Soil and Plant Responses to Phosphorus Inputs from Different Phytase-Associated Animal Diets

Abstract

The over-supplementation of animal feeds with phosphorus (P) within livestock-production systems leads to high rates of P excretion and thus to high P loads and losses, which negatively impact the natural environment. The addition of phytase to pig and poultry diets can contribute to reducing P excretion; however, cascading effects of phytase on plant–soil systems remain poorly understood. Here, we addressed how three different diets containing various levels of exogenous phytase, i.e., (1) no-phytase, (2) phytase (250 FTU), and (3) superdose phytase (500 FTU) for pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) and broilers (Gallus gallus domesticus) might affect P dynamics in two different plant–soil systems including comfrey (Symphytum × uplandicum) and ryegrass (Lolium perenne). We found that differences in phytase supplementation significantly influenced total P content (%) of broiler litter and also pig slurry (although not significantly) as a result of dietary P content. P Use Efficiency (PUE) of comfrey and ryegrass plants was significantly higher under the intermediate ‘phytase’ dose (i.e., commercial dose of 250 FTU) when compared to ‘no-phytase’ and ‘superdose phytase’ associated with pig slurry additions. Soil P availability (i.e., water soluble P, WSP) in both comfrey and ryegrass mesocosms significantly decreased under the intermediate ‘phytase’ treatment following pig slurry additions. Dietary P content effects on P losses from soils (i.e., P leaching) were variable and driven by the type of organic amendment. Our study shows how commercial phytase levels together with higher dietary P contents in pig diets contributed to increase PUE and decrease WSP thus making the plant–soil system more P conservative (i.e., lower risks of P losses). Our evidence is that dietary effects on plant–soil P dynamics are driven by the availability of P forms (for plant uptake) in animal excretes and the type of organic amendment (pig vs. broiler) rather than plant species identity (comfrey vs. ryegrass).