Nitrogen losses from dairy manure estimated through nitrogen mass balance and chemical markers

Alexander N. Hristov, Shah Zaman, Mike Vander Pol, Pius Ndegwa, Larry Campbell, Steven Silva

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

74 Scopus citations

Abstract

Ammonia is an important air and water pollutant, but the spatial variation in its concentrations presents technical difficulties in accurate determination of ammonia emissions from animal feeding operations. The objectives of this study were to investigate the relationship between ammonia volatilization and δ15N of dairy manure and the feasibility of estimating ammonia losses from a dairy facility using chemical markers. In Exp. 1, the N/P ratio in manure decreased by 30% in 14 d as cumulative ammonia losses increased exponentially. Delta 15N of manure increased throughout the course of the experiment and δ15N of emitted ammonia increased (p < 0.001) quadratically from -31‰ to -15 ‰. The relationship between cumulative ammonia losses and δ15N of manure was highly significant (p < 0.001; r2 = 0.76). In Exp. 2, using a mass balance approach, approximately half of the N excreted by dairy cows (Bos taurus) could not be accounted for in 24 h. Using N/P and N/K ratios in fresh and 24-h manure, an estimated 0.55 and 0.34 (respectively) of the N excreted with feces and urine could not be accounted for. This study demonstrated that chemical markers (P, K) can be successfully used to estimate ammonia losses from cattle manure. The relationship between manure δ15N and cumulative ammonia loss may also be useful for estimating ammonia losses. Although promising, the latter approach needs to be further studied and verified in various experimental conditions and in the field.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2438-2448
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Environmental Quality
Volume38
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2009

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Environmental Engineering
  • Water Science and Technology
  • Waste Management and Disposal
  • Pollution
  • Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

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