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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Orono, Maine » New England Plant, Soil and Water Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #226473
Title: Soil Phosphorus Dynamics in Response to Poultry Manure Amendment

Author
item WALDRIP-DAIL, HEIDI - UNIVERSITY OF MAINE
item He, Zhongqi
item ERICH, M. SUSAN - UNIVERSITY OF MAINE
item Honeycutt, Charles

Submitted to: Soil Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/12/2009
Publication Date: 4/10/2009
Citation: Waldrip-Dail, H., He, Z., Erich, M., Honeycutt, C.W. 2009. Soil Phosphorus Dynamics in Response to Poultry Manure Amendment. Soil Science. 174:195-201.

Interpretive Summary: Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for crop growth, and crop production can benefit from P and other nutrients provided by land application of animal manure. However, bioavailability of applied manure P is related not only to total P content but also to particular P forms present and how they interact with the soil matrix. It is therefore important to understand the interaction between manure-derived P and soil. In this study, we assessed changes in P species of two Maine soils after poultry manure amendment. These data indicated that P from poultry manure interacted differently with soil than dairy manure we reported previously. Poultry manure amendment affected the soil P status in both labile and stable P fractions. Soil properties were key factors in controlling P dynamics in soils amended with poultry manure. Further studies are needed on the interaction of poultry manure with differing soil types to better understand how to optimize fertilization potential of this valuable resource.

Technical Abstract: Manure amendments are an excellent source of phosphorus (P) for crop production; however, animal manures differ in P availability. Poultry manure (PM) contains more mineral-associated P than many manures; however, little research has been conducted on the dynamics of PM P after soil incorporation. We utilized sequential fractionation and enzyme hydrolysis to evaluate the short-term effects of incorporating 0, 100, and 200 mg PM P kg-1 of soil into two Maine soils. Results indicated that the majority of PM P was present in the H2O- and HCl-soluble fractions (1936 and 5956 mg P kg-1 manure, respectively) and that a large portion of stable organic P was present in the HCl-fraction (3288 mg kg-1). PM application resulted in only a transient increase in H2O-Pi, implying rapid transfer to other fractions. Amendment had virtually no effect on P in NaHCO3 and NaOH fractions. A transformation of Pi from the NaHCO3 to the NaOH fraction was observed at Day 84 of the incubation with all treatments, indicating that soil properties influenced PM P dynamics. In the HCl fraction, some organic P became hydrolysable and a portion was converted to other fractions. Comparing these data with a complementary study indicated that P from PM interacted differently with soil than did P from dairy manure. Further research is needed on the dynamics of PM P availability as affected by differing soil properties.