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The Rate of Decomposition of Various Plant Materials in Soils 1
Author(s) -
Millar H. C.,
Smith F. B.,
Brown P. E.
Publication year - 1936
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj1936.00021962002800110005x
Subject(s) - citation , decomposition , library science , computer science , chemistry , organic chemistry
T factors affecting the growth and activity of the soil microorganisms also influence the rate of decomposition of organic matter. Experiments have shown that the kind of organic matter and other nutrient constituents, particularly nitrogen, are important factors in determining the rate of decomposition. In most cases, however, this has been found to be closely related to the nitrogen content of the organic matter. For example, materials of a narrow carbon-nitrogen ratio, such as that of most legumes, decompose more rapidly than those having a wide carbon-nitrogen ratio, such as the cereal straws and other materials of a woody nature. However, few of these experiments have been conducted over a sufficiently long period of time to characterize completely the decomposition process and those experiments (~, 4)3 which have been carried long enough have included only a few of the common crop materials. The purpose of the work reported in this paper was to determine the rate of decomposition of a number of plant materials commonly found on the farm and to investigate the relationship of initial carbon and nitrogen content to the rate of decomposition over a relatively long period.