Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-03T05:14:44.721Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An assessment of the effects of fertilizer nitrogen management on nitrate leaching risk from grazed dairy pasture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 April 2015

I. VOGELER Open the ORCID record for I. VOGELER [Opens in a new window] ,
G. LUCCI  and
M. SHEPHERD
I. VOGELER*
Affiliation:
AgResearch, Grasslands Research Centre, Palmerston North, New Zealand
G. LUCCI
Affiliation:
AgResearch, Ruakura Research Centre, Hamilton, New Zealand
M. SHEPHERD
Affiliation:
AgResearch, Ruakura Research Centre, Hamilton, New Zealand
*
*To whom all correspondence should be addressed. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Dairy farms are under pressure to increase productivity while reducing environmental impacts. Effective fertilizer management practices are critical to achieve this. In the present study the effect of timing and rate of nitrogen (N) fertilizer application on pasture production and N losses, either via direct leaching of fertilizer N or indirectly through consumption of N in pasture and subsequent excretion via dairy cow grazing, was modelled. The Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) was first tested with experimental data from N fertilizer response experiments conducted on a well-drained soil in the Waikato region of New Zealand. The model was then used in a 20-year simulation to investigate the effect of fertilizer management on the impacts on potential N leaching losses. Year-to-year variability was assessed by incorporating 20 years of climate data into the model. Modelling indicated that N fertilization at rates of 140 and 220 kg N/ha/year, applied in four split applications and avoiding application in winter months, could increase pasture yield on average by 2·2–3·0 t dry matter (DM)/ha (25–38%). There were some significant amounts of direct leaching in some years, related to environmental conditions. The maximum loss was as high as 61 kg N/ha at an N application rate of 220 kg N/ha/year, in a year with low pasture production and high rainfall following fertilizer application. In general, however, the risk of direct N leaching from applied fertilizer was low. It seems the main effect of N fertilization is to increase the risk of indirect N leaching, due to increased N intake and excretion. The modelling indicated that the major contribution to increased indirect N leaching risk was from the extra DM grown (more urine deposited per ha). Increased N concentration in the pasture due to fertilization and the resultant extra partitioning of excretal N to urine had only a minor effect on indirect leaching losses. The exception was N fertilizer applied in late winter/early spring (July), where fertilizer N (55 kg/ha) increased pasture N concentration by c. 25%, suggesting that the N concentration in urine patch areas could increase from c. 550 to 840 kg N/ha. Further measurements are required to test the hypothesis developed from the modelling that the main effect of N fertilizer on urinary N leaching is by increasing DM production rather than increasing pasture N concentration.

Type
Crops and Soils Research Papers
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 154 , Issue 3 , April 2016 , pp. 407 - 424
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Berger, H., Machado, C. F., Agnusdei, M. & Cullen, B. R. (2013). Use of a biophysical simulation model (DairyMod) to represent tall fescue pasture growth in Argentina. Grass and Forage Science 69, 441–453.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berntsen, J., Petersen, B. M., Jacobsen, B. H., Olesen, J. E. & Hutchings, N. J. (2003). Evaluating nitrogen taxation scenarios using the dynamic whole farm simulation model FASSET. Agricultural Systems 76, 817–839.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bolland, M. D. A. & Paynter, B. H. (1994). Critical phosphorus concentrations for burr medic, yellow serradella, subterranean clover, and wheat. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 25, 385–394.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryant, J. R. & Snow, V. O. (2008). Modelling pastoral farm agro-ecosystems: a review. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 51, 349–363.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buczko, U., Kuchenbuch, R. O. & Lennartz, B. (2010). Assessment of the predictive quality of simple indicator approaches for nitrate leaching from agricultural fields. Journal of Environmental Management 91, 1305–1315.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cichota, R., Vogeler, I., Snow, V. O. & Shepherd, M. (2010). Modelling the effect of a nitrification inhibitor on N leaching from grazed pastures. In Food Security from sustainable Agriculture (Ed. Thom, E.), pp. 43–47. Lincoln, New Zealand: New Zealand Grassland Association.Google Scholar
