Cumulative evaporation from manure surface application using a closed dynamic chamber technique

Abstract

Considered one of the most effective best management practices, manure surface application aims at reducing the nutrient impacts of livestock operations on surface and ground waters. Manure and its use as fertilizer can also contribute to gaseous and particulate emissions, significantly degrading air quality to the detriment of human health and the environment. The objective of our study was to estimate water loss through surface evaporation from manure application. We established manure surface application plots at Greenville Research Farm (North Logan, UT) during the summer of 2013 to quantify gaseous emissions from four types of manure source (i.e. dairy manure, beef manure, dairy compost, and beef compost) and to investigate the temporal and spatial characteristics of the emissions. The temperature and relative humidity were monitored using a commercially available thermistor (10K ohm Yellow Bead Thermistor; Apogee Instruments, Logan, UT) and relative humidity sensor chip (HIH-4021-001; Honeywell, Minneapolis, MN) mounted inside each of 12-surface chambers. Soil/manure moisture contents were determined using dielectric sensors (GS3; Decagon Devices Inc., Pullman, WA). Experimental design and theoretical considerations for estimation of evaporative water loss using the dynamic changes in chamber relative humidity will be compared with water loss from the monitored soil moisture contents. Results from our study should enhance development and implementation of surface chamber-based assessment of water loss by demonstrating correlation between water vapor mass loss and surface moisture measurements