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Atmospheric Sulfur Deposition to Agricultural Land in Northeastern Ohio

Dep. of Plant, Soil, and Entomol. Sci., Univ. of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83843 (formerly Dep. of Agronomy, Ohio State Univ., Ohio Agric. Res. & Develop. Ctr., Wooster, OH 44691-6900);

W. A. Dick^*

Dep. of Agronomy, Ohio State Univ., Ohio Agric. Res. & Develop. Ctr., Wooster, OH 44691-6900.

^* Corresponding author.

ABSTRACT

In certain forms, S is an important acid-forming substance deposited from the atmosphere to the earth's surface. Controversy surrounds estimates of total S deposition because of an inability to accurately measure S in dry deposition (particulate fallout and gaseous sorption). In a field experiment in northeastern Ohio, the amount of S in dry deposition was determined over a 3-yr period using 20 lysimeters (4.8 m by 1.7 m) cropped with soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]. Two treatments consisting of tillage (conventional or no-tillage) and elemental S addition (0 or 50 kg ha^–1) were applied to the lysimeters. Sulfur inputs to the lysimeters as precipitation and agricultural amendments and S outputs, as runoff and leachate waters, were determined using ion chromatography or alkaline oxidation techniques. The net S output (total outputs minus measured inputs) was considered to equal dry deposition. Precipitation and agricultural amendment inputs of S were 10.2 and 3.8 kg ha^–1 yr^–1, respectively. In comparison, S in dry deposition ranged from 14 to 26 kg ha^–1 yr^–1 for the conventional tilled treatment and from 25 to 39 kg ha^–1 yr^–1 for the no-tilled treatment, with the upper values of these ranges considered most accurate. Dry deposition is clearly as important as precipitation in contributing to the total S load at this location. A sulfur dry deposition estimate of only 15 kg ha^–1 yr^–1 was made based on average deposition velocity and ambient SO₂ levels. Total deposition models, which rely on dry deposition estimates obtained by the use of SO₂ concentrations and an average deposition velocity, may yield inaccurate values of total S additions to the earth's surface.

Key Words: Lysimeter • Sulfur balance • Sulfur dioxide • Deposition velocity • Dry deposition • Precipitation quality

Contribution from the Dep. of Agronomy, Ohio State Univ., Ohio Agric. Res. & Develop. Ctr., Wooster, OH.

Salaries and research support provided by the Ohio Air Quality Develop. Authority (OSURF 714851) and by State and Federal Funds appropriated the Ohio State Univ. and the Ohio Agric. Res. & Develop. Ctr. Journal Article no. 125-87.

Received for publication June 25, 1987.