Chapter 2 Nutrient Management and Water Quality Concerns

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Chapter 2Nutrient Management and Water Quality
Concerns
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Nutrient Management Planning

• Minimizes potential detrimental effects on
• Surface water
• Ground water
• Manure
• Normally a environmental benefit
• Nutrients
• Organic matter
• Greater management challenge than commercial
  fertilizer
• Can reduce water quality

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Nitrates Concerns

• Nitrogen has many Forms
• NO3- common end form
• NO3- traits
• Highly soluble
• Susceptible to leaching
• gt10 ppm concentrations linked blue baby syndrome

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Reasons for high NO3-Ground water levels

• Leaky manure storages
• Applications to close
• Sinkholes
• Rock outcroppings
• Over application of N
• Application prior to runoff events

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Historical NMP Focus

• Minimize NO3- leaching
• Karst topography concerns
• Direct pathways
• sinkholes
• Springs
• Caves
• Fracture rocks
• Little soil filtering
• Can be like pipe flows

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Current NMP Focus

• Phosphorus
• Naturally Occurring
• Essential for Crop Production
• Excess P Leads to Water Quality Concerns
• Not Considered Public Health Issue
• Lake Eutrophication

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Eutrophication

• Lakes age naturally
• Eutrophication is accelerated aging
• Characterized by excessive plant growth
• Requires N, P, K
• P usually limiting factor
• Results
• Off flavor drinking water
• Lower oxygen levels
• Reduction and shifts in aquatic populations

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Changing P Perspective

• Most P forms bond to soil particles
• Historical view
• no erosion no P loss
• Agronomically,
• probably close to correct
• Environmentally,
• small losses can be significant concern
• Problem
• Manure NP about 11
• Grass NP about 31
• N based applications build STP
• High STP increase P runoff

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Relative Contribution ofManure P and Soil P
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Current Nutrient NMP Focus

• N still addressed
• P is primary concern
• State Federal regulations require NMP consider P

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• Questions?