Summary
This experimental study provides quantitative baseline data on sheep urination patterns and urine nitrogen chemistry, comparing improved and semi-improved pasture sites across seasons. Sheep excreted 16.7–26.7 g N daily, with higher concentrations but lower areal loadings on improved pasture; urine composition and metabolomic profiles varied significantly by site and season. The findings inform more accurate parameterisation of nitrogen loss models and provide a validated 'recipe' for artificial sheep urine suitable for experimental and modelling studies of nitrogen pollution from grazing systems.
UK applicability
As a United Kingdom study using domesticated sheep on typical grassland types, the findings are directly applicable to UK grazing management, diffuse pollution assessment, and regulatory modelling of nitrogen losses under current and future grazing practices. The site- and season-specific urine composition data are particularly relevant for UK lowland and upland sheep farming contexts.
Key measures
Urination frequency and volume; daily urine nitrogen excretion (g N sheep⁻¹ d⁻¹); urine nitrogen concentration (g N L⁻¹); urine chemical composition; urine-to-soil surface area ratio; metabolomic profile clustering
Outcomes reported
The study quantified urination frequency (8–11 times daily), volume (289 ± 14 mL per event; 2.77 ± 0.15 L daily), nitrogen excretion rates, and chemical composition across seasonal and pasture-type variations in penned sheep. Results provide baseline data for modelling nitrogen losses from sheep urine patches on grazed grasslands.
Topic tags
Dig deeper with Pulse AI.
Pulse AI has read the whole catalogue. Ask about this record, its theme, or how the findings apply to UK farming and policy — every answer cites the underlying studies.