SHORT COMMUNICATION: Soil microbial biomass C, N mineralization, and N uptake by corn in dairy cattle slurry- and urea-amended soils

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 469-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Paul ◽  
E. G. Beauchamp
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Biomass ◽  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
N Mineralization ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Organic N ◽  
Microbial Biomass C ◽  
Net N Mineralization ◽  
Cattle Slurry ◽  
Total N ◽  
Dairy Cattle Slurry

A spring application of dairy cattle slurry (300 kg total N ha−1) on high- and low-fertility sites resulted in higher microbial biomass C during the growing season than on a control soil or a soil receiving 100 kg N ha−1 as urea. Microbial biomass C was also significantly higher on the high-fertility site and was reflected in greater N mineralization and N uptake by corn. There was no greater net N mineralization in the manured soil than in the control or fertilized soil as would be expected as a result of higher microbial biomass C and significant organic N contribution from the manure. Key words: Animal manure, nitrogen mineralization, corn, grain yields, soil fertility

Soil nitrogen dynamics as affected by landscape position and nitrogen fertilizer

2005 ◽  
Vol 85 (5) ◽  
pp. 579-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. K. Soon ◽  
S. S. Malhi
Keyword(s):  
N Mineralization ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Grain Filling ◽  
Landscape Position ◽  
Slope Position ◽  
Organic N ◽  
Net N Mineralization ◽  
Nitrogen Application ◽  
N Application ◽  
Upper Slope

The influence o f landscape position on the dynamics of N in the soil-plant system has not been adequately studied. Our aim with this study on a predominantly Black Chernozem soil was to evaluate the effect of slope position (upper vs. lower) and N fertilizer application (none vs. 60 kg N ha-1) on soil and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) N through the growing season. Landscape position had a dominant effect on soil NO3− and soluble organic N (SON) concentrations, especially in the surface 15 cm. These pools of soil N and net N mineralization were greater at the lower than at the upper slope position. The landscape effect is attributed to higher organic matter content (as measured by organic C) and water availability in lower compared with upper slope positions. Nitrogen application had no measurable effect on soil NO3− and SON concentrations. Exchangeable and non-exchangeable NH4+ were little affected by slope position or N fertilization. Nitrogen application increased wheat N uptake; however, its influence was less than that of slope position, especially on N accumulation in wheat heads during grain-filling. Although N application increased wheat yields, landscape position exerted the greater influence: grain yield was less on upper than lower slope positions due to earlier onset of crop maturity. During grain filling, net N mineralization was suppressed at the upper slope position and by N application. The increase in crop yield and N uptake due to N application was not significantly different between slope positions. This study demonstrated that landscape position had a greater influence on N dynamics and availability than the application of typical amounts of fertilizer N and that the two effects were mostly independent of each other. Key words: Available N, landscape position, N uptake, net N mineralization, soluble organic N

Denitrification and nitrate leaching during the fall and winter following dairy cattle slurry application

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Paul ◽  
B. J. Zebarth
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Soil Profile ◽  
High Water ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Cattle Slurry ◽  
Manure Application ◽  
Total N ◽  
Acetylene Blockage Technique ◽  
Acetylene Blockage ◽  
Dairy Cattle Slurry

Conditions in soils of south-coastal British Columbia during the fall and winter favor both NO3− leaching and denitrification. Estimates of NO3− leaching were made on a coarse-textured soil having a high water table (Sumas) and a well-drained, medium-textured soil (Agassiz) in each of 1991 and 1992, following application of 0, 300 and 600 kg total N ha−1 as dairy cattle slurry at the end of September. Leaching was calculated by measuring NH4+ and NO3− concentrations biweekly to 90 cm depth and subtracting denitrification losses. Denitrification estimates were made using the acetylene blockage technique on intact cores taken to 43 cm depth at biweekly intervals from the 0 and 600 kg N ha−1 treatments. Most of the NO3− disappeared from the 90 cm soil profile by January in both years. At the high rate of manure application, denitrification losses were 29 and 20 kg N ha−1 at Agassiz in 1991 and 1992, and 48 and 17 kg N ha−1 at Sumas in 1991 and 1992, respectively. Denitrification losses in the non-manured treatments ranged from 3 to 16 kg N ha−1 Significant denitrification losses occurred at the 15- to 28-cm and the 30-cm to 43-cm depths, indicating that denitrification measurements at these depths are important. Leaching losses ranged from 60 to 188 kg N ha−1 from the control treatments, and from 102 to 241 kg N ha−1 following the highrate of manure application. Denitrification accounted for up to 17% of the NO3− loss from the soil profile, indicating that the majority of the NO3− was leached. Key words: Acetylene blockage technique, denitrification rate, air-filled porosity, manure

