Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Long-term applications of untreated and alum-treated poultry litter drive soil nitrogen concentrations and associated microbial community dynamics

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Biology and Fertility of Soils Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Aluminum sulfate (alum) treatment retains ammonia in poultry litter, potentially altering nitrogen (N) cycling after application to soil. The objective of this research was to assess if 8 and 9 years of annual application of untreated or alum-treated poultry litters or ammonium nitrate have resulted in detectable differences in N concentrations and cycling in soil. Soil N concentrations, β-glucosaminidase activity, and ammonia oxidizer community richness were measured prior to, 10 days, and 1 and 6 months following application in years 8 and 9 in soil receiving either 2.24 (low rate) or 8.96 Mg litter ha−1 (high rate) or 65 or 260 kg N ha−1 (approximately equivalent N rates) of ammonium nitrate. There were few effects when fertilizers were applied at the low rate, but soil N did increase in all treatments relative to the control. Soil N, microbial biomass N, and β-glucosaminidase activity were significantly higher in the alum-treated and untreated poultry litter when applied at the high rate compared to other treatments. Soil inorganic N increased significantly 10 days following application with the high rate of alum-treated litter and ammonium nitrate but not with untreated poultry litter. Ammonia oxidizer community compositions in the high rate of alum-treated and untreated poultry litter treatments were similar to each other and more closely related to the community in the ammonium nitrate treatment than the control. All fertilizers applied at the high rate altered the nitrifier community richness; however, the inputs of both poultry litters increased microbial biomass and enzyme activity, indicators of soil quality.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Acosta-Martinez V, Harmel RD (2006) Soil microbial communities and enzyme activities under various poultry litter application rates. J Environ Qual 35:1309–1318

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Avrahami S, Conrad R (2003) Patterns of community change among ammonia oxidizers in meadow soils upon long-term incubation at different temperatures. Appl Environ Microbiol 69:6152–6164

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Avrahami S, Liesack W, Conrad R (2003) Effects of temperature and fertilizer on activity and community structure of soil ammonia oxidizers. Environ Microbiol 5:691–705

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bruns MA, Stephen JR, Kowalchuk GA, Prosser JI, Paul EA (1999) Comparative diversity of ammonia oxidizer 16S rRNA gene sequences in native, tilled and successional soils. Appl Environ Microbiol 65:2994–3000

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cabrera ML, Beare MH (1993) Alkaline persulfate oxidation for determining total nitrogen in microbial biomass extracts. Soil Sci Soc Am J 57:1007–1012

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ceccherini MT, Castaldini M, Piovanelli C, Hastings RC, McCarthy AJ, Bazzicalupo M, Miclaus N (1998) Effects of swine manure fertilization on autotrophic ammonia oxidizing bacteria in soil. Appl Soil Ecol 7:149–157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cihacek LJ, Anderson WL, Barak PW (1996) Linkages between soil quality and plant, animal, and human health. In: Doran JW, Jones AJ (eds) Methods for assessing soil quality. Soil Science Society of America, Inc., Madison, pp 9–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook KL, Rothrock MJ Jr, Warren JG, Sistani KR, Moore PA Jr (2008) Effect of alum treatment on the concentration of total and ureolytic microorganisms in poultry litter. J Environ Qual 37:2360–2367. doi:10.2134/jeq2008.0024

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Deng SP, Parham JA, Hattey JA, Babu D (2006) Animal manure and anhydrous ammonia amendment alter microbial carbon use efficiency, microbial biomass, and activities of dehydrogenase and amidohydrolases in semiarid agroecosystems. Appl Soil Ecol 33:258–268

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doran JW, Parkin TB (1996) Quantitative indicators of soil quality: a minimum data set. In: Doran JW, Jones AJ (eds) Methods for assessing soil quality. Soil Science Society of America, Inc., Madison, pp 9–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Dormaar JF, Lindwall CW, Kozub GC (1988) Effectiveness of manure and commercial fertilizer in restoring productivity of an artificially eroded dark brown chernozemic soil under dryland conditions. Can J Soil Sci 68:669–679

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards DR, Daniel TC (1992) Environmental impacts of on-farm poultry waste disposal—a review. Bioresour Technol 41:9–33

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards DR, Daniel TC (1993) Effects of poultry litter application rate and rainfall intensity on quality of runoff from fescue grass plots. J Environ Qual 22:361–365

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ekenler M, Tabatabai MA (2002) β-Glucosaminidase activity of soils: effect of cropping systems and its relationship to nitrogen mineralization. Biol Fertil Soil 36:367–376

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ekenler M, Tabatabai MA (2003) Tillage and residue management effects on β-glucosaminidase activity in soils. Soil Biol Biochem 35:871–874

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ekenler M, Tabatabai MA (2004) β-Glucosaminidase activity as an index of nitrogen mineralization in soils. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 35:1081–1094

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gandhapudi SK, Coyne MS, D’Angelo EM, Matocha C (2006) Potential nitrification in alum-treated soil slurries amended with poultry manure. Bioresour Technol 97:664–670

