Reducing Nitrate Loss in Tile Drainage Water with Cover Crops and Water-Table Management Systems

2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 587-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. F. Drury ◽  
C. S. Tan ◽  
T. W. Welacky ◽  
W. D. Reynolds ◽  
T. Q. Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Table ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Drainage Water ◽  
Tile Drainage ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Nitrate Loss ◽  
Water Table Management

scholarly journals Water Table Management Reduces Tile Nitrate Loss in Continuous Corn and in a Soybean-Corn Rotation

2001 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 163-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig F. Drury ◽  
Chin S. Tan ◽  
John D. Gaynor ◽  
John W. Daniel Reynolds ◽  
Thomas W. Welacky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Table ◽  
Nitrate Concentration ◽  
Tile Drainage ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
Phase 2 ◽  
Nitrate Loss ◽  
Continuous Corn ◽  
Water Table Management ◽  
Drinking Water Guideline

Water table management systems can be designed to alleviate soil water excesses and deficits, as well as reduce nitrate leaching losses in tile discharge. With this in mind, a standard tile drainage (DR) system was compared over 8 years (1991 to 1999) to a controlled tile drainage/subirrigation (CDS) system on a low-slope (0.05 to 0.1%) Brookston clay loam soil (Typic Argiaquoll) in southwestern Ontario, Canada. In the CDS system, tile discharge was controlled to prevent excessive drainage, and water was pumped back up the tile lines (subirrigation) to replenish the crop root zone during water deficit periods. In the first phase of the study (1991 to 1994), continuous corn (Zea mays, L.) was grown with annual nitrogen (N) fertilizer inputs as per local soil test recommendations. In the second phase (1995 to 1999), a soybean (Glycine max L., Merr.)-corn rotation was used with N fertilizer added only during the two corn years. In Phase 1 when continuous corn was grown, CDS reduced total tile discharge by 26% and total nitrate loss in tile discharge by 55%, compared to DR. In addition, the 4-year flow weighted mean (FWM) nitrate concentration in tile discharge exceeded the Canadian drinking water guideline (10 mg N l–1) under DR (11.4 mg N l–1), but not under CDS (7.0 mg N l–1). In Phase 2 during the soybean-corn rotation, CDS reduced total tile discharge by 38% and total nitrate loss in tile discharge by 66%, relative to DR. The 4-year FWM nitrate concentration during Phase 2 in tile discharge was below the drinking water guideline for both DR (7.3 mg N l–1) and CDS (4.0 mg N l–1). During both phases of the experiment, the CDS treatment caused only minor increases in nitrate loss in surface runoff relative to DR. Hence CDS decreased FWM nitrate concentrations, total drainage water loss, and total nitrate loss in tile discharge relative to DR. In addition, soybean-corn rotation reduced FWM nitrate concentrations and total nitrate loss in tile discharge relative to continuous corn. CDS and crop rotations with reduced N fertilizer inputs can thus improve the quality of tile discharge water substantially.

Effect of controlled drainage and tillage on soil structure and tile drainage nitrate loss at the field scale

1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 103-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. S. Tan ◽  
C. F. Drury ◽  
M. Soultani ◽  
I. J. van Wesenbeeck ◽  
H. Y. F. Ng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Structure ◽  
Conservation Tillage ◽  
Drainage System ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Drainage Water ◽  
Tile Drainage ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Controlled Drainage ◽  
Nitrate Loss ◽  
Free Drainage

Conservation tillage has become an attractive form of agricultural management practices for corn and soybean production on heavy textured soil in southern Ontario because of the potential for improving soil quality. A controlled drainage system combined with conservation tillage practices has also been reported to improve water quality. In Southwestern Ontario, field scale on farm demonstration sites were established in a paired watershed (no-tillage vs. conventional tillage) on clay loam soil to study the effect of tillage system on soil structure and water quality. The sites included controlled drainage and free drainage systems to monitor their effect on nitrate loss in the tile drainage water. Soil structure, organic matter content and water storage in the soil profile were improved with no-tillage (NT) compared to conventional tillage (CT). No-tillage also increased earthworm populations. No-tillage was found to have higher tile drainage volume and nitrate loss which were attributed to an increase in soil macropores from earthworm activity. The controlled drainage system (CD) reduced nitrate loss in tile drainage water by 14% on CT site and 25.5% on NT site compared to the corresponding free drainage system (DR) from May, 1995 to April 30, 1997. No-tillage farming practices are definitely enhanced by using a controlled drainage system for preventing excessive nitrate leaching through tile drainage. Average soybean yields for CT site were about 12 to 14% greater than the NT site in 1995 and 1996. However, drainage systems had very little effect on soybean yields in 1995 and 1996 due to extremely dry growing seasons.

SIMULATING NITROGEN DYNAMICS UNDER WATER TABLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS WITH DRAINMOD-N

1999 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 965-974 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Madramootoo ◽  
J. W. Kaluli ◽  
G. T. Dodds
Keyword(s):  
Water Table ◽  
Nitrogen Dynamics ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Water Table Management

Impacts of Soil Conditioners and Water Table Management on Phosphorus Loss in Tile Drainage from a Clay Loam Soil

2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 572-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Q. Zhang ◽  
C. S. Tan ◽  
Z. M. Zheng ◽  
T. W. Welacky ◽  
W. D. Reynolds
Keyword(s):  
Water Table ◽  
Tile Drainage ◽  
Clay Loam ◽  
Clay Loam Soil ◽  
Phosphorus Loss ◽  
Loam Soil ◽  
Water Table Management ◽  
Soil Conditioners

Water table management impacts on phosphorus loads in tile drainage

2007 ◽  
Vol 89 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 71-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Sanchez Valero ◽  
Chandra A. Madramootoo ◽  
Nicolas Stämpfli
Keyword(s):  
Water Table ◽  
Tile Drainage ◽  
Water Table Management ◽  
Phosphorus Loads

Economical design of water table management systems in humid areas

1994 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 229-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiv O. Prasher ◽  
S.F. Barrington ◽  
Asgar M. Darbary
Keyword(s):  
Water Table ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Economical Design ◽  
Water Table Management
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