Cichota, R., Snow, V. O., Vogeler, I., Wheeler, D. M. & Shepherd, M. A. (2012). Describing N leaching from urine patches deposited at different times of the year with a transfer function. Soil Research 50, 694–707.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cichota, R., Vogeler, I., Snow, V. O. & Webb, T. H. (2013). Ensemble pedotransfer function to derive hydraulic descriptions for New Zealand soils. Soil Research 51, 94–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cookson, W. R., Rowarth, J. S. & Cameron, K. C. (2001). The fate of autumn-, late winter- and spring-applied nitrogen fertilizer in a perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) seed crop on a silt loam soil in Canterbury, New Zealand. Agriculture Ecosystems and the Environment 84, 67–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cornforth, I. S. & Sinclair, A. G. (1984). Fertiliser and Lime Recommendations for Pastures and Crops in New Zealand, 2nd revised edition. Wellington, New Zealand: MAF.Google Scholar
Corson, D. C., Waghorn, G. C., Ulyatt, M. J. & Lee, J. (1999). NIRS: forage analysis and livestock feeding. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association 61, 127–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dairy, N. Z. (2012). Seasonal Nitrogen Use. DairyNZ Farmfact 7–11, Hamilton, New Zealand: DairyNZ. Available online from: http://www.dairynz.co.nz/publications/farmfacts/fertiliser-and-nutrient-management/farmfact-7-11/ (accessed February 2015).Google Scholar
Decau, M. L., Simon, J. C. & Jacquet, A. (2003). Fate of urine nitrogen in three soils throughout a grazing season. Journal of Environmental Quality 32, 1405–1413.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
De Klein, C. A. M. & Eckard, R. J. (2008). Targeted technologies for nitrous oxide abatement from animal agriculture. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 48, 14–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Di, H. J. & Cameron, K. C. (2002). Nitrate leaching and pasture production from different nitrogen sources on a shallow stoney soil under flood-irrigated dairy pasture. Australian Journal of Soil Research 40, 317–334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doak, B. W. (1952). Some chemical changes in the nitrogenous constituents of urine when voided on pasture. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 42, 162–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eckard, R. J., Chapman, D. F. & White, R. E. (2007). Nitrogen balances in temperate perennial grass and clover dairy pastures in south-eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 58, 1167–1173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feyter, C., O'Connor, M. B. & Addison, B. (1985). Effects of rates and times of nitrogen application on the production and composition of dairy pastures in Waikato district, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Experimental Agriculture 13, 242–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Génermont, S. & Cellier, P. (1997). A mechanistic model for estimating ammonia volatilization from slurry applied to bare soil. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 88, 145–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ghani, A., Shepherd, M., Rajendram, G., Rollo, M. & Waller, J. (2011). Nitrogen supplying capacity assessment in temperate pasture soils. Geophysical Research Abstracts 13, EGU2011-14130.Google Scholar
Giltrap, D., Cichota, R., Vogeler, I. & Shepherd, M. (2014). Comparison of APSIM and NZ-DNDC Models with plant N uptake and water and nitrate leaching data. In Nutrient Management for the Farm, Catchment and Community (Eds Currie, L. D. & Christensen, C. L.), pp. 1–11. Occasional Report no. 27. Palmerston North, New Zealand: Fertilizer and Lime Research Centre, Massey University.Google Scholar
Glassey, C. B., Roach, C. G., Strahan, M. R. & McLean, N. (2010). Dry matter yield, pasture quality and profit on two Waikato dairy farms after pasture renewal. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association 72, 91–96.Google Scholar