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gilmour JT, Koehler MA, Cabrera L, Szajdak L, Moore PA Jr (2004) Alum treatment of poultry litter: decomposition and nitrogen dynamics. J Environ Qual 33:402–405

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Habteselassie MY, Xu L, Norton JM (2013) Ammonia oxidizer communities in an agricultural soil treated with contrasting nitrogen sources. Front Microbiol 4:1–10. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2013.00326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson LE, Calderon FJ, Steenwerth KL, Scow KM, Rolston DE (2003) Response of soil microbial processes and community structure to tillage events and implications for soil quality. Geoderma 114:305–317

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • James DW, Kotuby-Amacher J, Anderson GL, Huber DA (1996) Phosphorus mobility in calcareous soils under heavy manuring. J Environ Qual 25:770–775

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jia Z, Conrad R (2009) Bacteria rather than Archaea dominate microbial ammonia oxidation in an agricultural soil. Environ Microbiol 11:1658–1671

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Karlen DL, Mausbach MJ, Doran JW, Cline RG, Harris RF, Schuman GE (1997) Soil quality: a concept, definition, and framework for evaluation. Soil Sci Soc Am J 61:4–10

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kingery WL, Wood CW, Delaney DP, Williams JC, Mullins GL (1994) Impact of long-term land application of broiler litter on environmentally related soil properties. J Environ Qual 23:139–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marschner P, Kandeler E, Marschner B (2003) Structure and function of the soil microbial community in a long-term fertilizer experiment. Soil Biol Biochem 35:453–461

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mendum TA, Hirsch PR (2002) Changes in the population structure of β-group autotrophic ammonia oxidising bacteria in arable soils in response to agricultural practice. Soil Biol Biochem 34:1479–1485

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moore PA Jr (2011) Improving the sustainability of animal agriculture by treating manure with alum. In: Zhongqi H (ed) Environmental chemistry of animal manure. Nova Science Publishers, Inc., Hauppauge, pp 1–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore PA Jr, Edwards DR (2005) Long-term effects of poultry litter, alum-treated litter, and ammonium nitrate on aluminum availability in soils. J Environ Qual 34:2104–2111

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moore PA Jr, Edwards DR (2007) Long-term effects of poultry litter, alum-treated litter, and ammonium nitrate on phosphorus availability in soils. J Environ Qual 36:163–174

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moore PA Jr, Miller DM (1994) Decreasing phosphorus solubility in poultry litter with aluminum, calcium, and iron amendments. J Environ Qual 23:325–330

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moore PA Jr, Daniel TC, Edwards DR, Miller DM (1995) Effect of chemical amendments on ammonia volatilization from poultry litter. J Environ Qual 24:293–300

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moore PA Jr, Daniel TC, Edwards DR, Miller DM (1996) Evaluation of chemical amendments to reduce ammonia volatilization from poultry litter. Poult Sci 75:315–320

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moore PA Jr, Daniel TC, Gilmour JT, Shreve BR, Edwards DR, Wood BH (1998) Decreasing metal runoff from poultry litter with aluminum sulfate. J Environ Qual 27:92–99

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moore PA Jr, Daniel TC, Edwards DR (1999) Reducing phosphorus runoff and improving poultry production with alum. Poult Sci 78:692–698

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moore PA Jr, Daniel TC, Edwards DR (2000) Reducing phosphorus runoff and inhibiting ammonia loss from poultry manure with aluminum sulfate. J Environ Qual 29:37–49

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mulvaney RL (1996) Nitrogen—inorganic forms. In: Sparks DL (ed) Methods of soil analysis: chemical methods. Part 3. Soil Science Society of America, Inc, Madison, pp 1123–1184

    Google Scholar 

  • Nair VD, Graetz DA, Reddy KR (1998) Dairy manure influences on phosphorus retention capacity of spodosols. J Environ Qual 27:522–527

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nakatsu CH, Torsvik V, Ovreas L (2000) Soil community analysis using DGGE of 16S rDNA polymerase chain reaction products. Soil Sci Soc Am J 64:1382–1388

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nannipieri P, Ascher J, Ceccherini MT, Landi L, Pietramellara G, Renella G (2003) Microbial diversity and soil functions. Eur J Soil Sci 54:655–670

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nannipieri P, Giagnoni L, Renella G, Puglisi E, Ceccanti B, Masciandaro G, Fornasier F, Moscatelli MC, Marinari S (2012) Soil enzymology: classical and molecular approaches. Biol Fertil Soil 48:743–762

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nicol GW, Leininger S, Schleper C, Prosser JI (2008) The influence of soil pH on the diversity, abundance and transcriptional activity of ammonia oxidizing archaea and bacteria. Environ Microbiol 10:2966–2978

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nicolaisen MH, Ramsing N-B (2002) Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) approaches to study the diversity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. J Microbiol Method 50:189–203

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Parham JA, Deng SP (2000) Detection, quantification and characterization of β-glucosaminidase activity in soil. Soil Biol Biochem 32:1183–1190

