Soil acidification used as a management strategy to reduce nitrate losses from agricultural land

• Published in: Soil biology & biochemistry Vol. 37; no. 5; pp. 867 - 875
• Main Authors: Kemmitt, Sarah J., Wright, David, Jones, David L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2005; New York, NY Elsevier Science
• Subjects: acid soils; Acidification; agricultural soils; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; amino acids; Biochemistry and biology; Biological and medical sciences; Chemical, physicochemical, biochemical and biological properties; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; grasses; grassland soils; Hordeum vulgare; leaching; losses from soil; mineralization; Nitrate leaching; nitrate nitrogen; Nitrate vulnerable zones; nitrates; nitrification; Nitrogen cycling; Physics, chemistry, biochemistry and biology of agricultural and forest soils; Soil acidity; soil nutrient dynamics; soil nutrients; soil pH; Soil science; soil water; United Kingdom; water pollution; United Kingdom; Acidification; pH; Soil acidity; Nitrate leaching; Nitrate vulnerable zones; Nitrogen cycling; Soils; Nitrogen cycle; Underground leaching; pH. Soil acidilv; Farmland; Nitrates; Soil science; Nitrate leaching; Nitrate vulnerable zones; Nitioeen cycling
• ISSN: 0038-0717; 1879-3428
• DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2004.10.001

pH is known to be a primary regulator of nutrient cycling in soil. Increasing soil acidity in agricultural systems has the potential to slow down N cycling and reduce N losses from leaching thereby enhancing sustainability and reducing pollution. We conducted a field experiment to investigate the impact of acidity on N leaching in arable and grassland agricultural systems. The results showed that nitrate (NO 3 −) concentrations in soil water were greater under arable than under grassland. Soil acidification significantly lowered NO 3 − concentrations in soil water over winter and spring under grassland, whilst in cereal plots a similar effect was only observed in spring. Our results suggest that soil acidification decreased nitrification causing an accumulation of NH 4 + which was not subject to leaching. Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) concentrations in soil water were significantly greater under arable than grassland. Soil acidification lowered concentrations of DON in soil water, usually to a greater extent in grassland than in arable plots. It was concluded that it may be possible to use careful soil pH management as a tool to control NO 3 − leaching without compromising the quality of drainage water, and that this may be more effective on grassland than on arable crops.