2007 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416) 1. Evaluate open-path Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy for identifying and quantifying ammonia, nitrous oxide, and methane emissions from animal waste application sites. 2. Determine the influence of manure characteristics on nutrient cycling and potential off-site losses. 3. Characterize soil physical property alterations and microbial community shifts in soils receiving manure treatments using molecular techniques to detect the presence of pathogens on or in soil, soil water, runoff, and vegetables. 1b.Approach (from AD-416) Objective 1: Open path Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (OP-FTIR) will be used to determine concentrations of ammonia, methane and nitrous oxide gaseous emissions during and following manure applications at several locations throughout Southern Idaho. Air speed and direction, air temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, barometric pressure, and soil temperature will be measured via a portable weather station. Air particulates, PM2.5 and PM10, will be sampled up-stream and down-stream at each land application site. Average gas emission concentrations as affected by material and application method will be compared. Objective 2. Methods will be developed for extraction and characterization of phosphorus in animal manures using phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. We will characterize manures from swine, poultry, and trout fed varying low phytate grain diets aimed at increasing utilization of feed nutrients. This characterization will identify the quantity and composition of nutrients in the manures and how they are affected by altering animal diets, primarily focusing on phosphorus. Manure from a variety of sources will be collected and characterized and then utilized in incubation and growth chamber studies to determine the manure characteristics having the greatest influence on plant phosphorus availability and phosphorus solubility in soils. Nutrient concentrations in percolation water collected from field plots treated with nitrogen fertilizer, manure, and no fertilizer or manure will be compared to samples of shallow groundwater underlying the local irrigation district. Nitrate-N, ammonium-N, Cl, dissolved P, Total-P, and dissolved organic carbon will be analyzed. The nitrate nitrogen-15 and Oxygen-18 fractionation will be obtained for a subset of water samples using the microbial denitrifier method. This data will be used to determine the impact of using manure and fertilizer on nutrient losses from furrow irrigated fields. Objective 3: We will characterize soil physical property alterations and microbial community shifts in soils receiving manure treatments using molecular techniques to detect the presence of pathogens on or in soil, soil water, runoff and vegetables. Treatments will be:. 1)solid dairy waste incorporated into soil,. 2)composted solid dairy waste incorporated into soil,. 3)inorganic fertilizer and. 4)control (no amendment). Active bacterial biomass, microbial diversity and Escherichia coli and Enterococcus sp in soils and water in each treatment will be determined at 0-30 cm soil and in 100 cm deep soil water at -1, 1, 7, 14, 28, 174 and 216 days after application of waste. Soil and water samples will be split into four separate parts and samples for the three above mentioned bacteria. The fourth sample will be frozen at -80 degrees C until DNA can be extracted and soil microbial communities and the presence of specific pathogens be determined using molecular methods. This work will contribute towards developing a set of validated methods for determining soil microbial communities in relation to pathogen survival. (Replacing 5368-12630-001-00D, 5/05.) 3.Progress Report None. 4.Accomplishments Dietary Modification in Broilers. This work evaluated the impact of altering dietary calcium (Ca), phytase addition, and utilizing low phytate grains in broiler diets on the total and water soluble phosphorus (P) excreted by the birds. This work was performed by an ARS scientist at the Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory (NWISRL), Kimberly, ID, in collaboration with North Carolina State University. This study demonstrated that by modifying diets to enhance P retention in the birds, total P could be reduced by up to 63% and water soluble P could be reduced by up to 73%. By reducing the excretion of P from broilers, there is less P being land applied in the regions with concentrated broiler production and therefore this reduces the potential for P losses to surface waters which can result in a deterioration of water quality in these regions. (NP206 Component 2-Nutrient Management, Problem Statement 1-Animal Feeding and Management) Influence of Manure Phytic Acid on Phosphorus Solubility in Soils. Land application of manure can increase phosphorus (P) transfer in runoff, although the risk depends in part on the characteristics of the manure which can be altered by dietary modification. This work was performed by an ARS scientist at the NWISRL in collaboration with an ARS scientist at the National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory and Purdue University. Changes in phytic acid content of manures due to dietary modification may influence P sorption on calcareous soils in the short-term while other characteristics such as C:P ratio may exert a stronger influence over changes in soil test P over longer time periods. This work shows that the effects of dietary modification on release of P from manure applied to calcareous soils are short lived, thus the modified diets pose no risk of added P release to runoff. (NP206 Component 2-Nutrient Management, Problem Statement 3-Management Tools for Indexing and Evaluating Nutrient Fate and Transport) Measuring Gaseous Emissions. Open Path Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (OP-FTIR) can measure gaseous emissions from concentrated animal production facilities and manure land application sites, which help to address the impacts of animal production on air quality. This work was performed by ARS scientists at the Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory in collaboration with the University of Idaho. The primary accomplishment of the work has been the development of a completely automated OP-FTIR spectrometer that can be operated for well over a day at intervals of two minutes with no operator intervention needed. With this technology, the concentration of gaseous species that are emitted either by live animals or from their waste products can be measured over a path of up to 200 meters at a concentration down to 10 parts per billion. The data obtained from this instrument allows the concentration of species that are believed to react to form PM2.5 and PM10 particulate matter (such as ammonia and the nitrogen oxides) to be acquired. (NP206 Component 1-Atmospheric Emission, Problem Statement 2-Emission Factors From Livestock Facilities) 5.Significant Activities that Support Special Target Populations None. Review Publications Leytem, A.B., Maguire, R.D. 2007. Environmental implications of inositol phosphates in animal manures. In: Turner, B.L., Richardson, A.E., Mullaney, E.J., editors. Inositol Phosphates: Linking Agriculture and the Environment. 1st edition. Cambridge, MA:CAB International. p. 150-168. Shao, L., Pollard, M.J., Griffiths, P.R., Westermann, D.T., Bjorneberg, D.L. 2006. Rejection criteria for open-path Fourier transform infrared spectrometry during continuous atmospheric monitoring. Vibrational Spectroscopy. 43:78-85. Leytem, A.B., Smith, D.R., Applegate, T.J., Thacker, P.A. 2006. The influence of manure phytic acid on phosphorus solubility in calcareous soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 70(5):1629-1638. Leytem, A.B., Thacker, P.A., Turner, B.L. 2007. Fecal phosphorus excretion from broiler chicks fed diets containing low-phytate barley. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. 87:1495-1501. Smith, D.R., Owens, P.R., Leytem, A.B., Warnemuende, E.A. 2007. Nutrient losses from manure and fertilizer applications as impacted by time to first runoff event. Environmental Pollution. 147:131-137. Leytem, A.B., Sims, J.T. 2006. Changes in soil test phosphorus from broiler litter additions. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. 36:2541-2559. Leytem, A.B., Plumstead, P.W., Maguire, R.O., Kwanyuen, P., Brake, J. 2007. What aspect of dietary modification in broilers controls litter water soluble P: Dietary phosphorus, phytase, or calcium? Journal of Environmental Quality. 36:453-463.