Reducing field losses of nitrogen: Is erosion control enough?

Fritz M. Roka; Richard A. Levins; Billy V. Lessley; William L. Magette

ABSTRACT:

Reducing nitrogen (N) losses in surface runoff from a representative farm on the Upper Eastern Shore of Maryland is shown to be compatible with traditional methods of soil erosion control. Cropping adjustments that reduced erosion also reduced field losses of surface N. Analysis of potential methods to reduce nitrate percolation losses, however, showed that large reductions in nitrate percolation losses were achieved by shifting from corn to soybeans and from no-till practices to conventional tillage management, thereby increasing surface losses of soil and N.

Footnotes

Fritz M. Roka is a former faculty research assistant, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Maryland, College Park, 20742; Richard A. Levins is an associate professor, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, 55108; Billy V. Lessley is a professor, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, and William L. Magette is an assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, 20742. The authors thank members of the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service, Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station, and Maryland Soil Conservation Service as well as Walter Knisel for their assistance. This work was funded in part by the Maryland Department of Agriculture through its Chesapeake Bay research initiatives.
Copyright 1990 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society

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