Wednesday, 9 November 2005 - 10:45 AM
299-11

Calcium Carbonate Levels in Soil Influence Phosphorus Runoff.

Ronald Schierer1, Jessica Davis2, Jerrell Lemunyon1, and Clinton Truman3. (1) USDA/NRCS, 2272 Birdie Dr, Milliken, CO 80543, (2) Colorado State University, 1170 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1170, (3) USDA/ARS, Southeast Watershed Res. Lab., Po Box 946, Tifton, GA 31793

Phosphorus runoff research has been limited on soils that are calcareous to the surface. We followed the National P Runoff Protocol using rainfall simulation to develop a relationship between soil test P levels and runoff P losses on three Great Plains calcareous agricultural soils in Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado. Each site had eight treatments with two replications. Manure was applied at 8 rates varying from 0 to 270 Mg ha-1. The rainfall simulation was applied at 70 mm hr-1 for one hour. Soil samples taken during characterization measured calcium carbonate concentrations varying from 1% to 9% by weight. The following soil sampling and analysis procedures were found to be optimum for estimation of the soil test P to runoff P relationship : soil sampling at 0-5 cm before rainfall simulation outside the sub-plot frame, using total dissolved phosphorus as the runoff analysis method and Mehlich-3 as the soil test phosphorus method. We also developed a multi-step regression analysis, which estimates total dissolved phosphorus concentration in runoff from the Mehlich-3 soil test P and the percent calcium carbonate by weight with an R-square value of 0.92. Phosphorus saturation was estimated for the three soils, and the relationship of the square root of the percent saturation as a function of the P added per treatment was determined. The Kim soil with the highest calcite concentration sorbed the most phosphorus; however, this resulted in the lowest percentage of P saturation in the soil due to the high Ca concentration. A soil with higher calcium carbonate percent by weight can sorb or be a sink for manure-P when applied to the soil. This ability to sorb P is only effective at reducing the total dissolved P in runoff, and the sediment P needs to be controlled with soil erosion practices.

Back to Phosphorus Chemistry in Soils: III. P Fluxes in Managed Systems
Back to S11 Soils & Environmental Quality

Back to The ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings (November 6-10, 2005)