Gourley, C. J. P., Dougherty, W. J., Weaver, D. M., Aarons, S. R., Awty, I. M., Gibson, D. M., Hannah, M. C., Smith, A. P. & Peverill, K. I. (2012). Farm-scale nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulfur balances and use efficiencies on Australian dairy farms. Animal Production Science 52, 929–944.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graeme, J. D. (2012). Cost-effective policies for improving water quality by reducing nitrate emissions from diverse dairy farms: an abatement–cost perspective. Agricultural Water Management 104, 10–20.Google Scholar
Hoekstra, N. J., Struik, P. C., Amburgh, M. E. V., Lantinga, E. A. & Schulte, R. P. O. (2008). Can herbage nitrogen fractionation in Lolium perenne be improved by herbage management? NJAS – Wageningen Journal of Life Science 55, 167–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hopkins, A., Gilbey, J., Dibb, C., Bowling, P. J. & Murray, P. J. (1990). Response of permanent and reseeded grassland to fertilizer nitrogen. 1. Herbage production and herbage quality. Grass and Forage Science 45, 43–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacobs, J. L., Mckenzie, F. R. & Kearney, G. A. (2002). Nitrogen fertilizer effects on nutritive characteristics of perennial ryegrass during late autumn, and mid- and late winter in western Victoria. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 42, 541–548.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jarvis, S., Hutchings, N., Brentrup, F., Olesen, J. E. & Van De Hoek, K. W. (2010). Nitrogen flows in farming systems across Europe. In The European Nitrogen Assessment: Sources, Effects and Policy Perspectives (Eds Sutton, M. A., Howard, C. M., Erisman, J. W., Billen, G., Bleeker, A., Grennfelt, P., Van Grinsven, H. & Grizzetti, B.), pp. 211–228. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Johnson, I. R., Chapman, D. F., Snow, V. O., Eckard, R. J., Parsons, A. J., Lambert, M. G. & Cullen, B. R. (2008). DairyMod and EcoMod: biophysical pasture-simulation models for Australia and New Zealand. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 48, 621–631.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keating, B., Carberry, P., Hammer, G., Probert, M., Robertson, M., Holzworth, D., Huth, N., Hargreaves, J., Meinke, H., Hochman, Z., Mclean, G., Verburg, K., Snow, V., Dimes, J., Silburn, M., Wang, E., Brown, S., Bristow, K., Asseng, S., Chapman, S., McCown, R., Freebairn, D. & Smith, C. (2003). An overview of APSIM, a model designed for farming systems simulation. European Journal of Agronomy 18, 267–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keating, T. & O'Kiely, P. (2000). Comparison of old permanent grassland, Lolium perenne and Lolium multiflorum swards grown for silage 3. Effects of varying fertiliser nitrogen application rate. Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research 39, 35–53.Google Scholar
Kebreab, E., France, J., Mills, J., Allison, R. & Dijkstra, J. (2002). A dynamic model of N metabolism in the lactating dairy cow and an assessment of impact of N excretion on the environment. Journal of Animal Science 80, 248–259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Korte, C. J. (1988). Nitrogen fertilizer responses on Gisborne-East Coast pastures. Proceedings of the Annual Conference: Agronomy Society of NZ 18, 85–88.Google Scholar
Ledgard, S., Schils, R., Eriksen, J. & Luo, J. (2009). Environmental impacts of grazed clover/grass pastures. Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research 48, 209–226.Google Scholar
Ledgard, S. F., Steele, K. W. & Feyter, C. (1988). Influence of time of application on the fate of 15N-labelled urea applied to dairy pasture. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 31, 87–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, F. Y. & Snow, V. O. (2010). Nitrogen processes and nitrogen use efficiency in pastoral systems under differing management – a modelling analysis. In Farming's Future: Minimising Footprints and Maximising Margins (Eds Currie, L. D. & Lindsay, C. L.), pp. 219–226. Occasional Report No. 23. Palmerston North, New Zealand: Fertilizer and Lime Research Centre, Massey University.Google Scholar
