Nitrate leaching from dairy farms in the Sand region in the Netherlands Causes for higher nitrate leaching from maize land than from grassland Arno Hooijboer, Co Daatselaar (LEI), Martine Hoogsteen (RIVM) Nitrate leaching from dairy farms in the Sand region in the
Av: 66 mg/l Av: 33 mg/l 2
Object of this study What are the causes for higher nitrate leaching under maize land compared to grass land 3
Outline 1. Three hypotheses 2. Methods 3. Results from data analyses 4. Conclusions Nitrate leaching from dairy farms in the Sand region in the
Three hypotheses 1. Maize is grown preferentially on the most well-drained and sandy parcels on the farm, more prone to nitrate leaching. 2. Maize land is more fertilized than grass land. 3. The crop maize itself leads to higher leaching. Grassland is better able to retain or reduce nitrate Or a combination. 5
Methods Data come from the Minerals Policy Monitoring Programme Started in 1992, grown gradually to 4 farms Random choice of Dutch farms Both water quality and agricultural practice monitored Selection in this study: Dairy farms in the Sand region Farms with both grass and maize On each farm 16 sample points First meter of groundwater in temporary wells. Field nitrate test on every sample point. Groundwater level and soil type available from map overlays 6
Hyp 1: Soil and groundwater class Deeper groundwater levels have less nitrogen reduction Nitrate increases by increasing groundwater class Peat and clay soils have higher nitrate reduction than sand soils Effect both on both grass land and maize land. Nitrate (mg/l) 14 12 1 8 6 4 2 1 8 6 4 2 Grass Maize deeper groundwater levels II III III* IV V V* VI VII VIII Groundwater Class Nitrate (mg/l) Clay Peat Sand 7
Hyp 1: Soil and Groundwater Class 3 Percentage of samples (%) 1 Percentage of samples (%) 25 2 15 Grass Maize 8 6 Grass Maize 1 4 5 2 II III III* IV V V* VI VII VIII Groundwater Class Clay Peat Sand 8
Hyp 1: Groundwater Class: only sand samples 35 3 25 2 Percentage of samples (%) Grass Maize 8 7 6 5 Nitrate (mg/l) Grass Maize 15 4 1 5 II III III* IV V V* VI VII VIII Groundwater Class (only sand) 3 2 1 All soils Only sand Difference between grass and maize decreases with.6 mg/l 9
Hyp 2: Use of fertilizer Total amount of fertilizer on maize is half of that used on grass 5 4 3 Nitrogen (kg N/ha) N other N Manure N Fertiliser 2 1 Grass Maize 1
Hyp 2: Nitrogen balance on maize and grass N-surplus N fertilizer N production Also including: N-precipitation, NH3 volatilization and fixation 5 4 3 2 Nitrogen (kg N/ha) Grass N-fertiliser N-production N-surplus 1-1 Maize -2-3 -4 N-surplus can leach to groundwater. But does it? 11
Hyp 3: crop type and cultivation N-leaching (kg N/ha) = nitrate concentration * precipitation surplus 18 16 14 12 1 8 6 4 2 Nitrogen (kg N/ha) N surplus N-leaching Storage+denitrification -2 Grass Maize N surplus = nitrate leaching + denitrification ± storage 12
Conclusions / Discussion Hypothesis 1: soil and groundwater Slight preference for maize on sand parcels No preference for maize on more drained sandy soils Hypothesis 2: fertilizer Fertilization on maize is much lower than on grass land N-surplus is also smaller on maize land Hypothesis 3: crop properties and cultivation Denitrification is larger on grassland Grassland is building up N-storage, maize production is removing organic N-storage from the soil. 13
Thank you for your attention! Nitrate leaching from dairy farms in the Sand region in the
Crop rotation 1 Nitrate (mg/l) 8 6 4 2 Grass maize Grass grass Gras totaal Maize grass Maize maize Mais totataal 15
Surplus also includes: N-precipitation, NH3 volatilization, mineralization and fixation Grass: 33 mg/l = 22 kg N/ha Maize: 66 mg/l = 44 kg N/ha 16 Netherlands 9-21-215