Spatiotemporal patterns of livestock manure nutrient production in the conterminous United States from 1930 to 2012

Abstract

Manure nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from livestock husbandry are important components of terrestrial biogeochemical cycling. Assessment of the impacts of livestock manure on terrestrial biogeochemistry requires a compilation and analysis of spatial and temporal patterns of manure nutrients. In this study, we reconstructed county-level manure nutrient data of the conterminous United States (U.S.) in 4- to 5-year increments from 1930 to 2012. Manure N and P were 5.89±0.64TgNyr. -1 (Mean±Standard Deviation) and 1.73±0.29TgPyr. -1 (1Tg=10 12 g), and increased by 46% and 92% from 1930 to 2012, respectively. Prior to 1970, manure provided more N to the U.S. lands than chemical fertilizer use. S..