Impact of slurry management strategies on potential leaching of nutrients and pathogens in a sandy soil amended with cattle slurry

The results show that both acidification and separation had significant effects on the composition of the leachates: higher NO3− concentrations were observed for the LFS and ALFS relative to all the other treatments, throughout the experiment, and lower NO3− concentrations were observed for acidified relative to non-acidified treatments at IE2. Acidification of both the LF and WS led to higher NH4+ concentrations as well as an increase of EC for treatment ALFS relative to the control, in the first IE, and lower pH values in the AWSS. Furthermore, the E. coli and total coliform concentrations in AWSS, LFS, and ALFS were significantly higher than in WSI or WSS. In conclusion, none of the strategies generally used to minimize ammonia emissions impact positively on leaching potential relative to the traditional surface application of CS. Furthermore, some treatments, such as separation, might increase significantly the risk of leaching.