Manure application setback effect on phosphorus and sediment in runoff

Ahmed Al-wadaey^{1, 6}, S. Charles Wortmann^2*, A. Charles Shapiro³, G. Thomas Franti⁴ and E. Dean Eisenhauer⁵

¹Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln NE 68583-0915, USA.

²Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, 58C Filley Hall,

Lincoln NE 68583-0951, 402 472 2902, USA.

³Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, 279 Plant Science, Lincoln NE 68583-0951, 402 584 3803, USA.

⁴Department of Biosystems Engineering, University of Nebraska, 242 Chase Hall, Lincoln NE 68583-0726, 402 472 9872, USA.

⁵Department of Biosystems Engineering, University of Nebraska, 238 Chase Hall, Lincoln NE 68583-0726, 402 472 1637, USA.

⁶ICARDA, P. O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syrian Arab Republic.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: cwortman@unlnotes.edu.

Accepted 2 July, 2010

 Abstract

Surface application of animal manure increases nutrients at the soil surface with increased potential for nutrient loss in runoff. Non-application setbacks are often required with the intent to reduce nutrient loss to surface water. The objective of this research was to determine the effect of setback distance on phosphorus and sediment in runoff. The research was conducted in eastern Nebraska on 24 ha of a terraced field with a 4 to 7% slope and predominantly Yutan silty clay loam Mollic Hapludalf soil. Experimental units were drainage areas served by risers for the tile-outlet terrace system. The seven treatments included no manure applied and setbacks with radii of 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, and 40 m; the setback distances were limited on the terrace side by the top of the terrace bund. Composted feedlot manure was applied at approximately 74 Mg ha^-1 with 222 kg Pha^-1 applied. Over a two-year period, the mean precipitation was 770 mm per year and six major runoff events occurred. Setback distance did not affect dissolved P, particulate P, total P, and sediment concentrations or losses except that sediment loss was greater by 51% with increased setback distance, confirming the value of manure in reducing soil erodibility. Sediment and P concentrations were related to time since the on-set of a runoff event and peak intensity of rainfall events. The results show that manure application setbacks around risers on fields protected with tile-outlet terraces are ineffective in reducing P and sediment runoff. 

Key words: CAFO, compost, concentrated animal feeding operations, ISCO, terraces, water quality.