Options for reducing the negative effects of nitrogen in agriculture.

After addition to farms by fertilizer, crop residues, biological fixation and animal excreta, nitrogen can be lost through gaseous emission, runoff and leaching to contaminate the atmosphere and water bodies, and cause adverse health effects. The efficiency of fertilizer nitrogen can be increased and losses reduced, by matching supply with crop demand, optimizing split application schemes, changing the form to suit the conditions, and use of slow-release fertilizers and inhibitors. In addition, agronomic practices such as higher plant densities, weed and pest control and balanced fertilization with other nutrients can also increase efficiency of nitrogen use. Efficiency of use by animals can be increased by diet manipulation. Feeding dairy cattle low degradable protein and high starch diets, and grazing sheep and cattle on grasses high in water soluble carbohydrate result in less nitrogen excretion in urine and reduced ammonia volatilization.

Options for reducing the negative effects of nitrogen in agriculture.

After addition to farms by fertilizer, crop residues, biological fixation and animal excreta, nitrogen can be lost through gaseous emission, runoff and leaching to contaminate the atmosphere and water bodies, and cause adverse health effects. The efficiency of fertilizer nitrogen can be increased and losses reduced, by matching supply with crop demand, optimizing split application schemes, changing the form to suit the conditions, and use of slow-release fertilizers and inhibitors. In addition, agronomic practices such as higher plant densities, weed and pest control and balanced fertilization with other nutrients can also increase efficiency of nitrogen use. Efficiency of use by animals can be increased by diet manipulation. Feeding dairy cattle low degradable protein and high starch diets, and grazing sheep and cattle on grasses high in water soluble carbohydrate result in less nitrogen excretion in urine and reduced ammonia volatiliztion.

Direct measurements of methane emissions from grazing and feedlot cattle.

Methane (CH4) emissions from animals represent a significant contribution to anthropogenically produced radiatively active trace gases. Global and national CH4 budgets currently use predictive models based on emission data from laboratory experiments to estimate the magnitude of the animal source. This paper presents a method for measuring CH4 from animals under undisturbed field conditions and examines the performance of common models used to simulate field conditions. A micrometeorological mass difference technique was developed to measure CH4 production by cattle in pasture and feedlot conditions. Measurements were made continuously under field conditions, semiautomatically for several days, and the technique was virtually nonintrusive. The method permits a relatively large number of cattle to be sampled. Limitations include light winds (less than approximately 2 m/s), rapid wind direction changes, and high-precision CH4 gas concentration measurement. Methane production showed a marked periodicity, with greater emissions during periods of rumination as opposed to grazing. When the cattle were grazed on pasture, they produced .23 kg CH4 x animal(-1) x d(-1), which corresponded to the conversion of 7.7 to 8.4% of gross energy into CH4. When the same cattle were fed a highly digestible, high-grain diet, they produced .07 kg CH4 x animal(-1) x d(-1), corresponding to a conversion of only 1.9 to 2.2% of the feed energy to CH4. These measurements clearly document higher CH4 production (about four times) for cattle receiving low-quality, high-fiber diets than for cattle fed high-grain diets. The mass difference method provides a useful tool for "undisturbed" measurements on the influence of feedstuffs and nutritional management practices on CH4 production from animals and for developing improved management practice for enhanced environmental quality.

Estimation of nitrification rates in flooded soils.

Three techniques for estimating nitrification rates in flooded soils were evaluated in short-term incubation experiments using three soils. The techniques were based on inhibition of either ammonium or nitrite oxidation and (13)N isotope dilution. Of four inhibitors of ammonium oxidation evaluated, one (allylthiourea) was ineffective and two (2-ethynylpyridine or phenyl acetylene dissolved in ethanol) promoted immobilization of ammonium. Emulsified 2-ethynylpyridine and acetylene were equally effective inhibitors of ammonium oxidation and had little or no effect on gross rates of N mineralization and immobilization. Four inhibitors of nitrite oxidation were evaluated, but this approach was compromised by the nonspecificity of three of the compounds-potassium cyanide, 2-ethylamino-4-isopropylamino-6-methylthio-s-triazine (ametryne) and 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-methylurea (DMU)-and by the partial effectiveness of another (potassium chlorate). Two methods based on isotope dilution gave similar estimates of nitrification rates. These rates were similar to those estimated by inhibition of ammonium oxidation in one soil but were lower in the other two soils. In the latter two soils, nitrification of labeled ammonium derived from dissimilatory nitrate reduction resulted in underestimation of nitrification rates by isotope dilution.

Ammonia flux into the atmosphere from a grazed pasture.

A micrometeorological technique has been used to measure the flux of ammonia and related gaseous nitrogen compounds into the atmosphere from a pasture grazed by sheep. During 3 weeks in late summer, the average daily flux density of nitrogen in these forms was 0.26 kilogram per hectare. This is a substantial part of the nitrogen turnover in grazed pastures.