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Parham JA, Deng SP, Raun WR, Johnson GV (2002) Long-term cattle manure application in soil. I. Effect on soil phosphorus levels, microbial biomass C, and dehydrogenase and phosphatase activities. Biol Fertil Soil 35:328–337

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Peacock AD, Mullen MD, Ringelberg DB, Tyler DD, Hedrick DB, Gale PM, White DC (2001) Soil microbial community responses to dairy manure or ammonium nitrate applications. Soil Biol Biochem 33:1011–1019

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Qin HL, Yuan HZ, Zhang H, Zhu YJ, Yin C, Tan Z, Wu JS, Wei WX (2013) Ammonia-oxidizing archaea are more important than ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in nitrification and NO −3 -N loss in acidic soil of sloped land. Biol Fertil Soil 49:767–776

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rothrock MJ Jr, Cook KL, Warren JG, Sistani K (2008) The effect of alum addition on microbial communities in poultry litter. Poult Sci 87:1493–1503

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rothrock MJ Jr, Cook KL, Warren JG, Eiteman MA, Sistani K (2010) Microbial mineralization of organic nitrogen forms in poultry litters. J Environ Qual 39:1848–1857. doi:10.2134/jeq2010.0024

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rotthauwe J-H, Witzel K-P, Liesack W (1997) The ammonia monooxygenase structural gene amoA as a functional marker: molecular fine-scale analysis of natural ammonia-oxidizing populations. Appl Environ Microbiol 63:4704–4712

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sainju UM, Senwo ZN, Nyakatawa EZ, Tazisong IA, Reddy KC (2010) Poultry litter application increases nitrogen cycling compared with inorganic nitrogen fertilization. Agron J 102:917–925. doi:10.2134/agronj2009.0482

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schauss K, Focks A, Leininger S, Kotzerke A, Heuer H, Thiele-Bruhn S, Sharma S, Wilke B-M, Matthies M, Smalla K, Munch JC, Amelung W, Kaupenjohann M, Schloter M, Schleper C (2009) Dynamics and functional relevance of ammonia-oxidizing archaea in two agricultural soils. Environ Microbiol 11:446–456

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schloter M, Dilly O, Munch JC (2003) Indicators for evaluating soil quality. Agric Ecosyst Environ 98:255–262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen J-P, Zhang L-M, Zhu Y-G, Zhang J-B, He J-Z (2008) Abundance and composition of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and ammonia-oxidizing archaea communities of an alkaline sandy loam. Environ Microbiol 10:1601–1611

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shreve BR, Moore PA Jr, Daniel TC, Edwards DR, Miller DM (1995) Reduction of phosphorus in runoff from field-applied poultry litter using chemical amendments. J Environ Qual 24:106–111

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sims JT, Wolf DC (1994) Poultry waste management: agricultural and environmental issues. In: Sparks DL (ed) Advances in agronomy. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 1–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Sims JT, Simard RR, Joern BC (1998) Phosphorus loss in agricultural drainage: historical perspective and current research. J Environ Qual 27:277–293

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sommerfeldt TG, Chang C (1985) Changes in soil properties under annual applications of feedlot manure and different tillage practices. Soil Sci Soc Am J 49:983–987

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tian X-F, Hu H-W, Ding Q, Song M-H, Xu X-L, Zheng Y, Guo L-D (2014) Influence of nitrogen fertilization on soil ammonia oxidizer and denitrifier abundance, microbial biomass, and enzyme activities in an alpine meadow. Biol Fertil Soil 50:703–713

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tomlinson PJ, Savin MC, Moore PA Jr (2008) Phosphatase activities in soil after repeated untreated and alum-treated poultry litter applications. Biol Fertil Soil 44:613–622

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vance ED, Brookes PC, Jenkinson DS (1987) An extraction method for measuring soil microbial biomass C. Soil Biol Biochem 19:703–707

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wessén E, Nyberg K, Jansson JK, Hallin S (2010) Responses of bacterial and archaeal ammonia oxidizers to soil organic and fertilizer amendments under long-term management. Appl Soil Ecol 45:193–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by a Southern Region—Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program Graduate Student Grant, project #: GS03-030; Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Research Incentive Program; and the Water Resources Research Institute program through the USGS, project #: 2003AR47B. The authors would like to thank Jerry Martin, Scott Becton, Kim Payne, and all other laboratory and support personnel who helped with this project.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences, University of Arkansas, 115 Plant Science Building, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA

    Peter J. Tomlinson & Mary C. Savin

  2. Current address: Agronomy Department, Kansas State University, 2013B Throckmorton Hall, Manhattan, KS, 66506-5501, USA

    Peter J. Tomlinson

  3. USDA-ARS, 115 Plant Science Building, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA

    Philip A. Moore Jr.

Authors
  1. Peter J. Tomlinson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mary C. Savin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Philip A. Moore Jr.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mary C. Savin.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tomlinson, P.J., Savin, M.C. & Moore, P.A. Long-term applications of untreated and alum-treated poultry litter drive soil nitrogen concentrations and associated microbial community dynamics. Biol Fertil Soils 51, 43–55 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-014-0949-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-014-0949-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation