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Division S-3—Soil Biology & Biochemistry

Microbial Nitrogen Transformations in Response to Treated Dairy Waste in Agricultural Soils

^a Dep. of Soil Science, North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC 27695
^b Dep. of Plants, Soils, and Biometeorology, Utah State Univ., Logan, UT 84322

^* Corresponding author (wei_shi{at}ncsu.edu)

Dairy wastes are commonly applied to croplands as N fertilizers, but the dynamics of N release and transformations during the growing season are difficult to predict. We compared N mineralization kinetics and examined microbial N transformations in soil receiving dairy-waste compost vs. lagoon effluent. Mineralization kinetics was examined with a 70-d laboratory incubation, and a first-order model was used to derive mineralization parameters. Measurements of N transformations were conducted with ¹⁵N pool dilution techniques in silage corn field plots that were unfertilized or fertilized with ammonium sulfate, lagoon effluent, or compost at two rates equivalent to 100 or 200 kg available N ha^–1. The N mineralization potential was higher and the first-order rate constant was lower in soil receiving compost than lagoon effluent. Approximately 6% of compost N was mineralized within 2.5 mo; in contrast, up to 90% lagoon effluent organic N was released. However, silage yield was greatest in the compost treatment, showing that synchronization of N availability is as important as the amount mineralized. The field ¹⁵N measurements indicated that microbial NO^–₃ consumption was negligible despite the treatments. Microbial NH⁺₄ immobilization in soil receiving dairy wastes was similar to that in soil unfertilized or fertilized with inorganic N. Soil treated with the high-rate compost had the highest rates of mineralization and nitrification, which led to the highest soil NO^–₃ accumulation. Our observations suggest that peak plant demand is met by the compost N; however, its high N mineralization potential makes the management of dairy compost a difficult task.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Y. Habteselassie, B. E. Miller, S. G. Thacker, J. M. Stark, and J. M. Norton Soil Nitrogen and Nutrient Dynamics after Repeated Application of Treated Dairy-Waste Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., June 21, 2006; 70(4): 1328 - 1337. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Y. Habteselassie, J. M. Stark, B. E. Miller, S. G. Thacker, and J. M. Norton Gross Nitrogen Transformations in an Agricultural Soil after Repeated Dairy-Waste Application Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., June 21, 2006; 70(4): 1338 - 1348. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]