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Distribution of the Forms of Nitrogen in Some Soil Profiles
Author(s) -
Stevenson F. J.
Publication year - 1957
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1957.03615995002100030009x
Subject(s) - nitrogen , soil water , chemistry , environmental chemistry , ammonia , soil type , hydrolysate , amino acid , hydrolysis , soil science , environmental science , organic chemistry , biochemistry
This paper presents a preliminary report of studies dealing with the chemistry of the nitrogen in the profiles of different soil types. Total, amino acid, and ammonia nitrogen determinations were made on acid hydrolysates of soil collected from 10 profiles representative of 8 great soil groups. The proportion of amino acid nitrogen to total nitrogen was found to decrease with depth in nearly all of the profiles examined, while the proportion of the nitrogen released as ammonia by acid hydrolysis was found to increase with depth. The magnitude of these changes was dependent on soil type. The results afford an explanation of the well‐known phenomenon that the C/N ratio of most soils decreases with increasing depth in the profile. Some practical and theoretical aspects of the findings are considered.