Ammonia Volatilization from Liquid Hog Manure Amended with Paper Products in the Laboratory
1999
Subair, S. | Fyles, J. W. | O'Halloran, I. P.
Losses of N from livestock operations due to ammonia (NH₃) volatilization from animal wastes is a major source of pollution in Europe and North America, and represents a significant economic loss. Paper products have potential as amendments to reduce NH₃ loss because their high carbon (C) and low nitrogen (N) contents would be expected to cause N immobilization. Reduction in NH₃ volatilization from liquid hog manure (LHM) by paper bag (PB), filter paper (FP), newsprint (NP), and pulp sludge (PS) added at 2.5 and 5% (fresh LHM weight) was evaluated in a 56 d incubation study. Cumulative NH₃ volatilization ranged between 28 and 53% of initial manure N. When the rate increased from 2.5 to 5%, NH₃ volatilization was reduced by 47, 40, 37, and 29%, respectively, compared to the control. Increasing the rate increased the amount of C lost from the LHM and reduced the net mineralization of organic N. Hence, the addition of organic amendments appeared to have decreased NH₃ volatilization by increasing microbial activity and N immobilization. Liquid hog manure pH was negatively correlated with C loss, indicating that microbial decomposition of paper amendments lowered manure pH but this effect did not appear to be important in controlling NH₃ volatilization. Paper lignin content was not correlated with the loss of C, manure pH, or NH₃ volatilization, suggesting that the effectiveness of paper products in reducing NH₃ volatilization is not controlled by lignin content but rather by other more labile components.
Show more [+] Less [-]AGROVOC Keywords
Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by National Agricultural Library