Dairy cattle in South Brazil is raised mainly in a system based on partial or total confinement of the animals, generating a significant amount of residues. The residues have been used as the only nutrient source or associated to mineral sources in grain or silage production. Their effect on soil characteristics has however been little explored. This study was conducted to evaluate the influence of fertilization rates with liquid dairy cattle manure associated with mineral fertilizer on P, K, C, and electrical conductivity (EC) levels of a Brown Oxisol, under no-tillage and winter and summer crop rotation (sorghum/black-oat/corn/ryegrass/corn/ ryegrass) for silage production, in the layers 0-5, 5-10, 10-30, 30-50 and 50-80 cm. The treatments were distributed in three randomized blocks, each divided in 12 plots, in a 3 x 4 factorial arrangement, with three mineral fertilizer levels (0, 50 and 100 % of the dose recommended for the crops) and four organic fertilizer levels (0, 30, 60, and 90 m³ ha-1 year-1). Mineral fertilizer resulted in higher values of available P (Mehlich-1 and resin) to a depth of 10 cm, due to the fertilizer application in depth by the planter, whereas the highest values under manure surface application were restricted to the 0-5 cm layer. Potassium depletion was observed along the soil profile due to high extraction by silage, and a linear ratio with available K level could be applied in the case of liquid manure at all depths. The lack of effect by the mineral fertilizer on K is probably due to the low rate of K application. A direct relationship was observed between manure rates and organic C concentration in the 0-5 cm layer, unlike in the case of mineral fertilizer. Low EC values were obtained suggesting high nutrient exportation by silage production. Results indicate that there was no significant P migration in the Oxisol profile, even after six years of dairy cattle manure application at high rates, and that K applied via manure and mineral fertilizer is insufficient to maintain the levels of this nutrient in systems where K extraction by silage is high. In these situations, increased levels of organic C are restricted to the soil surface layer in no-tillage and directly related to the manure rate.
organic fertilization; fertilizer; soil nutrient
