ERTDI Report 77 (Bourke et al.)
Summary: Final Report for the project: 2000-LS-2.1.2c-M2. Authors: D. Bourke; D. Jeffrey; P. Dowding; I. Kurz; and H. Tunney
The loss of phosphorus (P) from agricultural sources is one of the main causes of eutrophication in P-limited freshwater ecosystems. High losses have been shown from grazed grasslands in particular. The aim of this research was to investigate the pools and fluxes of P in grazed grassland in Ireland. This aim was achieved by laboratory characterisation of P forms and fractions in grassland soils and fresh cattle dung, through field trials set up to examine changes in the P content of dung-pats during decomposition and the effects of decomposing dung-pats on soil P fractions, and by the characterisation of P in overland flow from grazed plots using rainfall simulation.
