HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Baker, J. L. Articles by Hanway, J. J. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Baker, J. L. Articles by Hanway, J. J. Agricola Articles by Baker, J. L. Articles by Hanway, J. J.

Nitrate, Phosphorus, and Sulfate in Subsurface Drainage Water¹

ABSTRACT

Measurements made over a 4-year study of flow and NO₃-N, PO₄-P, total P, and SO₄-S content of subsurface drainage water from tile-drained cropland indicate that annual nutrient losses are highly variable. Annual losses of phosphorus, SO₄-S, and NO₃-N ranged from 0 to 0.04, 0 to 32, and 0 to 93 kg/ha, respectively, being very dependent on the amount of water lost. Because of low concentrations of phosphorus, losses with subsurface drainage water were insignificant when compared with losses associated with surface runoff. Concentrations of SO₄-S and NO₃-N were seemingly inversely related. Tile drainage water with consistently high NO₃-N content relative to surface runoff (> 10 ppm even under the low-fertility management of this study, 224 kg/ha of N over 5 years) is believed responsible for the high NO₃-N content sometimes found in a river draining central Iowa. The nitrate content of water from the saturated and unsaturated zones of the soil profile indicates that waves or pulses of water, with different NO₃-N concentrations, moving through the soil profile cause the observed variation of NO₃-N content of subsurface drainage water with time and flow rate. Such variations illustrate the difficulty of identifying water-quality trends from limited data.

Key Words: tile drainage • nutrients in ground water

¹ Journal Paper No. J-7973 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames. Project 1805.

² Assistant Professor, former Research Associate, Professor of Agricultural Engineering, and Professor of Agronomy, respectively, Iowa State University, Ames.

Received for publication August 14, 1974.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. B. Jaynes, T. C. Kaspar, T. B. Moorman, and T. B. Parkin In Situ Bioreactors and Deep Drain-Pipe Installation to Reduce Nitrate Losses in Artificially Drained Fields J. Environ. Qual., March 1, 2008; 37(2): 429 - 436. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. P. Thoma, S. C. Gupta, J. S. Strock, and J. F. Moncrief Tillage and Nutrient Source Effects on Water Quality and Corn Grain Yield from a Flat Landscape J. Environ. Qual., May 11, 2005; 34(3): 1102 - 1111. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. G. Klatt, A. P. Mallarino, J. A. Downing, J. A. Kopaska, and D. J. Wittry Soil Phosphorus, Management Practices, and Their Relationship to Phosphorus Delivery in the Iowa Clear Lake Agricultural Watershed J. Environ. Qual., November 1, 2003; 32(6): 2140 - 2149. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K.R. Brye, T.W. Andraski, W.M. Jarrell, L.G. Bundy, and J.M. Norman Phosphorus Leaching under a Restored Tallgrass Prairie and Corn Agroecosystems J. Environ. Qual., May 1, 2002; 31(3): 769 - 781. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. L. Dinnes, D. L. Karlen, D. B. Jaynes, T. C. Kaspar, J. L. Hatfield, T. S. Colvin, and C. A. Cambardella Nitrogen Management Strategies to Reduce Nitrate Leaching in Tile-Drained Midwestern Soils Agron. J., January 1, 2002; 94(1): 153 - 171. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D.B. Jaynes, T.S. Colvin, D.L. Karlen, C.A. Cambardella, and D.W. Meek Nitrate Loss in Subsurface Drainage as Affected by Nitrogen Fertilizer Rate J. Environ. Qual., July 1, 2001; 30(4): 1305 - 1314. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. L. Turner and P. M. Haygarth Phosphorus Forms and Concentrations in Leachate under Four Grassland Soil Types Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., May 1, 2000; 64(3): 1090 - 1099. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				R.N. Malpassi, T.C. Kaspar, T.B. Parkin, C.A. Cambardella, and N.A. Nubel Oat and Rye Root Decomposition Effects on Nitrogen Mineralization Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., January 1, 2000; 64(1): 208 - 215. [Abstract] [Full Text]