NITROGEN AND CHLORIDE LEACHING IN A SANDY FIELD PLOT1

Abstract

In field experiments conducted on a well-drained, sandy soil, 59 and 99 percent of the added chloride was lost by leaching from the 0–75-cm layer by the end of October in 1975 and 1976, respectively. Chloride losses were proportional to total precipitation. The average spring-to-fall rates of N losses for 1975 and 1976 were 0.65 and 1.45 kg N/ha/day, and were directly proportional to N fertilization rates of 120 and 255 kg/ha, respectively. NO3-N and Cl tended to show similar distribution patterns in the profile, and ratios of Cl to NO3-N indicated predominant leaching rather than denitrification losses. N and Cl losses appeared to be associated with irregular, diffuse bulges, rather than with distinct peaks of solute moving steadily downward. In field experiments conducted on a well-drained, sandy soil, 59 and 99 percent of the added chloride was lost by leaching from the 0–75-cm layer by the end of October in 1975 and 1976, respectively. Chloride losses were proportional to total precipitation. The average spring-to-fall rates of N losses for 1975 and 1976 were 0.65 and 1.45 kg N/ha/day, and were directly proportional to N fertilization rates of 120 and 255 kg/ha, respectively. NO3-N and Cl tended to show similar distribution patterns in the profile, and ratios of Cl to NO3-N indicated predominant leaching rather than denitrification losses. N and Cl losses appeared to be associated with irregular, diffuse bulges, rather than with distinct peaks of solute moving steadily downward. © Williams & Wilkins 1978. All Rights Reserved.