Li, F. Y., Snow, V. O. & Holzworth, D. P. (2011). Modelling seasonal and geographical pattern of pasture production in New Zealand – validating a pasture model in APSIM. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 54, 331–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCown, R. L. (2002). Changing systems for supporting farmers’ decisions: problems, paradigms, and Prospects. Agricultural Systems 74, 179–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mengel, K. & Kirkby, E. A. (2001). Principles of Plant Nutrition. Berlin: Springer-Verlag GmbH.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Monaghan, R. M., Hedley, M. J., Di, H. J., McDowell, R. W., Cameron, K. C. & Ledgard, S. F. (2007). Nutrient management in New Zealand pastures – recent developments and future issues. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 50, 181–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Monaghan, R. M., De Klein, C. A. M. & Muirhead, R. W. (2008). Prioritisation of farm scale remediation efforts for reducing losses of nutrients and faecal indicator organisms to waterways: a case study of New Zealand dairy farming. Journal of Environmental Management 87, 609–622.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moore, A. D., Holzworth, D. P., Herrmann, N. I., Huth, N. I. & Robertson, M. J. (2007). The Common Modelling Protocol: a hierarchical framework for simulation of agricultural and environmental systems. Agricultural Systems 95, 37–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moriasi, D. N., Arnold, J. G., Van Liew, M. W., Bingner, R. L., Harmel, R. D. & Veith, T. L. (2007). Model evaluation guidelines for systematic quantification of accuracy in watershed simulations. Transactions of the ASABE 50, 885–900.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morton, J. & Risk, W. (1994). Effects of triple superphosphate and Sechura phosphate rock on clover and nitrogen content of pasture. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 37, 569–575.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oenema, O., Wrage, N., Velthof, G. L., Van Groenigen, J. W., Dolfing, J. & Kuikman, P. J. (2005). Trends in global nitrous oxide emissions from animal production systems. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 72, 51–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Orwin, K. H., Bertram, J. E., Clough, T. J., Condron, L. M., Sherlock, R. R. & O'Callaghan, M. (2009). Short-term consequences of spatial heterogeneity in soil nitrogen concentrations caused by urine patches of different sizes. Applied Soil Ecology 42, p. 271–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pacheco, D. & Waghorn, G. (2008). Dietary nitrogen – definitions, digestion, excretion and consequences of excess for grazing animal. Proceedings of the NZ Grasslands Association 70, 107–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pembleton, K. G., Rawnsley, R. P. & Burkitt, L. L. (2013). Environmental influences on optimum nitrogen fertiliser rates for temperate dairy pastures. European Journal of Agronomy 45, 132–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pleasants, A. B., Shorten, P. R. & Wake, G. C. (2007). The distribution of urine deposited on a pasture from grazing animals. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 145, p. 81–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Probert, M. E., Dimes, J. P., Keating, B. A., Dalal, R. C. & Strong, W. M. (1998). APSIM's water and nitrogen modules and simulation of the dynamics of water and nitrogen in fallow systems. Agricultural Systems 56, 1–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Probert, M. E., Delve, R. J., Kimani, S. K. & Dimes, J. P. (2005). Modelling nitrogen mineralization from manures: representing quality aspects by varying C : N ratio of sub-pools. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 37, 279–287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Romera, A. J., McCall, D. G., Lee, J. M. & Agnusdei, M. G. (2009). Improving the McCall herbage growth model. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 477–494.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rotz, C. A., Taube, F., Russelle, M. P., Oenema, J., Sanderson, M. A. & Wachendorf, M. (2005). Whole-farm perspectives of nutrient flows in grassland agriculture. Crop Science 45, 2139–2159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanches, I. D., Tuohy, M. P., Hedley, M. J. & Mackay, A. D. (2013). Seasonal prediction of in situ pasture macronutrients in New Zealand pastoral systems using hypospectral data. International Journal of Remote Sensing 34, 276–302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shepherd, M. (2009). Identifying the decision making processes for application of N fertiliser to an individual paddock. In Nutrient Management in a Rapidly Changing World (Eds Currie, L. D. & Lindsay, C. L.), pp. 177–186. Palmerston North, NZ: Fertiliser and Lime Research Centre, Massey University.Google Scholar
