ISSN:
1365-2389
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Geosciences
,
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
Notes:
The fate of 15N-labelled synthetic urine (50 g N m−2) applied to an irrigated pasture soil was studied using large undisturbed monolith lysimeters (800 mm diameter × 1200 mm deep). Over a period of 1 year, the pasture plants recovered the largest fraction of the applied 15N (43%) and approximately 20% of the applied 15N still remained in the soil, the majority of which was found in the topsoil (0–20 cm). Although the experiment was conducted under relatively intense rainfall and irrigation conditions, only 8% of the applied 15N was found to have leached below 1200 mm after 1 year. During this time, the average peak concentration of nitrate in the leachate reached 42 mg NO3−-N dm−3. The amount of nitrogen (N) lost by the process of denitrification was calculated as 28% of the applied 15N. This large loss of N to the atmosphere was attributed to the wet soil conditions which prevailed.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.1994.tb00529.x
