Soil inorganic nitrogen in spatially distinct areas within a commercial dairy farm in Canterbury, New Zealand

Authors

  • D.C. Ekanayake
  • J.L. Owens
  • S. Hodge
  • J.A.K. Trethewey
  • R.L. Roten
  • M. Westerschulte
  • S. Belin
  • A. Werner
  • K. Cameron

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33584/jnzg.2017.79.545

Abstract

For precision nitrogen (N) fertilisation of grazed dairy paddocks, soil N distribution needs to be quantified. It is expected that farm infrastructure will affect inorganic-N distribution due to its influence on cow grazing behaviour. Surface soil from four spatially distinct areas (main gate, water troughs, non-irrigated and the remaining pasture) was analysed for soil ammonium-N (NH4 +-N) and nitrate-N (NO3 --N) from three paddocks (180 soil samples) on an irrigated commercial dairy farm in Canterbury, New Zealand. Variation between paddocks was higher for NO3 - (P<0.001) than for NH4 + (P=0.52). Differences between spatially distinct areas were detected for NH4 + (P<0.001) but not for NO3 - (P=0.37), though there was variation in NO3 - with distance from the gates and troughs. This study demonstrates methods for classifying spatially distinct areas of grazed pasture to quantify their influence on inorganic-N distribution. Further research is required to better understand variability. Keywords: nitrogen, spatial nitrogen distribution, distinct areas

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Published

2017-01-01

How to Cite

Ekanayake, D., Owens, J., Hodge, S., Trethewey, J., Roten, R., Westerschulte, M., Belin, S., Werner, A., & Cameron, K. (2017). Soil inorganic nitrogen in spatially distinct areas within a commercial dairy farm in Canterbury, New Zealand. Journal of New Zealand Grasslands, 79, 83–88. https://doi.org/10.33584/jnzg.2017.79.545

Issue

Volume 79, 2017, Whanganui

Section

Past volumes

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Copyright

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Rights granted to the New Zealand Grassland Association through this agreement are non-exclusive. You are free to publish the work(s) elsewhere and no ownership is assumed by the NZGA when storing or curating an electronic version of the work(s). The author(s) will receive no monetary return from the Association for the use of material contained in the manuscript. If I am one of several co-authors, I hereby confirm that I am authorized by my co-authors to grant this Licence as their agent on their behalf. For the avoidance of doubt, this includes the rights to supply the article in electronic and online forms and systems.