Project Number: 1265-12000-032-00
Project Type: Appropriated

Start Date: Apr 03, 2005
End Date: Apr 02, 2010

Objective:
Develop manure management practices that maintain productivity and reduce environmental losses. Determine chemical forms of carbon in manure and carbon transformations in soil. Construct field nitrogen budgets for poultry litter on winter wheat and develop practices to improve crop nitrogen use and reduce losses. Develop estimates of manure nitrogen mineralization from infrared analyses and real-time crop sensors. Quantify ammonia volatilization from land applied manure, broiler production, and composting and develop tools to reduce these losses.

Approach:
Determining forms of carbon in manure and soil will use infrared and pyrolysis methods on manures and manure-soil mixtures after time-series incubations. Nitrogen budgets for poultry litter will be utilized field plots to estimate ammonia volatilization, denitrification, crop removal, leaching, and change in soil N. Manure nitrogen mineralization studies will use infrared analyses and visible-near-infrared sensors on corn grown in field plots. Micro-meteorology will be used to measure ammonia volatilization from applications of dairy and poultry manures. Ammonia emissions from broilers and composting will utilize acid traps and environmental chambers that house broilers or compost piles, treated with various amendments.