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Assessing strategies to mitigate phosphorus leaching from drained clay soils
Barbro Ulén1, Mats Larsbo2, Johannes Koestel2
1Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7014, 75007, Uppsala, Sweden. barbro.ulen@slu.se.
Ambio
|November 22, 2017
Summary
Reducing phosphorus (P) leaching from farm drainage is key. Structure liming showed a significant trend towards lower P leaching in clayey soils, suggesting tailored field management can mitigate P loss.
Area of Science:
- Agricultural Science
- Soil Science
- Environmental Science
Background:
- Phosphorus (P) leaching from subsurface drainage is a significant environmental concern.
- High spatial and temporal variability complicates the assessment of P leaching mitigation strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of different soil management practices on mitigating phosphorus leaching.
- To assess the impact of structure liming and conventional tillage on P loss in clayey soils.
Main Methods:
- An eight-year field study was conducted with four replicate treatments: shallow autumn tillage (ShT), unfertilised fallow (UF), conventional autumn ploughing (CT), and structure liming (SL-CT).
- Total P leaching was measured in kg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹.
- Statistical analysis was performed using Richards-Baker flow index and a distance factor as covariates.
Main Results:
- Mean total P leaching varied by treatment: 1.21 (ShT), 0.84 (UF), 0.81 (CT), and 0.57 (SL-CT) kg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹.
- While overall treatment significance was borderline (p=0.084), structure liming (SL-CT) showed a significant tendency for lower leaching compared to shallow tillage (ShT) (p adjusted = 0.009).
- In an adjacent field, a combination of structure liming and drainage renovation approximately halved P leaching over a three-year post-period compared to the pre-period.
Conclusions:
- Structure liming shows promise for reducing phosphorus leaching in clayey soils.
- A combination of site-specific measures, including structure liming and drainage improvements, is recommended for effective P leaching mitigation.
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