods to plots in a mixed hardwood forest. High treatment plots received 26.96 metric tons/ha total solids and 3,034 kg/ha N loadings during the two applications, and low treatment plots received approximately half these loadings. Percolate samples collected at the 15‐cm depth contained a maximum of 290 mg/liter NO 3 ‐ ‐N in the high treatment and 194 mg/liter NO 3 ‐ ‐N in the low treatment. Maximum monthly levels of NO 3 ‐ ‐N in percolate sampled at the 120‐cm depth lagged 6 months behind peak levels at the 15‐cm depth. Calculated average active transmitting soil porosity ( P act ), based on field water budget data over this 6‐month period, ranged from 15 to 22%. A CSMP computer simulation model based on a solution to the convection diffusion equation estimated the average P act to be 15%. Since these data indicate that 27 to 50% of the pores may be stagnant, this suggests that soluble NO 3 ‐ ‐N was being channeled through interconnected macropores in the soil profile.