Ammonia (NH3) losses from cattle (Bos sp.) and pig (Sus scrofa) slurry applied to a harrowed and unworked soil were studied in seven field experiments from October 1990 to December 1991. In one experiment slurry was directly injected into the soil and hi six experiments slurry was surface‐applied. Ammonia losses were measured with a wind tunnel system. From directly injected slurry applied to a recently harrowed soil, NH3 losses were 30% of the losses from an unworked soil. Harrowing the soil immediately before surface application of the slurry reduced losses to less than 50% of the losses from an unworked soil. The accumulated NH3 loss from slurry applied in the field was described with a Michaelis‐Menten‐like equation, showing the NH3 loss reaction modeled adequately as a first‐order reaction. The effect of treatment, soil conditions, or environmental conditions on NH3 loss pattern from slurry applied in the field may therefore be treated statistically by comparing the parameters in the Michaelis‐Menten equation.
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Sommer et al. (1994) studied this question.