A simulated erosion approach to assess rates of cattle manure and phosphorus fertilizer for restoring productivity to eroded soils

doi:10.1016/S0167-8809(97)00047-9

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

Volume 65, Issue 2, 13 October 1997, Pages 113-126

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8809(97)00047-9 Get rights and content

Abstract

Erosion has reduced soil productivity in many areas of the world. Eroded soils remain unproductive unless appropriate soil amendments are applied. This study compared the effect of cattle manure and phosphorus (P) fertilizer rates in the restoration of soil productivity at three levels of simulated erosion on three calcareous soils in southern Alberta, Canada. In spring 1992, an existing simulated erosion experiment was modified to examine the effect of four rates of cattle manure (0, 24, 48 and 72 Mg ha⁻¹) and three rates of P (low, recommended, high) in restoring the productivity of three soils which had 0, 10 and 20 cm of topsoil removed to simulate non-, moderate and severe erosion. The sites were cropped to spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) for up to four years. Crop yield response to manure was of the order severe erosion > moderate erosion > non-eroded, which suggests that greatest benefits are achieved by applying manure to the most severely eroded areas of the landscape. For example on one site (Lethbridge Dryland in 1992), application of 24 Mg ha⁻¹ of manure increased grain yield by 0.58 Mg ha⁻¹ on the severely eroded soil, 0.25 Mg ha⁻¹ on the moderately eroded soil and 0.16 Mg ha⁻¹ on the non-eroded soil compared to the non-manured treatments at each erosion level. High levels of soil NO₃-N after manure application were largely responsible for maintaining high crop yields and restoring soil productivity. Manure was a better compensator for soil erosion than P fertilizer, apparently, in part, because fertilizer P was immobilized by high levels of calcium carbonates in exposed surfaces after simulated erosion.

References (34)

S.F. Siebert et al.
Influence of topsoil removal and fertilizer application on peanut yields from an Indonesian Ultisol
Agric. Ecosyst. Environ.
(1990)
J.L. Abbott et al.
Persistence of manure phosphorus availability in calcareous soil
E. Afif et al.
Availability of phosphate applied to calcareous soils of West Asia and North Africa
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.
(1993)
M.A. Bachtell et al.
Building fertility in exposed subsoil
C.W. Carlson et al.
Corn growth on Gardena surface and subsoil as affected by applications of fertilizer and manure
P.M. Carr et al.
Farming soils, not fields: A strategy for increasing fertilizer profitability
J. Prod. Agric.
(1991)
J.F. Dormaar et al.
Effectiveness of manure and commercial fertilizer in restoring productivity of an artificially eroded Dark Brown Chernozemic soil under dryland conditions
Can. J. Soil Sci.
(1988)
H.O. Eck
Characteristics of exposed subsoil — at exposure and 23 years later
Agron. J.
(1987)
B. El-Baruni et al.
Effect of manure on solubility of phosphorus in calcareous soils
Soil Sci.
(1979)
B.S. Freeze et al.
Risk simulation of the economics of manure application to restore eroded wheat cropland
Can. J. Soil Sci.
(1993)

W.W. Frye et al.

Restoration of crop productivity on eroded or degraded soils

P.B.S. Hart et al.

Use of nitrogen fertiliser in restoration of pasture productivity and soil fertility after topsoil mining, New Zealand

J. Agric. Res.

(1988)

R.M. Ives et al.

Effect of simulated erosion on wheat yields on the humid Canadian prairie

J. Soil Wat. Cons.

(1985)

R. Lal

Monitoring soil erosion's impact on soil productivity

F.J. Larney et al.

Soil erosion-crop productivity relationships for six Alberta soils

J. Soil Water Cons.

(1995)

F.J. Larney et al.

Restoration of productivity to a desurfaced soil with livestock manure, crop residue and fertilizer amendments

Agron. J.

(1996)

F.J. Larney et al.

Efficacy of inorganic fertilizers in restoring wheat yields on artificially eroded soils

Can. J. Soil Sci.

