Journal
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
Volume 37, Issue 9, Pages 1625-1629Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2005.01.023
Keywords
denitrification; animal treading; soil nitrate; water-filled porosity; soil aeration; plant N uptake
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The effects of animal treading on denitrification in a mixed ryegrass-clover pasture were studied. A single treading event of moderate or severe intensity was applied in plots during spring by using dairy cows at varying stocking rates (4.5 cows 100 m(-2) for 1.5 or 2.5 h, respectively). Treading caused a significant short-term 21 days) increase in denitrification. Denitrification rates reached a maximum of 52 g N2O-N ha(-1) day(-1) at 8 days after severe treading compared to 2.3 g N2O-N ha(-1) day(-1) under nil treading. Thereafter, denitrification rates declined, and were similar to non-trodden control plots after 28 days. Soil aeration, was significantly reduced by treading as expressed by water-filled porosity. In addition, soil NH4+-N and NO3--N concentrations were also increased by treading. We propose that the underlying processes involved in increasing denitrification under treading were two-fold. Firstly, treading caused a temporary (e.g. 3 days after treading) reduction in soil aeration through soil physical damage, and secondly, reduced soil N utilisation prompted by reduced plant growth led to increased soil NH4+-N and NO3--N availability. This study shows that treading, without the influence of other grazing animal factors (e.g. excretion), can cause a large short-term stimulation of denitrification in grass-clover pastures. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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