scholarly journals Plant Nitrogen Uptake From Insect Frass Is Affected by the Nitrification Rate as Revealed by Urease and Nitrification Inhibitors

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Conor Watson ◽  
Timo Preißing ◽  
Florian Wichern
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Biomass ◽  
Nutrient Uptake ◽  
N Mineralization ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Italian Ryegrass ◽  
Organic N ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Nitrite Accumulation ◽  
Nitrification Inhibitors ◽  
N Release

Insect protein production is considered a sustainable alternative to livestock protein which furthermore utilizes waste streams. Its production can have positive but also potentially negative environmental effects, which require evaluation. Frass, the byproduct of insect production, is regarded an efficient organic fertilizer or soil amendment. However, several studies report negative frass effects on plant growth and nitrogen (N) cycling. Therefore, a pot trial was carried out which sought to understand N release from frass and subsequent growth and nutrient uptake of Italian ryegrass. Mealworm frass (MWF) or buffalo worm frass (BFW) was applied at two rates (1.5 and 3% w/w) to a soil-sand mix. To evaluate N release processes, frass was applied alone, with a nitrification inhibitor (NI), a urease inhibitor (UI), or both (NI+UI). Plant N, nutrient uptake and soil inorganic N were measured at the experiment's end. To gauge whether altered N fluxes induced changes in the microbial community, soil microbial biomass, bacterial/archaeal abundances and ergosterol content as a fungal biomarker, were determined. Both frass types and application rates stimulated microbial growth and N mineralization. The 3% rate inhibited seed germination, possibly due to salinity or ammonia toxicity. At the 1.5% rate, both frass types were effective fertilizers. MWF led to higher biomass and nutrient uptake, owing to its higher extractable nutrient concentrations. The 3% rate caused nitrite accumulation in the absence of NI. NI improved plant biomass, nutrient uptake, stimulated archaeal and bacterial abundances and prevented nitrite accumulation. UI reduced N mineralization, showing that a substantial fraction of frass organic N is ureic. UI enhanced fungal contribution to the microbial biomass, revealing the importance of bacteria in frass N mineralization processes when UI is not applied. NI and UI combined, induced greater N release from frass than UI or NI alone. Our study demonstrated the usefulness of NI and UI in studying N release from frass. NI can improve plant N uptake and minimize N losses following frass application, reducing its potentially negative effects. UI can retard N release from frass, allowing its application as a slow-release fertilizer, but should not be used concurrently with NI.

Availability of manure slurry ammonium for corn using 15N-labelled (NH4)2SO4

1995 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Paul ◽  
E. G. Beauchamp
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Animal Manure ◽  
N Recovery ◽  
Cattle Slurry ◽  
Fertilized Soil ◽  
Key Words Animal ◽  
Apparent N Recovery ◽  
Manure Slurry ◽  
Dairy Cattle Slurry

The NH4+ fraction of animal manure slurry is often considered to be as available as fertilizer N to a crop; however, immobilization and losses via denitrification and NH3 volatilization may be higher in manured than in fertilized soil. The apparent N recovery and the 15N recovery methods were used for corn (Zea mays L.) grown in soil amended with dairy cattle slurry and NH4+ fertilizer to determine the source of the N taken up by corn plants. Manure slurry or (NH4)2SO4 fertilizer were applied at rates equivalent to 100 kg NH4+–N ha−1 in the greenhouse and the field. In the greenhouse, the apparent NH4+–N uptake by corn was 76 and 85% with animal manure slurries and NH4+ fertilizer, respectively. In the field, apparent N recovery of NH4+ from dairy cattle slurry and (NH4)2SO4 was 43 and 58%, respectively, whereas 15N recovery from the same treatments was 15 and 29%, respectively. The lower 15N recovery values compared with the apparent recovery values suggest that mineralization-immobilization turnover (MIT) occurred, and that MIT was greater in manured soil than in fertilized soil. A laboratory incubation study showed greater microbial biomass and more 15N immobilization in soil amended with dairy cattle slurry than in soil amended with fertilizer. Key words: Animal manure slurry, nitrogen, corn, N recovery, 15N microplots