(1995)

Cited by (20)

Soil evolution after land-reshaping in mountains areas (Aosta Valley, NW Italy)
2015, Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment
Citation Excerpt :
A reduction of the soil structural stability has been in fact reported as a potential effect of disturbance in mountain soils, together with a reduction of soil consistency (Cerdà, 2000; Stanchi et al., 2008, 2009, 2012). Manuring, together with compost addition and subsequent re-seeding, is a widely used practice in anthropogenic soils (Pagliai et al., 2004; Buondonno et al., 2013) and it has been adopted in the management and rebuilding of Alpine grasslands and agricultural soils, too (Larney and Janzen, 1997; Liu et al., 2006; Bassignana et al., 2011). The use of seeds from introduced grass species has been commonly suggested to establish new vegetation cover in mountain areas (Hagen et al., 2014), in order to increase the speed of natural recovery after disturbances.
Mountain agriculture needs to face several limitations related to climate and topography. Land levelling, reshaping, and terracing are widely adopted in Europe, in order to ease mechanization and make agriculture more profitable. However, while the economic and productive benefits of these operations are well known, the effects on soil chemical and physical properties are not always assessed, and need constant monitoring over time. Intense soil rebuilding has been carried out in Aosta Valley (NW Italian Alps) to improve the accessibility and mechanization, including irrigation, of mountain grasslands.
In this research we considered 3 study sites established in grasslands subject to soil rebuilding practices. The aim was to investigate the effects of land-reshaping operations on soil chemical and physical properties, by comparing changes in some selected soil properties such as organic C and soil laboratory indexes for quantifying soil structural resistance.
The soil profiles generally showed a simpler morphology after rebuilding. Soil structure and consistency, that are recognized as soil physical quality indicators, after a sharp negative effect of the disturbance (i.e. decrease in liquid limit, increased soil aggregates loss) generally showed a trend towards the restoration of the characteristics of the original soils in the medium or long-term time span. Despite the limited sample size, the results represent a first attempt to assess the effects of a technique which is being more and more applied in a mountain region, such as the Aosta Valley Region, where manufactured soils are a significant part of agricultural land. The main findings of our research indicated that: (1) structure and consistency of soils (i.e. aggregate loss, LL, PL) can be used as indicators of soil quality in response of anthropogenic soil disturbance due to land-reshaping operations, as they reflect the evolution of soil properties after intense disturbance; (2) after disturbance, soil recovery was relatively quick, despite the strong deterioration of the physical quality in the immediate (∼6–12 months) aftermath of the operations.
Erosion-productivity-soil amendment relationships for wheat over 16 years
2009, Soil and Tillage Research
Soil erosion remains a threat to our global soil resource. This study was conducted to ascertain the effects of simulated erosion on soil productivity and methods for its amendment. Incremental depths (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 cm) of surface soil, or cuts, were mechanically removed to simulate erosion at two sites (one Dryland, one Irrigated) in southern Alberta in 1990. Three amendment treatments (nitrogen + phosphorus fertilizer, 5 cm of topsoil, or 75 Mg ha⁻¹ of feedlot manure) and a check were superimposed on each of the cuts. The sites were cropped annually until 2006. Average grain yield reductions during 16 years were 10.0% for 5 cm, 19.5% for 10 cm, 29.0% for 15 cm, and 38.5% for 20 cm of topsoil removal. There was evidence that the restoration of productivity levelled off at a value less than the non-eroded treatment rather than gradually converging on it, within the timeline of the study. Average grain yield loss was 50 kg ha⁻¹ cm⁻¹ yr⁻¹ at the Dryland site and 59 kg ha⁻¹ cm⁻¹ yr⁻¹ at the Irrigated site. As the depth of cut increased, the average residual effect (1993–2006) of manure increased, e.g., on the 5 cm cut, the residual effect (over the equivalent cut check treatment) was 20.9%, climbing to 41.9% on the 20 cm cut. Amendments ranked manure > topsoil > fertilizer in terms of restoring productivity to the desurfaced soils. The average grain yield during 16 years on the check treatment fell 2.1% cm⁻¹ depth of topsoil removal on the Dryland site and 1.7% cm⁻¹ for the Irrigated site. In contrast, grain yield on the manure treatment fell by 0.8% cm⁻¹ on the Dryland site and 0.9% cm⁻¹ on the Irrigated site. The study reinforces the need to prevent erosion and indicates that application of livestock manure is an option for restoring soil productivity in the short term.
Enhancing Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Crop Plants
2005, Advances in Agronomy
Citation Excerpt :
Similarly, wheat‐soybean double cropping systems have gained wide acceptance in the southeastern United States and Argentina (Board et al., 2003). These cropping systems bring greater profitability compared with monocropped soybean (Larreche and Brenta, 1999; Wesley et al., 1995). Besides greater profitability, double cropping also provides better erosion and pollution control (Elmore et al., 1992; Kessavalou and Walters, 1997).
Nitrogen is the most limiting nutrient for crop production in many of the world's agricultural areas and its efficient use is important for the economic sustainability of cropping systems. Furthermore, the dynamic nature of N and its propensity for loss from soil‐plant systems creates a unique and challenging environment for its efficient management. Crop response to applied N and use efficiency are important criteria for evaluating crop N requirements for maximum economic yield. Recovery of N in crop plants is usually less than 50% worldwide. Low recovery of N in annual crop is associated with its loss by volatilization, leaching, surface runoff, denitrification, and plant canopy. Low recovery of N is not only responsible for higher cost of crop production, but also for environmental pollution. Hence, improving N use efficiency (NUE) is desirable to improve crop yields, reducing cost of production, and maintaining environmental quality. To improve N efficiency in agriculture, integrated N management strategies that take into consideration improved fertilizer along with soil and crop management practices are necessary. Including livestock production with cropping offers one of the best opportunities to improve NUE. Synchrony of N supply with crop demand is essential in order to ensure adequate quantity of uptake and utilization and optimum yield. This paper discusses N dynamics in soil‐plant systems, and outlines management options for enhancing N use by annual crops.
Impact of soil erosion on crop yields in North America
2001, Advances in Agronomy
This chapter uses spatially referenced data to link study sites with soil orders and erosion rates to estimate the productivity losses in each soil order. This information is used to estimate the production and economic losses due to soil erosion for four crops that have been the subject of most erosion-productivity studies in North America: maize (Zea mays L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), soybeans (Glycine max (L.) Merr.), and cotton (Gossypium spp. L.). Soil loss is used as an indicator of erosion. In accord with most of the studies reviewed, topsoil depth (TSD) is used as the independent variable. Furthermore, several features of the estimated aggregate annual economic losses in productivity due to soil erosion are important. Each of these features underscores the success of past policy measures in providing farmers with incentives to adopt soil conservation measures, and the importance of continued policy efforts to promote such adoption in the future, to realize conservation goals that are important to society as a whole and to sustain productivity levels over the long term.
Soil erosion has mixed effects on the environmental impacts of wheat production in a large, semi-arid Mediterranean agricultural basin
2024, Agronomy for Sustainable Development
Soil quality attributes, soil resilience, and legacy effects following topsoil removal and one-time amendments
2016, Canadian Journal of Soil Science

