United States Department of Agriculture: Agricultural Research Service, Lincoln, Nebraska

 

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Accessibility Remediation

If you are unable to use this item in its current form due to accessibility barriers, you may request remediation through our remediation request form.

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2011

Comments

Published in Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 42:778–789, 2011. DOI: 10.1080/00103624.2011.552660

Abstract

Coal combustion by-products can lower soil phosphorus (P) solubility, but few studies have assessed their effect on runoff P. A soil with elevated P content was amended with fluidized bed combustion ash, flue gas desulfurization gypsum, and anthracite refuse ash at rates of 0–40 g kg−1 soil, and runoff from small plots was monitored over 3 years. In the first year, by-products lowered dissolved P in runoff by up to 47% below the untreated control; however, effects did not persist into the remaining years of the study. Total P losses were not significantly affected by coal combustion by-products, likely because of elevated particulate P losses. Water-extractable P was up to 40% less in treated soils than in untreated soils across the 3 years. Results demonstrate that although coal combustion by-products readily lower P solubility in soils, their impact on P losses in runoff can be undermined by erosional processes.

Share

COinS