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Characterization of Mineralizable Nitrogen in Soils
Author(s) -
Keeney D. R.,
Bremner J. M.
Publication year - 1966
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/sssaj1966.03615995003000060018x
Subject(s) - mineralization (soil science) , ammonium , soil water , chemistry , nitrogen , incubation , nitrogen cycle , environmental chemistry , mineralogy , agronomy , soil science , geology , biology , organic chemistry , biochemistry
A study of the changes in total N, fixed ammonium N, and hydrolyzable and nonhydrolyzable forms of N that occurred when soils were incubated under conditions which promoted mineralization of soil N showed that prolonged incubation led to a marked decrease in all forms of N determined excepting fixed ammonium N and indicated that native fixed ammonium is practically unavailable to soil microorganisms. It also showed that there are marked differences among soils with regard to the nature of the N that is most readily mineralized and made available for plant growth and indicated that any chemical method of obtaining an index of soil N availability based solely on determination of a hydrolyzable or nonhydrolyzable form of soil N will prove unsatisfactory.