Impact of cattle slurry treatment by separation and acidification on gaseous emissions after soil application

Abstract

Objectives: Cattle-slurry management became a priority in many livestock farms and slurry treatment is used to increase the fertilizer value of slurry and/or minimize its environmental impact. Indeed, significant emissions of ammonia (NH3) and greenhouse gases (GHG) as nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) can occur during and after slurry application to soil. Application of acidified slurry or liquid fraction (LF) obtained by solid-liquid separation are two alternatives to raw slurry application that have proven to be efficient to minimize ammonia emissions. However, few is known about its effect on GHG emissions. The aim of the present work was to assess the efficiency of cattle slurry treatment by acidification and/or solid liquid separation to mitigate ammonia (NH3) and greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions following surface application to a sandy loam soil.