Nitrogen Leaching from Agricultural Land in Sweden

The aim of the calculations in this paper was i) to estimate the effect of measures to reduce nitrogen leaching from arable land and ii) to estimate what reduction in the gross load from southern Sweden could be expected. The measures taken were i) cultivation of a catch crop in spring cereals; ii) smaller applications of fertilizer-N to crops in cultivation systems without manure; iii) spring application of manure and a smaller amount of complementary fertilizer-N; and iv) a catch crop in combination with spring application of manure and a reduced rate of fertilizer-N. The models used were the mechanistic SOIL/SOILN models describing water, heat, and nitrogen flows in the soil profile. The largest reduction in leaching was obtained with the combination of catch crop, spring application of manure and reduced rate of fertilizer-N. Total gross load decreased with 16% in this scenario. The catch crop scenario reduced gross load by a mere 5% because it was only introduced in 30% of the acreage of spring cereals. The scenario with a 10% reduction in fertilizer-N resulted in a decrease in load of about 6000 tonnes, i.e. 11%, as well as a yield decrease of about 10

Agriculture · Agronomy · Arable land · Biology · Crop · Fertilizer · Leaching (pedology · Manure · Nitrogen · Soil water · Chemistry · Ecology · Environmental Science · Soil and Unsaturated Flow · Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics · Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics · Soil Science