Ammonia Emissions from Agriculture in the Mid-Atlantic

Ammonia Emissions from Agriculture in the Mid-Atlantic John (Jack) Meisinger Soil Scientist, USDA-ARS Beltsville, MD Adj. Assoc. Prof, UMCP College Pk, MD Jerry Hatfield Plant Physiologist, USDA-ARS Ames, IA Research Leader, Nat. Soil Tilth Lab. Ames, IA John Prueger Atmospheric Scientist, USDA-ARS Ames, IA

Problem: Ammonia Losses Are Economic loss of plant available N lose $0.45 / lb N emitted, lowers N:P ratio in manures Environmental affects, re-deposition, aerosols PM 2.5 natural ecosystems acidification and species shifts aerosols increase regional haze, respiratory ailments Estimation challenges for N management managing ammonia losses requires estimating losses

Estimated Ammonia Emission Sources for Chesapeake Bay Watershed (Per. Comm. Battye et al, 2000 NH 3 in Airsheds & Watersheds Workshop) 18% 3% 13% Fertilizer Poultry Human 23% 36% Cattle Mobile 7% Industry

Urea Reactions 2 NH 3, gas + CO 2, gas -H 2 O CO(NH 2 ) 2 (NH 4 ) 2 CO 3 urea urease (ph ~ 8.6) Note: rapid reaction w/ urease in manure

NH 3 Emissions from UK Cattle (Pain et al., 1998) 5% Land App. 28% 17% 50% Storage Housing Grazing

NH 3 Emissions from UK Poultry, Traditional Side-wall Ventilation (Pain et al., 1998) 1% Land App. 43% Storage 54% Housing 2% Outdoor

NH 3 Emissions from Poultry Grown in Tunnel Ventilated House, Arkansas (Moore et al., 2010) 20% 1% 17% Land Appl'n. House w/ Flock House Bet. Flocks Storage 62%

Goal: Quantify NH3 Loss from Broiler Production Approach: 500 bird chambers, acid traps on ventilation sys., Coop. w/ UMES, Univ. MD, Univ. DE, EPA - Ches. Bay Prog. Evaluate Litter Acidification: conventional litter, alum treated litter (250 lb/1000), sodium bisulfate treated litter(75 lb/1000) Parameters: total NH3 emissions w/ acid traps, total N budget, feed efficiency, bird uniformity, NH3 conc., bird health

NH 3 Emissions, Broilers in MD, Side-wall Ventilation, after litter treatments (Meisinger, Harter-Dennis, unpublished 2008) Est. NH3-N Emission, kg 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 Experiment Day Cont-Max Cont-Min AL+-Max AL+-Min PLT-Max PLT-Min

Ammonia Volatilization

Ammonia Losses from Manure Types or UAN Fertilizer over Time (Thompson & Meisinger, 2000; Meisinger et al. 1999; McInnes et al. 1986) NH3-N Lost, % of NH4-N 50 40 30 20 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Days after Application Dairy Slurry, 70% NH4-N Loss Poultry Litter, 27% NH4-N Loss UAN Surface, 10% NH4-N Loss

NH 3 Losses from Land Application (Meisinger & Jokela, 2000) Ammonia losses affected by: Manure characteristics : TN, NH 4 -N, % DM Application method: sfc. vs. incorp. vs. band Weather conditions: temp., wind, rainfall Soil properties: infiltration, sfc. residues, CEC, ph

Ammonia Wind Tunnels

Tillage Effects NH 3 Loss, Poultry L., Wind Tunnels, 6 d (Meisinger & Pote unpub. data 2008) NH3-N Loss Rate (mg NH3-N/ hr) 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 Total Loss Disked : 32% of No-till Total Loss Injected : 18% of No-till 0 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 Cumulative Time (days) Injected PL Disked PL No-till, Surface, PL

Question: What affect does tillage have on ammonia loss?

Poultry Litter Injector (Pote, 2008)

Tillage Effects on NH 3 Loss Dairy Slurry, Wind Tunnels, 7d (Thompson & Meisinger, 2001, Meisinger unpub. 2009) 50 Surface % NH4-N Lost 40 30 20 10 0 Tillage Implement Ph'nx or Aer. Turbo Till 35% reduction Chisel Plow 80% reduction Inject or Disc 90% reduction Mold. Plow 99% reduction

Question: Can NH 3 losses be managed in forage systems?

N Budget for Slurry Placement (Thompson et al, 1987) Sfc. Broadcast Injected NH3 Denitrification Crop N Soil Org. N NH3 Denitrification Crop N Soil Org. N The Soil N Cycle is still at work (lower NH 3 loss promotes > denitrification)

Question: What happens to the ammonia after it is volatilzed? 1) Atmospheric deposition within the Bay watershed 2) Atmospheric transport out of Bay watershed 3) Deposition & transport - but in what proportions? Answer requires real-world data on the characteristics of Atmospheric Ammonia Dispersion

Plume Dynamics over Time Each panel = a 9 second interval

Horizontal view of typical NH 3 Plume Conventional Gaussian Plume Averaged Lidar Measurements

Atmospheric Dispersion

Question: What happens to the ammonia after it is volatilzed? 1) Atmospheric deposition within the Bay watershed 2) Atmospheric transport out of Bay watershed 3) Deposition & transport - but in what proportions? Answer requires real-world data on the characteristics of Atmospheric Ammonia Dispersion. Answer: Estimate that 15-30% of NH 3 volatilized remains in Chesapeake Bay watershed, remainder out to N. Atlantic.

Summary : Ammonia Management Principles are well known: NH 3 losses can be large & will vary w/ source, Liq s. : 40-70% NH 4 -N (20-35% TN) w/ in 1-3 days P. Lit. : 20-40% NH 4 -N (5-10% TN) w/ in 7 days Balance NH 3 cons. (low residues) w/ erosion control (hi residues) Injection lowers NH 3 loss & preserves residues, but slows appl n. NH 3 losses highly variable, e.g. 5-75% NH 4 -N depending on: manure type, applic n. method, weather, soil Monitor w/ PSNT: check N sufficiency (NH 3 loss, leaching, etc.)

Short-term and Long-term Needs Short-term Implementation needs: Expand use of manure injection, or high-residue soil tillage implements Expand use of litter acidification agents in poultry houses Expand low crude protein diets to reduce ammonia losses in dairies Long-term Implementation needs: Research and develop non-litter flooring for broilers Research fate & transport of atmospheric NH 3 in the Bay air-shed Research and develop practices to minimize nitrous oxide (N 2 O) losses from injected manure