Shepherd, M. & Lucci, G. (2013). A review of the effect of autumn nitrogen fertiliser on pasture N concentration and an assessment of the potential effects on nitrate leaching risk. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association 75, 197–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shepherd, M., Phillips, P. & Snow, V. (2011). The challenge of late summer urine patches in the Waikato region. In Adding to the Knowledge Base for the Nutrient Manager (Eds Currie, L. D. & Lindsay, C. L.), 8 pp. Occasional Report No. 24. Palmerston North, New Zealand: Fertilizer and Lime Research Centre, Massey University. Available online from: http://www.massey.ac.nz/~flrc/workshops/11/paperlist11.htm (accessed March 2015).Google Scholar
Snow, V. O. & Huth, N. (2004). The APSIM-Micromet module. HortResearch Internal Report No. 2004/12848. Palmerston North, New Zealand: HortResearch.Google Scholar
Snow, V. O., Johnson, I. R. & Parsons, A. J. (2009). The single heterogeneous paddock approach to modelling the effects of urine patches on production and leaching in grazed pastures. Crop and Pasture Science 60, 691–696.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tait, A. & Turner, R. (2005). Generating multiyear gridded daily rainfall over New Zealand. Journal of Applied Meteorology 44, 1315–1323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thornley, J. H. M. & Johnson, I. R. (2000). Plant and Crop Modelling – a Mathematical Approach to Plant and Crop Physiology. New Jersey, USA: The Blackburn Press.Google Scholar
Verburg, K., Ross, P. J. & Bristow, K. L. (1996). SWIMv2·1 User Manual. CSIRO Divisional Report No 130. Adelaide, Australia: CSIRO.Google Scholar
Vibart, R. E., Koolaard, J., Barrett, B. A. & Pacheco, D. (2009). Exploring the relationships between plant chemical composition and nitrogen partitioning in lactating dairy cows fed ryegrass-based diets. Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 69, 188–195.Google Scholar
Vibart, R. E., Li, F., Vogeler, I. & Cichota, R. (2013). Evaluating the predictive ability of a mechanistic model of nitrogen partitioning applied to lactating dairy cows consuming ryegrass-based diets. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association 75, 173–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vogeler, I., Cichota, R., Snow, V. O., Dutton, T. & Daly, B. (2011). Pedotransfer functions for estimating ammonium adsorption in soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal 75, 324–331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vogeler, I., Cichota, R. & Snow, V. (2013). Identification and testing of early indicators for N leaching from urine patches. Journal of Environmental Management 130, 55–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Waghorn, G. C., Burke, J. L. & Kolver, E. S. (2007). Principles of feeding value. In Pasture and Supplements for Grazing Animals (Eds Rattray, P. V., Brooks, I. M. & Nicol, A. M.), pp. 35–59. Hamilton, NZ: New Zealand Society of Animal Production.Google Scholar
Walworth, J. L. & Sumner, M. E. (1988). Foliar Diagnosis – A Review. New York: Praeger Publishing.Google Scholar
Wheeler, D. M. (2012). OVERSEER ® Technical Manual: Characteristics of Pasture. Hamilton, NZ: AgResearch Ltd. Available online from: http://www.overseer.org.nz/OVERSEERModel/Information/Technicalmanual.aspx (accessed February 2015).Google Scholar
White, T. A., Johnson, I. R. & Snow, V. O. (2008). Comparison of outputs of a biophysical simulation model for pasture growth and composition with measured data under dryland and irrigated conditions in New Zealand. Grass and Forage Science 63, 339–349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitehead, D. C. (1995). Grassland Nitrogen. Wallingford, UK: CABI.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilde, R. H. (2003). Manual for National Soils Database. Palmerston North, New Zealand: Landcare Research.Google Scholar
Zebarth, B. J., Drury, C. F., Tremblay, N. & Cambouris, A. N. (2009). Opportunities for improved fertilizer nitrogen management in production of arable crops in eastern Canada: a review. Canadian Journal of Soil Science 89, 113–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar