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Nitrogen and phosphorus leaching in a tropical Brazilian soil cropped with sugarcane and irrigated with treated sewage effluent

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  • Blum, Julius
  • Melfi, Adolpho José
  • Montes, Célia Regina
  • Gomes, Tamara Maria

Abstract

There are concerns about groundwater contamination with N and P from fertilizers and other anthropogenic wastes. Use of treated sewage effluent (TSE) for crop irrigation can reduce the use of mineral fertilizers; however, it may add more nutrients into the soil than are necessary for crops, increasing the possibility of leaching. Thus, knowledge of nutrient dynamics in TSE irrigated soils is important for the safe use of this resource. However, the reliability of studies regarding ion leaching is limited due the high propagated variance, as these studies involve independent measurements of variables related to soil and soil solution. The objective of this research was to quantify P and N leaching in a TSE-irrigated Brazilian soil and identify the main causes of variance of this quantification. The experiment consisted of a treatment without irrigation and treatments with TSE irrigation to meet 100% and 150% of the crop water demand (CWD). Soil physical properties and soil water potential gradient were used to calculate internal drainage, and nutrient concentration was measured in soil solution samples taken with ceramic suction cups at a depth of 1m. Variance propagation was calculated by linearization, and the contribution of each variable to the total variance was isolated and quantified. Irrigation with TSE increased N leaching; however, when applied in dosages that met 100% of the CWD, it did not threaten the groundwater quality. P leaching was as low as 100gha−1 and was therefore not an environmental concern. N leaching can be estimated considering the total N input and the rainfall; however, long-term data are needed to improve the accuracy of this estimation. The variance propagation of the soil water potential measurements represented up to 70% of the nitrogen leaching variance.

Suggested Citation

  • Blum, Julius & Melfi, Adolpho José & Montes, Célia Regina & Gomes, Tamara Maria, 2013. "Nitrogen and phosphorus leaching in a tropical Brazilian soil cropped with sugarcane and irrigated with treated sewage effluent," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 115-122.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:117:y:2013:i:c:p:115-122
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2012.11.010
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    1. da Fonseca, Adriel Ferreira & Melfi, Adolpho Jose & Monteiro, Francisco Antonio & Montes, Celia Regina & Almeida, Vagner Vidal de & Herpin, Uwe, 2007. "Treated sewage effluent as a source of water and nitrogen for Tifton 85 bermudagrass," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 87(3), pages 328-336, February.
    2. Leal, Rafael Marques Pereira & Herpin, Uwe & Fonseca, Adriel Ferreira da & Firme, Lilian Pittol & Montes, Célia Regina & Melfi, Adolpho José, 2009. "Sodicity and salinity in a Brazilian Oxisol cultivated with sugarcane irrigated with wastewater," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 307-316, February.
    3. Gloaguen, Thomas V. & Forti, M.-Cristina & Lucas, Yves & Montes, Celia R. & Goncalves, Roberta A.B. & Herpin, Uwe & Melfi, Adolpho J., 2007. "Soil solution chemistry of a Brazilian Oxisol irrigated with treated sewage effluent," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 88(1-3), pages 119-131, March.
    4. Blum, Julius & Herpin, Uwe & Melfi, Adolpho José & Montes, Célia Regina, 2012. "Soil properties in a sugarcane plantation after the application of treated sewage effluent and phosphogypsum in Brazil," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 203-216.
    5. Leal, Rafael Marques Pereira & Firme, Lilian Pittol & Herpin, Uwe & da Fonseca, Adriel Ferreira & Montes, Célia Regina & dos Santos Dias, Carlos Tadeu & Melfi, Adolpho José, 2010. "Carbon and nitrogen cycling in a tropical Brazilian soil cropped with sugarcane and irrigated with wastewater," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 271-276, February.
    6. Ghiberto, P.J. & Libardi, P.L. & Brito, A.S. & Trivelin, P.C.O., 2009. "Leaching of nutrients from a sugarcane crop growing on an Ultisol in Brazil," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(10), pages 1443-1448, October.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Tesfamariam, Eyob H. & Annandale, John G. & Steyn, Joachim M. & Stirzaker, Richard J. & Mbakwe, Ikenna, 2015. "Use of the SWB-Sci model for nitrogen management in sludge-amended land," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 262-276.
    3. Gonçalves, I.Z. & Barbosa, E.A.A. & Santos, L.N.S. & Nazário, A.A. & Feitosa, D.R.C. & Tuta, N.F. & Matsura, E.E., 2017. "Water relations and productivity of sugarcane irrigated with domestic wastewater by subsurface drip," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 105-115.
    4. Ghiberto, P.J. & Libardi, P.L. & Trivelin, P.C.O., 2015. "Nutrient leaching in an Ultisol cultivated with sugarcane," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 141-149.
    5. Hu, Hong-you & Zhang, Linus & Wang, YuanPeng, 2016. "Crop development based assessment framework for guiding the conjunctive use of fresh water and sewage water for cropping practice—A case study," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 98-105.

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