Solid beef cattle manure application impacts on soil properties and 17β-estradiol fate in a clay loam soil

Livestock manure applied to agricultural land is one of the ways natural steroid estrogens enter soils. To examine the impact of long-term solid beef cattle (Bos Taurus) manure on soil properties and 17 beta-estradiol sorption and mineralization, this study utilized a soil that had received beef cattle manure over 35 years. The 17 beta-estradiol was strongly sorbed and sorption significantly increased (P < 0.05) with increasing soil organic carbon content (SOC) and with an increasing annual rate of beef cattle manure. The 17 beta-estradiol mineralization half-life was significantly negatively correlated, and the total amount of 17 beta-estradiol mineralized at 90 days (MAX) was significantly positively correlated with 17 beta-estradiol sorption. The long-term rate of manure application had no significant effect on MAX, but the addition of fresh beef cattle manure in the laboratory resulted in significantly (P < 0.05) smaller MAX values. None of the treatments showed MAX values exceeding one-third of the 17 beta-estradiol applied.