Nutrient transfers by leaching in a no-tillage system through soil treated with repeated pig slurry applications.

Repeated pig slurry applications cause accumulation and leaching of soil nutrients and, subsequently, groundwater contamination. The purpose of this study was to evaluate ammonium (NH4 +–N), nitrate (NO3 −–N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) leaching in a sandy soil with a 5-year history of repeated pig slurry applications. The study was carried out in the experimental field of the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM) (Federal University of Santa Maria), Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, in the South of Brazil, from 2002 to 2007, in no-tillage system in a Typic Hapludalf soil. Slurry was applied at doses of 0, 20, 40 and 80 m3 ha−1, which over the 5 years amounted to the addition of 594, 1,188 and 2,376 kg N ha−1; 508, 1,016 and 2,032 kg P ha−1 and 216, 432 and 864 kg K ha−1, respectively. Leachate solutions were collected throughout the period, prepared and then subjected to analysis of NH4 +–N, NO3 −–N, P and K available in the solution. Repeated applications of pig slurry in a no-tillage system in sandy soil led to the transfer of elements through the leachate solution according to the sequence: nitrate > potassium > ammonium > phosphorus. The transfers of these elements were positively related to the increased volume of leachate solution over the years in addition to the nutrient amounts added by the pig slurry applied over the 60-month period.