Soil and plant response to wellsite rehabilitation on native prairie in southeastern Alberta, Canada

Rehabilitation of disturbed native prairie is a challenge facing many in the petroleum industry, with implications for prairie ecology and productivity. The purpose of this research was to examine the relative influence of four rehabilitation strategies on biogeochemical processes (i.e., nitrogen availability, plant uptake of nitrogen, biomass production, carbon allocation, and soil biological activity). Seven petroleum wellsites were selected on Chernozemic and Solonetzic soils in southeastern Alberta. Undisturbed native prairie was compared with four seeding treatments: not seeded, a low diversity seed mix commonly used by industry, a low diversity mix of species more typically dominant in native prairie, and a diverse seed mix. Flux of NO3− and NH4+were measured in situ using ion exchange membranes. Soil total C and N were lower and available N higher as a result of disturbance. In the seeded treatments, biomass production was higher and soil nitrogen flux was lower due to higher plant uptake than in the unseeded treatment. Higher initial N availability favoured species with rapid growth and colonization rates, particularly Agropyron dasystachyum [(Hook.) Scribn.] and Agropyron trachycaulum [(Link) Malte]. Seed mix composition and species attributes were deemed to have greater influence on N cycling and biomass production than seed mix diversity. Key words: Nitrogen cycling, plant competition, secondary succession, wheatgrass, biodiversity, prairie

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Indices of soil nitrogen availability in five Tasmanian Eucalyptus nitens plantations

Soil Research ◽

10.1071/sr03145 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 42 (7) ◽

pp. 719 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

M. T. Moroni ◽

P. J. Smethurst ◽

G. K. Holz

Keyword(s):

Soil Solution ◽

Nitrogen Availability ◽

Native Forest ◽

N Availability ◽

Eucalyptus Nitens ◽

Soil Nitrogen Availability ◽

Mineral N ◽

Total N ◽

Available N ◽

Total P

Several soil analyses were used to estimate available N in surface soils (0–10 cm) over a 2-year period at 5 sites that supported 1- to 4-year-old Eucalyptus nitens plantations, and once in subsoils (10–120 cm) at 3 of these sites. Soils were derived from basalt (1 site previously pasture, 1 Pinus radiate, and 2 native forest) or siltstone (previously native forest). Soil analyses examined were total N, total P, total C, anaerobically mineralisable N (AMN), hot KCl-extractable N (hot KCl-N), and NH4+ and NO3– in soil solution and KCl extracts. AMN, KCl-extractable NH4+ and NO3–, and soil solution NH4+ and NO3– varied considerably with time, whereas hot KCl-N, total N, total P, and total C were temporally stable except for a gradual decline in total C with time at one site. Only total P was correlated with net N mineralisation (NNM) across all sites (r2 = 0.91, P < 0.05, n = 5). At 2–3 years after planting, soil solution and KCl-extractable NO3– dropped below 0.1 mm N and 1 μg N/g soil, respectively, at sites with NNM ≤24 kg N/ha.year (n = 3). Sites with NNM ≤24 kg N/ha.year also had ≤0.8 Mg P/ha. Although concentrations of indices of soil N availability decreased with depth, the contribution of subsoil (10–120 cm depth) to total profile N availability was estimated to be at least twice that of the top 10 cm. At an ex-pasture site, high concentrations of mineral N were found at 75–105 cm depths (KCl-extractable N, 289.3 μg N/g soil; 2.8 mm mineral N in soil solution), which may have become available to plantations as their root systems developed.

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Larch litter and nitrogen availability in mixed larch–spruce stands. I. Nutrient withdrawal, redistribution, and leaching loss from larch foliage at senescence

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x86-054 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 321-326 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

J. C. Carlyle ◽

D. C. Malcolm

Keyword(s):

Nitrogen Availability ◽

Field Measurements ◽

N Availability ◽

Mixed Stands ◽

Available N ◽

Low Field ◽

Large N ◽

Spruce Stands ◽

And Storage ◽

N Status

The growth and N status of Sitka spruce on deep peat sites low in available N is improved in the presence of larch. It has been suggested that larch stimulates N mineralization because of high N concentrations in its litter and the large N input resulting from its annual litter fall. However, while larch foliar N concentrations were shown to be high, marked withdrawal and storage in other tree components resulted in a relative and absolute impoverishment of the litter. P and K could be leached from senescing foliage in relatively large amounts, but the potential loss of N was low. Field measurements of throughfall substantiated this finding. Larch seemed extremely conservative in its use of N, suggesting that larch litter does not directly enhance N availability in mixed stands.

