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Measuring Soil Nitrogen Mineralization Under Field Conditions 1
Author(s) -
Westermann D. T.,
Crothers S. E.
Publication year - 1980
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/agronj1980.00021962007200060034x
Subject(s) - mineralization (soil science) , soil water , agronomy , fertilizer , polyethylene , environmental science , soil test , growing season , dns root zone , nitrogen , chemistry , soil science , biology , organic chemistry
The amount and rate of soil N mineralization are important components that can be used to predict preplant N fertilizer application and to evaluate the need for N fertilization during crop growth. This study‘s purpose was to evaluate the buried polyethylene bag technique as a method for characterizing the N mineralized under field conditions during the cropping season. Soil (Xerollic Calciorthids) was placed in polyethylene bag and buried in the 0 to 45 cm root zone of fallowed soils and where corn ( Zea mays L.) and potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.) were being grown. The NO 3 ‐N content of the soil in the bags was compared with that in the root zone at selected time intervals (10 to 14 days) from April to October. The soil NO 3 ‐N concentrations in the buried polyethylene bags were similar to those in irrigated fallow soils from April to October after correction for different soil water contents. The N‐mineralization rate between sampling intervals had an average temperature coefficient (Q 10 ) of 2.3 between 10 C and 30 C. The relative N‐mineralization rate was proportional to the soil water content expressed as a percentage of the available waterholding capacity. The N uptake by corn and potato crops predicted from NO 3 ‐N changes in the rooting zone and in the buried polyethylene bags resembled those measured by plant sampling. The buried polyethylene bag technique has potential for monitoring the soil N‐mineralization process during the cropping season and for estimating N uptake by crops. It also provides an alternative method for estimating soil N availability for future crops and its use should maximize N‐fertilizer efficiencies.