Call number: LD2668 .T4 1979 G68 / Master of Science

Thesis (M. S.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-98). / UHM: Has both book and microform. / U.S. Geological Survey; project no.03; 14-08-0001-G2015

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The contamination of ground water resources represents a serious problem and a prominent threat to the health of our society. This study focuses on the leaching of inorganic anions as a function of agricultural practices under natural field conditions. In order to enhance the understanding of such leaching processes, this thesis evaluates the spatial variability of the leaching characteristics of a site, the factors controlling percolation, and the use of a cereal rye cover crop to reduce nitrate leaching. Thirty-two Passive Capillary Wick Samplers (PCAPS) and 32 suction cups were installed at a depth of 120 cm under row crop produced in a Woodburn Variant loam (fine-loamy mixed mesic Aquultic Argixeroll). Significant correlation for the water flux was seen at the 2.0 m distance, beyond which values were uncorrelated. No spatial correlation was seen in hydrodynamic dispersion coefficients. Percolation was independent of field saturated hydraulic conductivity, while the quantity of incident water was strongly correlated with percolation. The occurrence of preferential flow affected the leaching process as documented by solute breakthrough ahead of the main solute peak. Rates of nitrogen fertilizer application were proportional to observed nitrate leaching losses. The cover crop significantly reduced the amount of nitrate leaching at all N fertilizer application rates. At the recommended rate, nitrate-N concentrations were lowered on average from 22.2 to 9.9 mg/l; cumulative N mass losses were cut by 62% due to plant uptake by the cover crop. The study demonstrated the importance of conducting long-term field experiments under natural conditions to accurately assess leaching processes. / Graduation date: 1996

Non-point source pollution of surface waters with phosphorous (P) transported from agricultural soils has emerged as a major environmental issue in the last decade. Regulations limiting P accumulation in surface soils have been established to protect surface water quality. Yet, little information is available on the quantities of P that may leach through soils and the factors influencing P leaching in agricultural soils. One important factor may be the type of fertilizer P applied, since it is known that P solubility varies among fertilizer sources. The purpose of this thesis was to quantify P leaching in soils amended with inorganic and organic fertilizers. / In a field study, we found that the fertilizer P source (triple superphosphate, composted cattle manure, or a mixture of the two) did not affect soil test P concentration, the degree of soil P saturation, or P leaching in a sandy-loam soil. The soil test P level in the 0--15-cm depth (146 mg P kg -1) exceeded the critical limit of 66-mg kg-1 established in Quebec, and ortho-P and DOP concentrations in leachates collected from piezometers were generally higher than the provincial water quality standard of 0.03 mg P L-1. If transported from our study site, P leached through this coarse-textured soil could pose a threat to groundwater and surface water quality. / These findings were verified in the laboratory with two coarse-textured soils. We found that more NO3-N and DON were leached from soils receiving inorganic N and P fertilizers than composted cattle manure, but the amounts of ortho-P and DOP leached were not affected by fertilizer sources. In coarse-textured soils, the quantities of P leached can be substantial, but depends more on soil characteristics than the fertilizer P source.

The MANIMEA $ rm ( underline{MA}nurial underline{NI}trogen underline{M}anagement{:} underline{E}nvironmental underline{A}spects)$ model is a one-dimensional dynamic model that simultaneously simulates nitrogen transformations (volatilization, net mineralization-immobilization, and denitrification), nitrogen transport (runoff and leaching), plant uptake, and adsorption in homogeneous, unsaturated soils. The simulated system is divided into two components: the applied manure layer and the soil. The model describes the transformation processes occurring in both components separately. It is also capable of accounting for both micro and macroporous flows. In addition, the simulation can be done for time steps shorter than 1 day. / The model was developed to be interactive and user-friendly and was constructed on a modular basis using Microsoft FORTRAN PowerStation$ sp circler$ as a compiler. It can be run on an IBM$ sp circler$ or IBM compatible microcomputer with a minimum requirement of a 386 microprocessor with 4 MB RAM. This model was developed as a nitrogen management-oriented model. However, it can also be used to gain further understanding of nitrogen processes for research and teaching purposes. / The accuracy of the stimulation was enhanced by taking into account moisture and temperature variation and distribution in the soil. The SWACROP and the HEAT programs were integrated into the MANIMEA model to generate transient moisture and temperature profiles, respectively. The Numerical Method Of Lines (NMOL) technique, which implements finite difference method, was used to numerically solve the partial differential equations in the model. / Generally, the results generated by the MANIMEA model using the parameters from literature agreed with the results obtained by analytical solutions and from experiments. It was found that the model is highly sensitive to the volatilization and net mineralization rate constants $(K sb{v}$ and $K sb{m}).$ The study showed that the MANIMEA model can be implemented to evaluate nitrogen transformations, transport, and plant uptake for a wide range of climatic and soil conditions and organic type of wastes. Such a tool can contribute to the protection of our environment through a better management of organic nitrogen fertilizer and a better understanding of the nitrogen processes.