Nitrogen mineralization and nitrification in upland and peatland forest soils in two Canadian Shield catchments

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 1793-1804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin J Devito ◽  
Cherie J Westbrook ◽  
Sherry L Schiff
Keyword(s):  
Forest Soils ◽  
N Mineralization ◽  
Organic N ◽  
Net N Mineralization ◽  
Forest Stands ◽  
Mixed Stands ◽  
N Transformations ◽  
Total N ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Net Mineralization

Net mineralization and nitrification in surface forest soils were measured in upland forest stands and valley peatlands using in situ soil incubations at two headwater catchments of Harp Lake, Ontario from July 1995 to October 1996. No difference in either net N mineralization or nitrification was observed between the two adjacent catchments despite differences in catchment N export. Annual rates of net N mineralization in surface 10 cm were higher in forest soils of the deciduous (11.5 ± 3.1 g/m2; mean ± SE) and conifer-mixed (conifer-hardwoods) (13.9 ± 2.3 g/m2) stands than in peatland soils (1.6 ± 0.6 g/m2). Mean annual nitrification rates were higher in deciduous soils (6.6 ± 0.7 g N/m2) than in mixed stands (1.9 ± 0.6 g N/m2) and peatland soils (0.1 ± 0.2 g N/m2). Annual net N mineralization and nitrification were correlated with variations in soil C and N content and moisture associated with different forest stands. Frequent winter incubations indicate that net mineralization and nitrification under snow cover in upland surface soils can contribute as much as 49 and 23% of the annual net production, respectively. The importance of forest vegetation patterns, winter N transformations, and dissolved organic N pools to total N and NO3- cycling and leaching in these catchments is discussed.

scholarly journals A comparative account of the microbial biomass-N and N-mineralization of soils under natural forest, grassland and crop field from dry tropical region, India

2009 ◽  
Vol 55 (No. 6) ◽  
pp. 223-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Singh Jay ◽  
D.P. Singh ◽  
A.K. Kashyap
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Microbial Biomass ◽  
N Mineralization ◽  
Mixed Forest ◽  
Microbial Biomass N ◽  
Tropical Region ◽  
Net N Mineralization ◽  
Inorganic N ◽  
Total N ◽  
Biomass N

This study investigated microbial biomass-N (MB-N) and N-mineralization in soils of four different vegetation systems including forest (sal), mixed forest, savanna and cropland ecosystems in the Vindhyan region, India. A change was noted in the above region due to physiographic differences and anthropogenic disturbances. Annually the soil moisture (SM) content across the different study sites ranged from 7.5 to 24.3% being maximum in forest sites compared to savanna and cropland sites. The NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>-N, NO <sup>-</sup><sub>3</sub> -N and MB-N concentrations varied from 4.3 to 10.2 &mu;g/g, 1.1 to 5.8 &mu;g/g and 21.3 to 90.2 &mu;g/g dry soil, respectively, with minimum values in the wet and maximum values in the dry season. The trend of seasonal variation in net N-mineralization was similar to that of moisture content but counter to the concentrations of inorganic-N and MB-N. The net N-mineralization rates at different investigated sites ranged from 4.5 to 37.6 &mu;g/g month. Cultivation reduced the N-mineralization and MB-N by 58.5% and 63.5%, respectively. Experiments showed that the percentage contribution of MB-N to total-N was 8.01 to 19.15%. MB-N was positively correlated with the inorganic-N (<i>n</i> = 180,<i>r</i>.80,<i>P</I> < 0.001) but negatively with soil moisture (<i>n</i> = 180, <i>r</i> = 0.79, <i>P</I> < 0.001) and net N-mineralization rates (<i>n</i> = 180, <i>r</i> = 0.92, <i>P</I> < 0.0001). The higher N-mineralization and MB-N in the soil of forest ecosystem was reported compared to savanna and cropland and the order of soil MB-N levels and net N-mineralization followed the sequence: forest (sal) > mixed forest > savanna > cropland.

