Abstract
Intensive animal husbandry can and often does result in the production of more wastes than there is land available to use them effectively. The addition of large amounts of slurry based on a policy of disposal or on nitrogen (N) use by crops will lead to the accumulation of phosphorus (P) in the surface soil and may result in the application of excessive amounts of potassium (K) with deleterious effects on crop quality and animal health. The crops able to use most slurry are grass and forage crops such as maize.
Nitrogen will accumulate in soils with the additions of slurry and will start to decline when no more is added. Much N is lost as ammonia to the atmosphere and as nitrate by leaching and denitrification.
The overall balance of P within a region or country may be calculated from accessions and removals. Steps may need to be taken to limit the excessive accumulation of P in soils by exporting wastes to regions of the same country or other countries which require additional P manuring.
The spreading of slurry can cause several environmental problems such as the release of malodorous compounds and ammonia to the air; the production and entry to the upper atmosphere of nitrous oxide; the loss of slurry by surface run-off; and the leaching of organic matter, N, P and K to drainage and groundwaters.
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© 1987 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht
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Gasser, J.K.R. (1987). The future of animal manures as fertilizer or waste. In: Van Der Meer, H.G., Unwin, R.J., Van Dijk, T.A., Ennik, G.C. (eds) Animal Manure on Grassland and Fodder Crops. Fertilizer or Waste?. Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, vol 30. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3659-1_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3659-1_16
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