Short-term influence of anaerobically-digested and conventional swine manure, and N fertilizer on organic C and N, and available nutrients in two contrasting soils

A three-year (2006-2008) field experiment was conducted at Swift Current and Star City in Saskatchewan to determine the short-term in-fluence of land-applied anaerobically digested swine manure (ADSM), conventionally treated swine manure (CTSM) and N fertilizer on total organic C (TOC), total organic N (TON), light fraction organic C (LFOC), light fraction organic N (LFON) and pH in the 0 - 7.5 and 7.5 - 15 cm soil layers, and ammonium-N, nitrate-N, extractable P, exchangeable K and sulphate-S in the 0 - 15, 15 - 30, 30 - 60, 60 - 90 and 90 - 120 cm soil layers. Treatments included spring and autumn applications of CTSM and ADSM at a 1x rate (10,000 and 7150 L·ha-1, respectively) applied each year, a 3x rate (30,000 and 21,450 L·ha-1, respectively) applied once at the beginning of the experiment, plus a treatment receiving commercial fertilizer (UAN at 60 kg·N·ha-1·yr-1) and a zero-N control. There was no effect of swine manure rate, type and application time on soil pH. Mass of TOC and TON in the 15 cm soil layer increased significantly with swine manure application compared to the control, mainly at the Swift Current site, with greater increases from 3x rate than 1x rate (by 2.21 Mg·C·ha-1 and 0.167 Mg·N·ha-1). Compared to the control, mass of LFOC and LFON in the 15 cm soil layer increased with swine manure application at sites, with greater increases from 3x rate than 1x rate (by 287 kg·C·ha-1 and 26 kg·N·ha-1 at Star City, and by 194 kg·C·ha-1 and 19·kg·N ha-1 at Swift Current). Mass of TOC and TON in soil layer was tended to be greater with ADSM than CTSM, but mass of LFOC and LFON in soil was greater with CTSM than ADSM. Mass of TOC, TON, LFOC and LFON in soil also increased with annual N fertilizer application compared to the control (by 3.2 Mg·C·ha-1 for TOC, 0.195 Mg·N·ha-1 for TON, 708 kg·C·ha-1 for LFOC and 45 kg·N·ha-1 for LFON). In conclusion, our findings suggest that the quantity and quality of organic C and N in soil can be affected by swine manure rate and type, and N fertilization even after three years, most likely by influencing inputs of C and N through crop residue, and improve soil quality.

Effects of broad-leaf crop frequency in various rotations on soil organic C and N, and inorganic N in a Dark Brown soil

The objective of this study was to determine the impact of frequency of broad-leaf crops canola and pea in various crop rotations on pH, total organic C (TOC), total organic N (TON), light fraction organic C (LFOC) and light fraction organic N (LFON) in the 0 - 7.5 and 7.5 - 15 cm soil depths in autumn 2009 after 12 years (1998-2009) on a Dark Brown Chernozem (Typic Boroll) loam at Scott, Saskatchewan, Canada. The field ex-periment contained monoculture canola (herbicide tolerant and blackleg resistant hybrid) and monoculture pea compared with rotations that contained these crops every 2-, 3-, and 4-yr with wheat. There was no effect of crop rotation duration and crop phase on soil pH. Mass of TOC and TON in the 0 - 15 cm soil was greater in canola phase than pea phase in the 1-yr (monoculture) and 2-yr crop rotations, while the opposite was true in the 3-yr and 4-yr crop rotations. Mass of TOC and TON (averaged across crop phases,) in soil generally increased with increasing crop rotation duration, with the maximum in the 4-yr rotation while no difference in the 1-yr and 2-yr rotations. Mass of LFOC and LFON in soil was greater in canola phase than pea phase in the 1-yr, 2-yr and 3-yr rotations, but the opposite was true in the 4-yr rotation. There was no consistent effect of crop rotation duration on mass of LFOC and LFON. The N balance sheet over the 1998 to 2009 period indicated large amounts of unaccounted N for monoculture pea, suggesting a great potential for N loss from the soil-plant system in this treatment through nitrate leaching and/or denitrification. In conclusion, the findings suggest that the quantity of organic C and N can be maximized by increasing duration of crop rotation and by including hybrid canola in the rotation.