View all citing articles on Scopus

View full text

A simulated erosion approach to assess rates of cattle manure and phosphorus fertilizer for restoring productivity to eroded soils

Abstract

Agric. Ecosyst. Environ.

Persistence of manure phosphorus availability in calcareous soil

Availability of phosphate applied to calcareous soils of West Asia and North Africa

Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.

Building fertility in exposed subsoil

Corn growth on Gardena surface and subsoil as affected by applications of fertilizer and manure

Farming soils, not fields: A strategy for increasing fertilizer profitability

J. Prod. Agric.

Effectiveness of manure and commercial fertilizer in restoring productivity of an artificially eroded Dark Brown Chernozemic soil under dryland conditions

Can. J. Soil Sci.

Characteristics of exposed subsoil — at exposure and 23 years later

Agron. J.

Effect of manure on solubility of phosphorus in calcareous soils

Soil Sci.

Risk simulation of the economics of manure application to restore eroded wheat cropland

Can. J. Soil Sci.

Restoration of crop productivity on eroded or degraded soils

Use of nitrogen fertiliser in restoration of pasture productivity and soil fertility after topsoil mining, New Zealand

J. Agric. Res.

Effect of simulated erosion on wheat yields on the humid Canadian prairie

J. Soil Wat. Cons.

Monitoring soil erosion's impact on soil productivity

Soil erosion-crop productivity relationships for six Alberta soils

J. Soil Water Cons.

Restoration of productivity to a desurfaced soil with livestock manure, crop residue and fertilizer amendments

Agron. J.

Efficacy of inorganic fertilizers in restoring wheat yields on artificially eroded soils

Can. J. Soil Sci.