Soil microbial biomass, C and N mineralization, and enzyme-activities in a hill pasture - Influence of grazing management

Soil Research ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 943 ◽  
Author(s):  
DJ Ross ◽  
TW Speir ◽  
HA Kettles ◽  
KR Tate ◽  
AD Mackay
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Biomass ◽  
Enzyme Activities ◽  
N Mineralization ◽  
Microbial Biomass C ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Net N Mineralization ◽  
High Background ◽  
C And N Mineralization ◽  
C And N ◽  
Legume Growth

Grazing and fertilizer management practices are of prime importance for maintaining summer-moist hill pastures of introduced grasses and clovers in New Zealand for sheep and cattle production. The influence of withholding grazing (a pastoral fallow) from spring to late summer on microbial biomass, C and N mineralization, and enzyme activities was investigated in a Typic Dystrochrept soil from unfertilized and fertilized (rock phosphate and elemental S) low-fertility pastures at a temperate hill site. The fallow increased pasture but not legume growth in the following year in the unfertilized treatment, but had no effect on pasture or legume growth in fertilized plots. High background levels of the biochemical propel-ties examined, and very variable rates of N mineralization, complicated data interpretation. Extractable-C concentration and CO2-C production were enhanced at the completion of the fallow. Increases in net N mineralization (14-56 days incubation), following initial immobilization, after the fallow were clearly indicated in the unfertilized treatment, but were less distinct, in the fertilized treatment. The fallow had no detectable influence on the concentrations of total C and N or microbial C and P, or on invertase, phosphodiesterase and sulfatase activities. Some small changes in microbial N and an increased proportion of bacteria in the microbial population were, however, suggested. Results are consistent with the concept of fallowing giving a short-term increase in pools of readily decomposable soil organic matter. Generally, the changes that did occur in these soil biochemical properties are, with the partial exception of increased N availability, unlikely to have had any pronounced impact on subsequent pasture performance.

EFFECT OF MANURE AND P FERTILIZER ON PROPERTIES OF A BLACK CHERNOZEM IN SOUTHERN SASKATCHEWAN

1986 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 601-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. CAMPBELL ◽  
V. O. BIEDERBECK ◽  
F. SELLES ◽  
M. SCHNITZER ◽  
J. W. B. STEWART
Keyword(s):  
N Mineralization ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Microbial Biomass C ◽  
Net N Mineralization ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Total N ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Soil P ◽  
P Fertilizer

The effects of application of manure and P fertilizer on wheat yields in a fallow-wheat-wheat rotation on a Black Rego Chernozemic clay soil have been studied for 36 yr. The objective of this study was to identify the effects of manure on soil characteristics that could be related to the reported progressive yield increases over time and an apparent improvement in soil tilth. Soil samples were taken in 1982 from the check (no treatment), and from treatments receiving 13.4, 20.2 and 26.9 t ha−1 of manure applied each fallow year, and 112 kg ha−1 of seed-placed 11-48-0 applied to wheat after summerfallow. Soil physical and P-related parameters were determined for depth increments to 30 cm; the total-N and 15N data to 90 cm; other data were for the 0- to 7.5-cm depth. Manure had no effect on bulk density or hydraulic conductivity. However, it increased the total C and humic acid (HA) content of the soil, the percent of soil C as HA-C, the C concentration in humin, and the percent of total soil N as humin-N. Manure significantly increased the percent of HA-N but not humin-N present as amino acid and amino sugar-N, but increased amino acids and the amino sugars in the humin hydrolysate. The net rate of N mineralization and the available forms of inorganic P were all increased significantly by manure. The natural 15N-abundance technique showed that a significant though small proportion of soil N was derived from manure. Manure had no effect on soil microbial biomass C and N, soil respiration, and the quantity of potentially mineralizable N. Applied P had no effect on N-related parameters measured; its effect on available P was not measured. It was concluded that manure increased crop yields by improving the N- and P-supplying power of the soil, and improving the physical environment of the soil through its effects on the humic colloids. Key words: Humic substances, soil P fractions, soil biological properties, natural 15N abundance, net N mineralization

