title: Alum amendment effects on phosphorus release and distribution in poultry litter-amended sandy soils.
abstract: Increased poultry production has contributed to excess nutrient problems in Atlantic Coastal Plain soils due to land application of poultry litter (PL). Aluminum sulfate [alum, Al(2)(SO(4))(3).14H(2)O] amendment of PL effectively reduces soluble phosphorus (P) in the PL; however, the effects of these litters when added to acidic, sandy soils are not well understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of alum-amended poultry litter in reducing P release from three Delaware Coastal Plain soils: Evesboro loamy sand (Ev; excessively drained, mesic, coated Typic Quartzipsamments), Rumford loamy sand (Ru; well drained, coarse-loamy, siliceous, subactive, thermic Typic Hapludults), and Pocomoke sandy loam (Pm; very poorly drained, coarse-loamy, siliceous, active, thermic Typic Umbraquults). Long-term (25 d) and short-term (24 h) desorption studies were conducted, in addition to chemical extractions and kinetic modeling, to observe the changes that alum-amended versus unamended PL caused in the soils. The Ev, Ru, and Pm soils were incubated with 9 Mg ha(-1) of alum-amended or unamended PL. Long-term desorption (25 d) of the incubated material resulted in approximately 13.5% (Ev), 12.7% (Ru), and 13.3% (Pm) reductions in cumulative P desorbed when comparing soil treated with unamended and alum-amended PL. In addition, the P release from the soil treated with alum-amended litter was not significantly different from the control (soil alone). Short-term desorption (24 h) showed 7.3% (Ev), 15.4% (Ru), and 20% (Pm) reductions. The overall implication from this study is that the use of alum as a PL amendment is useful in coarse-textured soils of the Coastal Plain. With increased application of alum-amended PL, more significant decreases may be possible with little or no effect on soil quality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, 152 Townsend Hall, Newark, DE 19716, USA. kestaats@udel.edu
authors.forename: Kristin E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Staats
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.forename: Donald L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Sparks
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D000534:Alum Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D008372:Manure; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D011200:Poultry; D012037:Refuse Disposal; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000534:Alum Compounds; D008372:Manure; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014873:Water Pollutants; D010758:Phosphorus; C041524:aluminum sulfate