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Nitrate Occurrence in Some Soils With and Without Natric Horizons¹

ABSTRACT

The effect of animal activity and fertilizer practices on the nitrate content in soils with and without natric horizons was investigated in a field study in southern Illinois where excessive ground-water nitrate levels were reported. Most of these soils are poorly drained. A comparison is provided by the poorly and well-drained soils without natric horizons observed in central Illinois. The results indicate that soils with natric horizons at shallow depths or dark-colored poorly drained soils had low levels of nitrate in the profile; all other soils showing increased nitrate levels in the entire profile or below the root zone were related to the amount of fertilizer used or the amount of animal activity. Animal operations resulted in larger amounts of nitrate in similar soil profiles than did fertilizer applications. Increased nitrate content of the ground water, sampled in Washington County, similarly was related to fertilizer practices and animal activity in all soils, except under soils with natric horizons at shallow depths.

Key Words: soil drainage • nitrate pollution • groundwater quality

¹ Contribution from the Department of Agronomy, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 61801. Research reported was supported in part by Rockefeller Foundation Grant titled, "Nitrogen as an environmental quality factor—technical, social and economic considerations," to the College of Agriculture, and by the Illinois Agr. Exp. Sta.

² Post-doctoral Fellow, and Associate Professors, respectively.

Received for publication April 6, 1973.