Groundwater contamination caused by agricultural fertilization is a widely recognized problem. In Hawaii, nitrogen fertilization from pineapple and sugarcane fields has posed a threat to several basal aquifers and has been implicated in coastal algae blooms. The concentration of nitrate-N in the Pearl Harbor basin on the island of Oahu was below 2.3 mg/L in the 1950’s and 1960’s, and has increased to as much as 7.6 mg/L in 1992 to 1994. The objective of this dissertation research is to develop a practical methodology for realistically estimating nitrate leaching from fertilized agricultural lands. Numerous mechanisms have impact on the distribution and migration of nitrate in the soil. Nitrogen fertilizer undergoes many N transformations and interactions with the soil and the plant after applications. In this study, an analysis of soil samples was performed to understand the leaching process of nitrate in the root zone of three different cropped fields in Hawaii. A detailed discussion is given to address various factors which control the nitrate transport process. To judge the sampling plan in relation to spatial variation, the field measurements were evaluated statistically by an uncertainty index, which is represented as the density of samples required for the estimate of sample mean of the nitrate concentration to fall within a defined limit of accuracy. In order to predict the effect of nitrogen fertilization on the groundwater contamination with very limited input data, a simple, analytical, lumped parameter model (LPM), was developed. The model can estimate the average nitrate leaching from the root zone in response to agricultural practices, N transformations and other related processes. The model was tested against the field data and two detailed numerical models, LEACHM-N and CERES-Maize. It provides an alternative way to assess nitrate leaching from the root zone with acceptable accuracy. A listing of the program is provided in Appendix 2. Owing to the complex nature of nitrogen behavior in the unsaturated zone, some degree of uncertainty is involved in the development of modeling approaches. In this study, five major sources of uncertainty were identified. These are: uncertainty due to spatial variation, uncertainty related to the accuracy of the input data, uncertainty due to simplifications in the development of the models, uncertainty due to the modeling parameters, and uncertainty due to the complexity of the unsaturated zone in Hawaii. The impact of these uncertainties on simulation results is evaluated. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 202-215). / UHM: Has both book and microform. / Water Resources Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Fertilized croplands unintentionally export large amounts of reactive nitrogen (N), which degrades water and air quality and contributes to climate change. In this dissertation, I focus on how these reactive N losses are likely to change in the near future as agriculture intensifies in the tropics, and ecological intensification strategies to mitigate N losses are more widely adopted. I use a combination of empirical field measurements in Mato Grosso, Brazil and Skåne, Sweden, literature review, and statistical models to quantify trends. In chapter one, I quantified emissions of nitric oxide (N₂O) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) in forest, single cropped soybean, and N-fertilized double-cropped soybean-maize at three nitrogen fertilizer levels within the largest area of recent cropland expansion on earth, in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes in Mato Grosso, Brazil. I found that NO emissions do not increase when forests are converted to croplands under current fertilization levels, and that NO will respond more strongly than N₂O fluxes to increases in fertilizer applications. In chapter two, I investigated anion exchange capacity and soil nitrate (NO₃¯) pools in deep soils in Mato Grosso, Brazil in the southern Amazon. I found that soil NO₃¯ pools in the top 8 m increased from 143 kg N ha¯¹ in forest to 1,052 and 1,161 kg N ha¯¹ in soybean and soybean-maize croplands. This NO₃¯ accumulation in croplands compared with forest soils matched the estimated amount of surplus N from the croplands, and could be explained by the soil’s positive charge through its anion exchange capacity. In chapter three, I conducted a meta-analysis of the effects of fertilization amount on of NO₃¯ leaching, N₂O emissions, NO emissions, and ammonia (NH₃) volatilization, totaling over 1,000 observations. I found that the relationship between N inputs and losses differed little between temperate and tropical croplands, although total NO losses were higher in the tropics. Among the potential drivers I studied, the N input rate controlled all N losses, but soil texture and water inputs also controlled NO₃¯ leaching losses. In chapter four, I explored the differences in NO₃¯ leaching, fertilizer N use efficiency, and soil N cycling in perennial wheat, which is being domesticated as a more sustainable alternative to annual crops, and annual wheat at a long-term experimental site in Skåne, Sweden. I found that NO₃ leaching was more than two orders of magnitude lower in perennial wheat, overall ecosystem recovery of fertilizer was quite high and not significantly different between perennial and annual wheat after the first growing season, and that measures of soil N cycling were largely the same between both crops. Together, these chapters highlight that reactive N losses will remain a critical global challenge in the coming decades, but that there are also key opportunities to reduce N losses by increasing the use of perennial crops and focusing tropical agricultural intensification on Oxisol soils which buffer against NO₃¯ leaching.

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