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Denitrification Intensity and Capacity of Three Irrigated Alberta Soils
Author(s) -
Cho C. M.,
Sakdinan L.,
Chang C.
Publication year - 1979
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/sssaj1979.03615995004300050026x
Subject(s) - denitrification , soil water , intensity (physics) , nitrate , environmental science , soil science , flux (metallurgy) , soil horizon , hydrology (agriculture) , chemistry , nitrogen , geology , geotechnical engineering , physics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics
Samples from three Alberta soil profiles were used to investigate the denitrification intensity of the soils as related to depth. At 20°C, the intensity was high at the surface and decreased exponentially with depth. The temperature dependency of the intensity on several samples was also studied. By combining the depth and temperature dependencies, the denitrification intensity was predicted for an arbitary temperature and depth. A simple mathematical formulation relating soil temperature with seasonal time and depth was substituted, thus enabling the calculation of denitrification intensity at any time of the year. The calculation indicated that denitrification activity was restricted in the deep hrozions in December and January and in the surface horizons in early May. There was no activity throughout the soil profile in February and March. Loading capacity of a soil for nitrate N expressed as input rate (flux) was equal to the denitrification capacity which was obtained by integrating the intensity throughout the soil profile. The values were approximately 70 kg N ha −1 day −1 in August and 5 kg N ha −1 day −1 in December. The maximum allowable nitrate concentration is directly proportional to the denitrification capacity and inversely related to the percolating water speed.