Scientists studying impact of manure spills

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) soil scientists are studying sediments in water channels to understand their role in phosphorus absorption during a manure spill.

During a manure spill, sediments in a contaminated water channel can capture phosphorus from the manure and release the nutrient back into the water — sometimes for months on end — at levels exceeding U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) criteria.

According to an article in the March 2013 issue of Agricultural Research, the research team's results using a simulated manure spill and clean-up efforts suggest that current approaches to remediating manure spills need improvement.

Fortunately, the team also gleaned some ideas about where to start looking for those improvements.

Read more in Measuring and Managing Impacts of Manure Spills in the March 2013 issue of Agricultural Research.

Agricultural Research is published by the Agricultural Research Service, the principle scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Source: Agricultural Research magazine, March 2013

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