Innovative Manure Management and Treatment Techniques to Reduce Nutrient Nonpoint Source Pollution of Waters in intensive Livestock areas - Tecniche innovative di gestione e trattamento degli effluenti per la riduzione dell'inquinamento diffuso delle acque in aree ad alta intensità zootecnica

The use of fertilizers in agriculture, in particular those of livestock origin, is one of the most significant sources of diffuse water pollution. Agricultural sources in the Po basin contribute 53% of the total nitrogen and 23% of the phosphorus on surface waters (EEA, 2005). This is mainly due to the following factors:

• In intensive livestock areas, nitrogen in manure significantly exceeds crop needs. The European Environmental Agency (EEA, 2005) estimates that the average surplus of nitrogen in Lombardy is 123 kg/ha;


• The use of manure results in excessive applications of phosphorus (due to the imbalance of nitrogen and phosphorus in manure relative to crop requirements);


• Farmers do not have adequate tools and technologies to make the nutrient content of manure compatible with the requirements of the crops, with the consequent low efficiency of use and subsequent release of nutrients to water;

The proposed research aims to i) identify suitable methods to optimize fertilization at farm level and ii) develop innovative techniques for nutrient processing to limit surpluses and the emissions of nutrients, improving the efficiency with which they are used.



Both technological and managerial solutions will be studied. A technology solution to reduce the excess of nutrients, allowing their export and/or sale to another area, will be devised. The technology will simultaneously remove nitrogen and phosphorus from liquid manure and produce a solid containing the phosphorus and a liquid consisting of ammonium sulfate. Both products are easily transportable, but can also be used in the farm to decrease the release of nutrients to the environment (as their nutrient content is determined and their efficiency is higher). The process will produce fractions of manure that are better suited to crop needs for nutrients in the different periods of the year; this will dramatically increase the efficiency of nutrient use and consequently, reduce the release of nutrients to water.



The managerial solution will take the form of software tools developed to support the farmer in planning nutrient use on the farm, and to assess the effect of different nutrient management strategies on emissions of nutrients to water. The software will take into account the crop cultivation techniques adopted and provide guidance on the best strategies for containing nutrient emissions, giving the farmer advice on the possible technological alternatives and their relative costs and benefits. Among these alternatives will be the innovative technology developed during the research.



In addition, software will be developed to guide fertilizer management during the year, taking into account the local climate and ongoing nutrient applications. This will allow the farm manager to determine the relative risk of releasing nutrients to the environment as a result of particular management activities.



The main deliverables of the research project include:

• software that evaluates the release to water of nitrogen and phosphorus based on phosphate and nitrogen fertilization carried out in the farm and that provides guidance on possible improvements in nutrient management and adoption of appropriate technologies;


• a prototype device for the simultaneous removal of nitrogen and phosphorus in such a way as to match the supply of nutrients to crop needs and thus improve the efficiency of nitrogen use. The equipment is designed so that it can adapt its removal capacity of the two nutrients in relation to business needs and will have a low operation cost compared to current technologies.


• software for fertilizer management during the season to provide guidance to the farmer about how to best maximize nutrient efficiency as well as assess the potential release of nutrients to water as a result of current operations.

The three deliverables are strongly integrated with each other but can be used in an independent and modular way. The dissemination of results to farmers will be ensured by the involvement of farmer organizations and regional technical assistance services in transferring the knowledge gained during the project.



The expected results will be a reduction of diffuse pollution from agriculture and a reduction in the use of mineral fertilizers.