Short-term nitrogen dynamics in soil amended with poultry litter containing woodchip bedding

2016 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben W. Thomas ◽  
Joann K. Whalen ◽  
Mehdi Sharifi
Keyword(s):  
N Mineralization ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Poultry Litter ◽  
Growth Period ◽  
Application Rate ◽  
Net N Mineralization ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Wheat Growth ◽  
Total N ◽  
N Supply

Concurrent N mineralization and immobilization in soils receiving poultry litter containing woodchip bedding may reduce synchrony between the short-term N supply and crop N demand. Therefore, we used soil chemical tests, ion exchange membranes, and wheat N uptake to assess N dynamics in a poultry-litter-amended soil. Air-dried soil was thoroughly mixed with five poultry litter rates (50, 100, 150, 200, or 250 mg total N kg−1) and preincubated for 7 d in a controlled environment chamber. After preincubating, soil was placed in 10-cm-diameter pots and planted with spring wheat (Triticum aestivum ‘Wilkin’), or left unplanted and monitored with anion and cation exchange membranes for 45 d. Soil nitrate (NO3-N) concentration increased with poultry litter application rate at the end of the preincubation period, but subsequent wheat N uptake did not, suggesting that little net N mineralization occurred during the 45 d of wheat growth. The membrane data indicated a shift from net N immobilization during the early part of the wheat growth period to net mineralization during the latter portion of the wheat growth period. We conclude that alternating N mineralization and immobilization in soils receiving poultry litter containing woodchip bedding limited the short-term N supply to wheat.

Denitrification during the growing season following dairy cattle slurry and fertilizer application for silage corn

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Paul ◽  
B. J. Zebarth
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Fertilizer Application ◽  
Soil Cores ◽  
Cattle Slurry ◽  
Manure Application ◽  
Total N ◽  
Fertilized Soil ◽  
Acetylene Blockage ◽  
Dairy Cattle Slurry

Denitrification losses during the growing season may reduce the availability of manure and fertilizer N for crop production. Denitrification losses were measured during the growing seasons of 1992 and 1993 following spring manure or fertilizer application on a sandy soil with a high water table (Sumas) and a well-drained silt loam soil (Agassiz), both cropped to silage corn (Zeamays L.). Dairy cattle slurry (600 kg total N ha−1) was surface applied and incorporated in April. Ammonium nitrate (200 kg N ha−1) was surface applied at planting in early May. Denitrification rates were measured using the acetylene blockage technique on intact soil cores taken from 0- to 13-cm, 15- to 28-cm and 30- to 43-cm depths biweekly following manure application until mid-June, then monthly until after harvest in September. Denitrification rates were measured weekly in the control and manured treatment in 1993. In 1993, average denitrification rates were significantly higher following manure application (485 g N ha−1 d−1) than following fertilizer application (214 g N ha−1 d−1), and were higher at 15- to 30-cm depth (213 g N ha−1 d−1) than at 0- to 15-cm depth (22 g N ha−1 d−1) and the 30- to 45-cm depth (44 g N ha−1 d−1). Denitrification losses during the growing season in 1993 were 75 and 39 kg N ha−1 in the manured and fertilized soil at Sumas, compared with 68 and 34 kg N ha−1 in the same treatments at Agassiz. Denitrification losses during 1992 were 156 and 107 kg N ha−1 in the manured and fertilized soil at Sumas, compared with 95 and 27 kg N ha−1 in the same treatments at Agassiz. This research demonstrates that denitrification losses can be substantial during the growing season, and can be underestimated if denitrification rates are measured only to 15 or 20 cm depth. Key words: Acetylene blockage, soil cores, nitrogen, manure, maize

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document