Premium
Prediction of Soil Nitrogen Supply in Potato Fields using Soil Temperature and Water Content Information
Author(s) -
Dessureault-Rompré Jacynthe,
Zebarth Bernie J.,
Burton David L.,
Georgallas Alex,
Sharifi Mehdi,
Porter Gregory A.,
Moreau Gilles,
Leclerc Yves,
Arsenault Walter J.,
Chow T. Lien,
Grant Cynthia A.
Publication year - 2012
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/sssaj2011.0377
Subject(s) - water content , nitrogen , mineralization (soil science) , environmental science , tillage , soil science , growing season , agronomy , solanum tuberosum , soil water , chemistry , geology , biology , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry
This study evaluated different strategies for use of a simple first‐order kinetic model (N min = N 0 [1– e − k t ] where N 0 is potentially mineralizable nitrogen and k is the mineralization rate constant) to predict growing season soil nitrogen supply (SNS) in potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.) fields under cool humid climatic conditions. All strategies considered spring soil mineral nitrogen (SMN) and the labile mineralizable N pool (Pool I), and correction of the value of k was evaluated based on temperature (T) only, or based on both T and water content (θ). The strategies examined: (i) the depth of the soil used; (ii) the choice of k value used for Pool I; and (iii) the replenishment of the mineralizable N pools. Predicted SNS was compared with a field‐based estimate of plant available soil nitrogen supply (PASNS) measured as plant (vine plus tuber) N uptake plus residual nitrate at harvest in unfertilized plots. When k was corrected using T only, the strategies generally overestimated the PASNS. When k was corrected using both T and θ, predicted SNS was not significantly different from PASNS in most cases. The most promising strategy used a depth of 0 to 20 cm, the common depth for tillage, rather than 0 to 15 cm, which represents the actual depth used for soil sampling. This study demonstrated that SNS can be adequately predicted using a simple kinetic model, and that consideration of soil water content was important in predicting SNS even in humid soil moisture regimes.