Tracing the dynamics of animal excreta N in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum using 15N enrichment

Abstract The increased demand for organic farm products, and the attendant restrictions on the use of synthetic N fertilizers in both traditional and organic agriculture, has focused attention on the efficacy of organic sources of N, including animal excreta. However, questions arise in regard to the agronomic and environmental benefits of excreta as alternative sources of N. These questions are best addressed through the experimental use of 15N-enriched excreta, which enable the labeled source to be unequivocally traced through the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum, which N difference or N equivalence techniques cannot achieve. In contrast to organic and inorganic N compounds that can be purchased commercially with a specified 15N label on the component N moieties, 15N-enriched excreta must be prepared by the investigator. The methods of production and the uniformity of labeling of the components of 15N-enriched excreta (feces, urine) and their admixture (slurry), the N use efficiencies of excreta in crop production, and comparisons and interactions of excreta with synthetic N sources are reviewed. Losses of N from excreta-amended soils to the environment and the residual N value of excreta in crop sequences are also examined. It was concluded that while similar agronomic and environmental issues surround the use of both synthetic fertilizers and excreta as sources of N for plant nutrition, the processes differ in intensity and duration both spatially and temporally.