| Over the past several years the phosphorus (P) concentration of many agricultural soils has increased. This research mainly focuses on the extent of surface transport of P from heavily manured fields in Nova Scotia. Monitoring of selected surface and sub-surface drainage sites under natural rainfall conditions aided in understanding the impacts of conventional tillage and zero tillage on P loss. Rainfall simulation experiments were conducted to relate the transport of P in surface runoff from fields treated with manure to three different vegetative covers: bare soil, row crop and pasture crop. Phosphorus values obtained from the monitoring of drainage sites were significantly higher than recommended levels. There was no significant difference between conventional and zero tilled systems in terms of P concentration and loads. Rainfall simulation experiments showed that pasture and row crops significantly reduced the offsite transport of P in terms of both concentration and load. |
