Minimizing nonpoint source nutrient pollution is important to the sustainability of grazing lands. Increased nutrient loads have reduced water quality in Lake Okeechobee in south Florida, prompting establishment of a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) that will require large reductions in phosphorus (P) runoff into the lake. A significant portion of this reduction must come from beef cattle ranches, the major land use in the region. A large-scale research project, consisting of a 420-ha array of 8 improved summer and 8 semi-improved winter pastures, was established from 1998-2003 to investigate the influence of beef cattle stocking rate on nutrient loads in surface runoff. Each pasture type had two replicates of four different cattle stocking rates including a control with no cattle and stocked pastures with low, medium, and high stocking rates (1.3, 1.0, 0.6 ha AU À1 [animal unit] in summer pastures; 2.1, 1.6, and 0.9 ha AU À1 in winter pastures). Cattle stocking rate did not affect nutrient concentrations or loads in surface runoff during the study period. Average annual P discharges were 1.71 kg ha À1 from summer pastures and 0.25 kg ha À1 from winter pastures. Average total P concentrations in runoff were 0.63 mg L À1 for summer pastures and 0.15 mg L À1 for winter pastures. Differences in runoff P were related to differences in soil P test results, a difference believed to be due to prior fertilization practices. Our findings show that reducing cattle stocking rates on beef cattle pastures is not an effective practice for reducing nutrient loads, and that accumulation of P in soil from historical fertilization has an overriding influence on P loads in surface runoff. Results indicate that reducing the overall volume of surface discharges would be a more effective strategy than altering cattle stocking practices to reduce nonpoint runoff of P from cattle pastures in this region.
Land application of drinking-water treatment residuals (WTR) has been shown to control excess soil soluble P and can reduce off-site P losses to surface and ground water. To our knowledge, no field study has directly evaluated the impacts of land application of WTRs on ground water quality. We monitored the effects of three organic sources of P (poultry manure, Boca Raton biosolids, Pompano biosolids) or triple superphosphate co-applied with an aluminum-based WTR (Al-WTR) on soil and ground water P and Al concentrations under natural field conditions for 20 mo in a soil with limited P sorption capacity. The P sources were applied at two rates (based on P or nitrogen [N] requirement of bahiagrass) with or without Al-WTR amendment and replicated three times. Without WTR application, applied P sources increased surface soil soluble P concentrations regardless of the P source or application rate. Co-applying the P sources with Al-WTR prevented increases in surface soil soluble P concentrations and reduced P losses to shallow ground water. Total dissolved P and orthophosphate concentrations of shallow well ground water of the N-based treatments were greater (>0.9 and 0.3 mg L(-1), respectively) in the absence than in the presence ( approximately 0.6 and 0.2 mg L(-1), respectively) of Al-WTR. The P-based application rate did not increase ground water P concentrations relative to background concentrations. Notwithstanding, Al-WTR amendment decreased ground water P concentrations from soil receiving treatments with P-based application rates. Ground water total dissolved Al concentrations were unaffected by soil Al-WTR application. We conclude that, at least for the study period, Al-WTR can be safely used to reduce P leaching into ground water without increasing the Al concentration of ground water.
Concerns about surface water pollution with phosphorus (P) from biosolids and manures are prompting land application guidelines that limit residual application rates to those based on crop-P removals (typically, no more than 2 Mg ha 21 ). Such rates are so low that the beneficial recycling of residuals is seriously threatened. Greater application rates [i.e., nitrogen (N) based] require judicious selection of residuals (low soluble P contents) and/or soil amendments, such as drinking-water treatment residuals (WTRs) to control soluble P concentration. Although in the short term, WTR is effective in reducing soluble P levels, field studies to evaluate the stability of WTR-immobilized P are scarce. The initial objective of this study was to determine the effects of WTR on P losses to surface and groundwater from Florida sand amended with different P sources (biosolids, manure, and inorganic fertilizer) applied at P-and N-based rates. However, this objective could not be pursued to its logical conclusion because of severe flooding of the field 17 months after amendment application. The flooding appears to have compromised the treatments (moved soil and associated amendments across plots), which forced early termination of the experiment. Measurements taken after the flooding, however, provided a unique opportunity to assess the usefulness of WTR in controlling P solubility following severe flooding of WTR-amended plots. Soluble P values measured from WTRamended A horizon plots were significantly lower than the plots without WTR amendment throughout the study. Phosphorus-specific measurements in the Bh horizon suggest that excessive P leaching apparently occurred in the plots without WTR amendment and the control plots, whereas very little or no P leaching occurred in the WTR-amended plots. Thus, despite extensive hurricane-induced flooding of the fields, the WTR was able immobilize P and prevent excessive P leaching. We conclude that WTR could reduce offsite P transport, which will lower P loads into nutrient-sensitive surface water systems, and that WTR-immobilized P is stable even under severe flooding conditions.
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