Eutrophication from Agricultural Sources - The Impact of the Grazing Animal on Phosphorus, Nitrogen, Potassium and Suspended Solids Loss from Grazed Pastures ERTDI Report 77 (Bourke et al.)

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.

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