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The fate of nitrate in cattle slurries acidified with nitric acid

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

R. J. Stevens ,
R. J. Laughlin  and
C. J. O'Bric
R. J. Stevens
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland, Agricultural and Environmental Science Division, Newforge Lane, Belfast BT9 5PX, UK The Queen's University of Belfast, Agricultural and Environmental Science Department, Newforge Lane, Belfast BT9 5PX, UK
R. J. Laughlin
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland, Agricultural and Environmental Science Division, Newforge Lane, Belfast BT9 5PX, UK
C. J. O'Bric
Affiliation:
The Queen's University of Belfast, Agricultural and Environmental Science Department, Newforge Lane, Belfast BT9 5PX, UK
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Summary

The fate of NO3- in raw and anaerobically-digested cattle slurries acidified with HNO3 was studied in a laboratory incubation experiment at the Agriculture and Food Science Centre, Belfast, in 1992. Four amounts (20, 30, 40 and 50 g) of each slurry type were acidified with five rates of HNO3 supplying 0·7, 1·4, 2·1, 2·8 and 3·5 mg N/g enriched to 10 atom% 15N. The slurries were stored in 500 ml glass jars for 7 days at 20 °C. The jars were left open to allow O2 supply by diffusion through the slurry surface to create varying degrees of aeration depending on slurry depth. Fluxes of N2 and N2O were measured from each jar for 2 h each day. The pH was measured after each gas flux measurement and HNO3--N recovery as NO3--N measured at the end of the incubation.

For raw cattle slurry, almost none of the HNO3--N was recovered as NO3--N at the 0·7 or 1·4 mg HNO3-N/g rates, but recovery was not significantly different (P > 0·05) from 100% at the 2·8 and 3·5 mg HNO3-N/g rates. At the 21 mg HNO3-N/g rate, recovery was higher when larger amounts of slurry were incubated, indicating that O2 could promote NO3-loss. Average pH during the incubation period had to be < 5·5 for recovery of HNO3-N as NO3-N to be > 90%. For digested cattle slurry, recovery was > 87% at the 0·7 mg HNO3-N/g rate and not significantly different (P > 0·05) from 100% at all other acid rates.

Fluxes of N2 and N2O were not detected from any digested slurry treatment but were measured in all raw slurry treatments. Gaseous losses occurred after incubation for 1 day, and maximum flux rates occurred after incubation for 2 days. Fluxes were highest from incubations with the intermediate amounts of slurry containing 1·4 mg HNO3-N/g. The largest observed flux from an individual jar was 322 μg N2-N/g/2 h with 40 g of slurry containing 1·4 mg HNO3-N/g, which would have accounted for a loss of 23% of the added HNO3-N during this period. Nitrous oxide and N2 were always evolved simultaneously and when the pH was between 7 and 9. On average, 90% of the total loss of N-gases was as N2.

The raw slurry contained much higher concentrations of volatile fatty acids than the digested slurry. If HNO3 is added to slurries containing such readily decomposable substrates, the NO3- is susceptible to loss as N2 and N2O by denitrification. Oxygen supply, pH and substrate availability control the rate of denitrification.

Type
Crops and Soils
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 125 , Issue 2 , October 1995 , pp. 239 - 244
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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