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Nitrogen Availability in Pecan Orchard Soil: Implications for Pecan Fertilizer Management

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.46.9.1294 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 46 (9) ◽

pp. 1294-1297 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

M. Lenny Wells

Keyword(s):

Nitrogen Availability ◽

Poultry Litter ◽

Growing Season ◽

N Fertilizer ◽

N Availability ◽

Soil N ◽

N Dynamics ◽

Available N ◽

Crimson Clover ◽

Soil N Dynamics

Nitrogen (N) fertilizer application to plants at rates not adjusted for the N contribution from soil N availability may result in overapplication of fertilizer. Further understanding of proper timing of N applications based on soil N dynamics and plant demand can be valuable information for the efficient use of fertilizer N. The present study measures soil N dynamics in a pecan orchard under various N fertilizer regimes on a southeastern U.S. Coastal Plain soil. The following treatments were evaluated: 1) crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.); 2) poultry litter; 3) crimson clover + poultry litter; 4) ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3); and 5) untreated control. Crimson clover provided from 20 to 75 kg·ha−1 N over the course of the two growing seasons; however, most of the available N from crimson clover became available late in the growing season. As a result, supplemental N may be required in spring where crimson clover is used as an orchard cover crop. Poultry litter, with and without clover, provided available N consistently throughout the growing season with more N becoming available later in the season than earlier. This suggests that poultry litter applications for pecan should be timed before budbreak. Under optimum environmental conditions, N from NH4NO3 is most available within the first 30 days of application. Thus, it appears that synthetic fertilizer applications using NH4NO3 as the N source should be targeted at or 2 to 3 weeks after pecan budbreak.

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Nitrogen Availability from High-nitrogen-containing Organic Fertilizers

HortTechnology ◽

10.21273/horttech.16.1.0039 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 39-42 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

T.K. Hartz ◽

P.R. Johnstone

Keyword(s):

Blood Meal ◽

Nitrogen Availability ◽

Organic Fertilizers ◽

Organic N ◽

N Availability ◽

Vegetable Production ◽

Feather Meal ◽

Available N ◽

Organic Vegetable Production ◽

Seabird Guano

Limited soil nitrogen (N) availability is a common problem in organic vegetable production that often necessitates in-season fertilization. The rate of net nitrogen mineralization (Nmin) from four organic fertilizers (seabird guano, hydrolyzed fish powder, feather meal, and blood meal) containing between 11.7% and 15.8% N was compared in a laboratory incubation. The fertilizers were mixed with soil from a field under organic management and incubated aerobically at constant moisture at 10, 15, 20, and 25 °C. Nmin was determined on samples extracted after 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks. Rapid Nmin was observed from all fertilizers at all temperatures; within 2 weeks between 47% and 60% of organic N had been mineralized. Temperature had only modest effects, with 8-week Nmin averaging 56% and 66% across fertilizers at 10 and 25 °C, respectively. Across temperatures, 8-week Nmin averaged 60%, 61%, 62%, and 66% for feather meal, seabird guano, fish powder, and blood meal, respectively. Cost per unit of available N (mineralized N + initial inorganic N) varied widely among fertilizers, with feather meal the least and fish powder the most expensive.

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Evaluation of nitrogen availability indices and their relationship with plant response on acidic soils of India

Plant Soil and Environment ◽

10.17221/675/2012-pse ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 59 (No. 6) ◽

pp. 235-240 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Bordoloi LJ ◽

Singh AK ◽

Manoj-Kumar ◽

Patiram ◽

S. Hazarika

Keyword(s):

