Ammonia volatilization losses during irrigation of liquid animal manure

Abstract

Ammonia loss resulting from land application of liquid animal manure varies depending on the composition of the manure and the method used to apply manure to cropland. High levels of ammonia volatilization result in an economic loss to the farmer based on the value of the nitrogen and have also been shown to be a source of air pollution. Using irrigation as a method of applying liquid manure to cropland has generally been accepted as a method that increases the volatilization of ammonia. However, only three studies available in the literature measured the amount of ammonia lost during the irrigation process. Only one of the three studies concluded that ammonia loss during irrigation was significant. A pooled statistical and uncertainty analysis of the 55 available observations was performed to determine if ammonia loss occurred during irrigation of animal manure. Data on the total solids content of the manure were also included as an indicator of evaporation losses. Volatilization losses during irrigation were not found to be statistically significant, and evaporation losses were small, 2.4%, and agreed with previous studies on irrigation performance. Furthermore, the range of ammonia loss reported in previous studies was determined to be within the errors associated with the measurement of total ammoniacal nitrogen concentrations and the calculation of per cent differences.