Decomposition of organic materials from hill soils and pastures: IV. The effects of moisture content on the mineralization of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus from plant materials and sheep faeces

doi:10.1016/0038-0717(70)90034-9

Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Volume 2, Issue 4, November 1970, Pages 275-283

https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-0717(70)90034-9 Get rights and content

Abstract

Variation in moisture content resulted in minor changes in the evolution of CO₂ during the incubation of plant materials and sheep faeces from Nardus and Agrostis Festuca hill pastures. After 12 weeks less CO₂ was produced at 25 per cent moisture-holding capacity (M.H.C.) than at 50 or 100 per cent M.H.C. Mineral-N production from plant materials was little affected by moisture but with sheep faeces, the accumulation of ammonium, and the evolution of gaseous ammonia were greatest at 100 per cent M.H.C. At 25 per cent M.H.C. the production of mineral-N from faeces was almost completely inhibited. The immobilization of phosphorus by plant materials was reduced at 25 per cent M.H.C. and mineral-P production from sheep faeces was slightly enhanced. The results are discussed in relation to the possible influence of moisture upon the mineralization of plant nutrients under field conditions.

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Cited by (17)

Faecal pellets, rock shelters, and seasonality: The chemistry of stabling in the Negev of Israel in late prehistory
2020, Journal of Arid Environments
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The excellent preservation of faeces under desert conditions facilitates dietary elucidation, as shown, for example, by Vinton et al. (2009) with human coprolites in Chile and by Linseele et al. (2010) in the Eastern Desert of Egypt with goat faecal pellets. In deserts, the release from faecal pellets of N to ammonia and ammonium salts is inhibited, as moisture holding capacity is less than 25% and, in caves, the mineralization (transformation from organic to inorganic matter) of faecal azote is further inhibited by inadequate aeration (Floate, 1970). Lignin is little digested in ruminants (ca. 15%), and hence, faecal lignin is very much correlated with dietary lignin (Van Soest, 1982).
Chemical and phytolith analyses of well-preserved goat faecal pellets from different strata of the Ramon I Rock Shelter, in the Makhtesh Ramon (Crater) in the Central Negev, Israel, show patterns of seasonal stabling and grazing among nomads from three different periods, the Late Neolithic, the Early Bronze Age, and recent times (ca. 1800 AD to date). Low faecal lignin and high protein in the ancient pellets, together with the high proportion of phytoliths from monocotyledons, but absence from grass inflorescences and seeds, reflect consumption of lush green herbage, with no browsing. In contrast, pellets from recent flocks indicate either foddering or later seasonal grazing. The chemistry of pellets collected from wild ibex grazing and browsing in spring through autumn corroborate the conclusion that ancient grazing, as reflected in the rock shelter materials, was early in the growing season. The morphometry of faecal pellets suggests that the goats were larger in the Early Bronze than in the Late Neolithic and Recent Periods. In general, the presence of rock shelter stabling spatially remote from habitation sites indicates seasonal social/economic fission, with specialized goatherds separating from the primary campsites for short periods as early as the Late Neolithic. A Near Infrared non-destructive calibration of protein in faecal pellets was implemented.
Sheep excreta cause no positive priming of peat-derived CO <inf>2</inf> and N <inf>2</inf> O emissions
2015, Soil Biology and Biochemistry
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After this equilibration period, tracer was added to the top of the microcosms corresponding to hot spot conditions of faeces and urine input in natural systems. Excreta were added moist and unconsolidated in order to have maximal decomposition rates during the experiment (Floate, 1970). To simulate C and N input representative for field conditions, C or N amounts were applied representative of one excretion event of sheep.
Large areas of peatlands in Germany and the Netherlands are affected by drainage and high nitrogen deposition. Sheep grazing is a common extensive management activity on drained peatlands, in particular on nature protection areas. However, input of easily mineralisable material such as sheep excrements could enhance degradation of soil organic carbon (C_org), thereby increasing the effect of these ecosystems on national GHG budgets. Thus, a microcosm experiment on the influence of sheep excreta on GHG emissions from a histic Gleysol with strongly degraded peat was set up. The ¹⁵N and ¹³C stable isotope tracer technique was used to partition sources of CO₂ and N₂O. Labeled sheep faeces and urine were obtained by feeding enriched material. Undisturbed soil columns were treated with surface application of urine, faeces or mixtures of both in different label combinations to distinguish between direct effects and possible priming effects. Incubation was done under stable temperature and precipitation conditions. Fluxes as well as ¹⁵N and ¹³C enrichment of N₂O and CO₂, respectively, were measured for three weeks. Addition of sheep excreta increased emission of total CO₂ in proportion to the added carbon amounts. There was no CO₂ priming in the peat. No effect on CH₄ and N₂O was observed under the aerobic experimental conditions. The N₂O–N source shifted from peat to excreta, which indicates negative priming, but priming was not significant. The results indicate that sheep excreta do not significantly increase GHG emissions from degraded peat soils. Considering the degraded peatland preserving benefits, sheep grazing on peatlands affected by drainage and high nitrogen deposition should be further promoted.
Endozoochorous dispersal, seedling emergence and fruiting success in disturbed and undisturbed successional stages of sheep-grazed inland sand ecosystems
2007, Flora: Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants
This study examines the seedling emergence and fruiting success of plant species endozoochorously dispersed by sheep in a field experiment in a Koelerion glaucae area. We designed a factorial experiment (faeces/soil disturbance/successional stage/year) that mimics sheep-mediated microsites and analysed all occurring vascular plant species from September 2002–December 2004. The faeces samples were collected in the same ecosystem and additionally analysed in a common-garden experiment (seedling emergence potential). According to the latter, 28 vascular plant taxa were identified (on average 124 seedlings per 100 g air-dry sheep faeces). In the field, 15 species emerged directly out of faeces, only five of which were able to set seeds (the threatened species Medicago minima, Phleum arenarium, Silene conica, Vicia lathyroides and the non-threatened Vulpia myuros). Graminoid competitors were not able to set seedlings in the field but did so in the common-garden experiment (mainly Carex hirta). The total numbers of seedlings emerging out of faeces (5% of the potential) and reaching fruit ripeness (0.4%) were very low.
In the stage of seedling emergence, ten of 42 species were significantly influenced by faeces, 11 species by disturbance and two species by an interaction of the two treatment factors (Bromus tectorum, Saxifraga tridactylites). In the fruiting stage, two species profited by faeces (Bromus tectorum, Vulpia myuros) and two species by disturbance (Erophila verna, Corynephorus canescens). Overall, the density and diversity of fruiting individuals were significantly influenced by both treatment factors. The faeces factor showed a strong dependence on year (increasing effect on both dependent variables in the first year, decreasing effect in the second year). The disturbance factor is dependent particularly on successional stage (increasing effect especially in the later successional stage).
Our study revealed the paradox that threatened species with low nutrient demands are the most successful direct colonisers of sheep-faeces deposits. For them to reach the fruiting stage is rare but is of importance if new habitats are to be made accessible.
Nutrient Cycling and Soil Fertility in the Grazed Pasture Ecosystem
1993, Advances in Agronomy
This chapter reviews the cycling of nutrients within pasture soils. The major emphasis is on the central role of the grazing animal in influencing soil fertility, particularly in the dung and urine patches. In addition, the progress is reviewed that has been made in modeling the cycling of nutrients in pasture systems. Nutrients are partitioned differently between dung and urine, with K being excreted mainly in urine; P, Ca, and Mg are excreted principally in dung and N and S are excreted in both forms. Nutrients returned in excreta can be in inorganic and organic forms, depending on the particular nutrient being considered. For some nutrients (e.g., P and S) significant mineralization of ingested organic forms occurs during passage through the animal, whereas much of the N is excreted in the readily available organic urea form. From the present knowledge of the major nutrient inputs and losses for the grazed pasture system and an understanding of the pathways of nutrient flux within the system and some key measurements, simple mass balance nutrient models for various pasture systems can be constructed. Such simple models have been used to calculate site-specific maintenance fertilizer requirements of pastures based on the amount of nutrient required to replace losses in the soil (e.g., through fixation and leaching) and losses by animal transfer and in animal products.
The effects of nitrogen, water and sulfur amendments on surface litter decomposition in the Chihuahuan Desert.
1987, Journal of Arid Environments
The effects of nitrogen, water and sulfur amendments on the decomposition rates of three types of surface litter in the northern Chihuahuan Desert were evaluated. The amendments had no effects on the decomposition rates of leaf litter from black grama (Bouteloua eriopoda) and creosote bush (Larrea tridentata). The rate of fluff grass (Erioneuron pulchellum) litter decomposition was increased by water and decreased by sulfur. Water affected fluff grass decomposition by increasing termite (Gnathamitermes tubiformans) above-ground activity. Sulfur decreased termite activity. These data suggest that the decomposer microflora and microfauna of the northern Chihuahuan Desert are more limited by quantity of organic matter than by water and nitrogen. Hence they do not respond opportunistically to increased availability of such resources.
Relationship between soil respiration and soil moisture
1983, Soil Biology and Biochemistry
Microbial activity is affected by changes in the availability of soil moisture. We examined the relationship between microbial activity and water potential in a silt loam soil during four successive drying and rewetting cycles. Microbial activity was inferred from the rate of CO₂ accumulating in a sealed flask containing the soil sample and the CO₂ respired was measured using gas chromatography. Thermocouple hygrometry was used to monitor the water potential by burying a thermocouple in the soil sample in the flask. Initial treatment by drying on pressure plates brought samples of the test soil to six different water potentials in the range -0.005 to -1.5MPa. Water potential and soil respiration were simultaneously measured while these six soil samples slowly dried by evaporation and were remoistened four times. The results were consistent with a log-linear relationship between water potential and microbial activity as long as activity was not limited by substrate availability. This relationship appeared to hold for the range of water potentials from −0.01 to −8.5 MPa. Even at −0.01 MPa (wet soil) a decrease in water potential from −0.01 to −0.02 MPa caused a 10% decrease in microbial activity. Rewetting the soil caused a large and rapid increase in the respiration rate. There was up to a 40-fold increase in microbial activity for a short period when the change in water potential following rewetting was greater than 5 MPa. Differences in microbial activity between the wetter and drier soil treatments following rewetting to the original water potentials are discussed in terms of the availability of energy substrate.

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Decomposition of organic materials from hill soils and pastures: IV. The effects of moisture content on the mineralization of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus from plant materials and sheep faeces

Abstract

Soil Biol. Biochem.

Soil Biol. Biochem.

Adv. Agron.

Mineralization of nitrogen and sulphur from sheep faeces

Aust. J. agric. Res.

Resistance of humus to decomposition

Nature, Lond.

Organic Phosphorus in Soils

Biological and Chemical Aspects of Mineralization

Sheep faeces in relation to the phosphorus cycle under pastures

Aust. J. agric. Res.