Nitrate leaching from loamy soils as affected by crop rotation and nitrogen fertilizer application

Nitrate leaching as affected by cropping system/crop rotation, history of farmyard manure application or fertilizer nitrogen application (0 N, 0.5 N and 1 N) was studied at nine sites on loamy soils during 1986/87, 1987/88 and 1988/89. Soil solution from 80 to 90 cm soil depth was sampled every second week in the period November to May by the use of porous ceramic cups and analysed for NO₃-N and Cl. Climatical conditions were obtained from standard meteorological observations in the region. Drainage from soil profiles was calculated from measured and simulated values of precipitation and actual evapotranspiration, respectively.The results show that type of crop is of the utmost importance for the leaching magnitude of nitrate as 40% of the total variance in nitrate concentrations in the soil solution could be explained by the type of crop.The second factor of importance was the history of farmyard manure (FYM) application, which was able to explain 28% of the total variation in nitrate concentration in the soil solution. Nitrate concentration/leaching from arable land without FYM ever being applied was considerably lower than from arable land which received periodical FYM applications until the early 70's or from arable land which besides periodical FYM applications in the past presently still receives regular applications of FYM. Only about 1% of the total variation in nitrate concentration in the soil solution was explainable by the level of fertilizer nitrogen application.Differences between years explained 14% of the total variation in nitrate concentration in the soil solution due to differences between the years in soil temperatures and water run-off. The run-off during the autumn and winter of 1986/87, 1987/88 and 1988/89 was 95, 275 and 55 mm, respectively. As expected nitrate leaching increased with increasing run off. However, nitrate leaching at the 275 mm run off was considerably lower than expected, which seems explainable by a substantial denitrification. The soil at the sites in question seems thus partly to purify the soil solution for nitrate before it leaves the root zone at the observed high run off conditions.