The Influence of Land Fertilization with Fertilizers from Animal Manure on Hydric Soil Erosion

Abstract

Plants in agricultural crops begin to develop rapidly in the spring and need the food supplement provided by fertilizers. Carrying out the basic fertilization is necessary together with the works for the preparation of the germinal bed in view of the spring sowing. On pastures, especially those that are to be used for both grazing and forage, it is also important to apply fertilizers in early spring. According to the Code of Good Agricultural Practices, starting from March 15, the spreading of solid organic fertilizers on arable land and pastures is also allowed. Liquid, semi-liquid and solid manures from animal farms as well as effluents from silos contain large amounts of nutrients. For this reason, the application of fertilizers derived from them have, in addition to the positive effects of increasing the fertility of the land and increasing the organic matter content of the soil, and a very important negative one, namely the acceleration of the eutrophication of surface waters in the case of their penetration into the bodies of water, even small amounts of these substances.
The paper analyses these aspects of soil fertilization with fertilizers from animal manure, respectively the influence of this process on hydric soil erosion on watershed hillslopes. The Water Erosion Prediction Project software, developed by USDA-ARS, USA, was used for the soil loss study.