Abstract

FERRARI, Javier Luis; MARTINEZ, Eduardo Enrique; CREMONA, María Victoria  and  MAZZARINO, María Julia. Determination of inorganic nitrogen and phosphates at different soil depths beneath manure piles. Cienc. suelo [online]. 2012, vol.30, n.2, pp.179-186. ISSN 1850-2067.

In the Andean - Patagonian region, nutrient supply for different crops is frequently made using wood chips mixed with manure. These materials are accumulated in piles of 1.5 - 2 m height. As the piles remain for a period of time outdoors, a partial composting may occur, which would be beneficial. Composting is a biooxidative process, involving an organic substrate, a thermophilic phase that must be reached (55°C) and a maturity stage. If the manure piles remain outdoors, nutrients can also be transported by water and lost from the soil through percolation (particulary during winter months of higher precipitations). With the objective of studying if extractable phosphorus in NaHCO₃ 0.5M (P-Ol of phosphorus Olsen) and inorganic nitrogen (Nin;ammonium plus nitrates) move beneath the piles of manure, composites soil samples were taken from three blocks at different depths in a farm near the town of El Bolsón. The relationship between P-Ol (agronomic threshold) and extractable P in 0.01 M CaCl₂ (environmental threshold) was also studied. Manure temperatures were taken in different seasons. Nin showed a high data dispersion and excessively high mean values up to the 200 cm depth. Average values (of three blocks) found for P exceeded the threshold limit of 60 mg kg-1 P-Ol only on the first sampling date in the 0-20cm depth, although individual data for each block reached 52 mg kg-1 in the 40-60 cm depth. A statistically significant linear regression between P-Ol and P-CaCl₂ in soils was obtained, and a threshold near 50/60 mg kg-1, similar to the values reported in the literature. High values for both parameters were found in manures. It is advisable to protect piles of manure from rainfall in winter months.

Keywords : Manure; Nitrogen; Phosphorus.

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