Ammonia volatilization from cattle slurry applied to grassland as affected by slurry treatment and application technique - first year results

Ammonia (NH3) volatilization was measured at two locations with a micrometeorological chamber method after applying cattle slurry on grassland. NH3 volatilization could not be detected from injected slurry. In other treatments the average rate of NH3 accumulation in the chamber samplers was highest on the day of application and clearly diminished on the following days. The greatest accumulation rates were measured from aerated broadcast slurry. On the day of application, NH3 accumulation from band spread slurry was less than from broadcast slurry. However, the reduction in NH3 accumulation with time was the least in band spread slurry. The results of NH3 emission per area and time indicate that large amounts of nitrogen can be lost through NH3 volatilization from surface applied slurries apart from injected ones.