Nitrogen Availability ◽

N Uptake ◽

Reliable Estimate ◽

Plant Responses ◽

N Availability ◽

Soil N ◽

Acidic Soils ◽

Total N ◽

Large Variability ◽

Available N

Plant’s nitrogen (N) requirement that is not fulfilled by available N in soil has to be supplied externally through chemical fertilizers. A reliable estimate of soil N-supplying capacity (NSC) is therefore essential for efficient fertilizer use. In this study involving a pot experiment with twenty acidic soils varying widely in properties, we evaluated six chemical indices of soil N-availability viz. organic carbon (Corg), total N (Ntot), acid and alkaline-KMnO4 extractable-N, hot KCl extractable-N (KCl-N) and phosphate-borate buffer extractable-N (PBB-N), based on their strength of correlation with available-N values obtained through aerobic incubation (AI-N) and anaerobic incubation (ANI-N), and also with the dry matter yield (DMY), N percentage and plant (maize) N uptake (PNU). In general, the soils showed large variability in NSC as indicated by variability in PNU which ranged from 598 to 1026 mg/pot. Correlations of the N-availability indices with AI-N and ANI-N decreased in the order: PBB-N (r = 0.784** and 0.901**) > KCl-N (r = 0.773** and 0.743**) > acid KMnO4-N (r = 0.575** and 0.651**) ≥ Corg (r = 0.591** and 0.531**) ≥ alkaline KMnO4-N (r = 0.394** and 0.548**) > Ntot (r = 0.297** and 0.273*). Of all the indices evaluated, PBB-N showed the best correlations with plant parameters as well (r = 0.790** and 0.793** for DMY and PNU, respectively). Based on the highest correlations of PBB-N with biological indices as well as plant responses, we propose PBB-N as an appropriate index of N-availability in the acidic soils of India and other regions with similar soils.

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Allocation and morphological responses to resource manipulations are unlikely to mitigate shade intolerance in Houstonia montana, a rare southern Appalachian herb

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b07-104 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 85 (10) ◽

pp. 976-985 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Amy C. Euliss ◽

Melany C. Fisk ◽

S. Coleman McCleneghan ◽

Howard S. Neufeld

Keyword(s):

Nitrogen Availability ◽

Carbon Allocation ◽

Plant Biomass ◽

Specific Root Length ◽

Mycorrhizal Colonization ◽

N Availability ◽

Low Light ◽

Southern Appalachian ◽

Aboveground Growth ◽

Root:Shoot Ratios

High light requirements limit the distribution of several rare plant species endemic to the southern Appalachian region. We studied the influence of light and nitrogen availability on carbon allocation and morphology in one of these species, Houstonia montana Small. Insights into growth and nutrition of H. montana are needed for predicting how it will respond to ongoing changes in its environment associated with atmospheric nitrogen deposition and resulting from succession and (or) management of grassy-bald habitats in which it occurs. We hypothesized that low light constrains belowground allocation, and that elevated N availability reduces limitations to aboveground growth at low light. We tested growth and mycorrhizal colonization of H. montana in response to interactions of light and N availability in a greenhouse experiment. Shade reduced plant biomass, root:shoot ratios, and mycorrhizal colonization, and increased specific leaf area (area/mass). Elevated N reduced root:shoot ratios and mycorrhizal colonization. Under low light, N addition increased specific root length (length/mass) and foliar chlorophyll. We found support for the hypotheses that low light and high N reduce belowground allocation in H. montana. However, we did not find that high N significantly alleviates limitation to plant growth in the shade, despite changes in allocation, morphology, and chemistry that were consistent with more efficient use of C for aboveground growth. Thus, variation in the soil N availability is unlikely to have a marked effect on the ability of H. montana to tolerate shade in its native habitat.

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Estimating Nitrogen Availability of Heat-Dried Biosolids

Applied and Environmental Soil Science ◽

10.1155/2011/190731 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2011 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Craig G. Cogger ◽

Andy I. Bary ◽

Elizabeth A. Myhre

Keyword(s):

Pacific Northwest ◽

Festuca Arundinacea ◽

Nitrogen Availability ◽

N Uptake ◽

Forage Yield ◽

Fertilizer Efficiency ◽

N Availability ◽

Total N ◽

Available N ◽

Growing Seasons

As heat-dried biosolids become more widely produced and marketed, it is important to improve estimates of N availability from these materials. Objectives were to compare plant-available N among three different heat-dried biosolids and determine if current guidelines were adequate for estimating application rates. Heat-dried biosolids were surface applied to tall fescue (Festuca arundinaceaSchreb.) in Washington State, USA, and forage yield and N uptake measured for two growing seasons following application. Three rates of urea and a zero-N control were used to calculate N fertilizer efficiency regressions. Application year plant-available N (estimated as urea N equivalent) for two biosolids exceeded 60% of total N applied, while urea N equivalent for the third biosolids was 45%. Residual (second-year) urea N equivalent ranged from 5 to 10%. Guidelines for the Pacific Northwest USA recommend mineralization estimates of 35 to 40% for heat-dried biosolids, but this research shows that some heat-dried materials fall well above that range.

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Soil nitrogen availability influences seasonal carbon allocation patterns in sugar maple (Acersaccharum)

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x92-059 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 447-456 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Marianne K. Burke ◽

Dudley J. Raynal ◽

Myron J. Mitchell

Keyword(s):

Fine Roots ◽

Sugar Maple ◽

Nitrogen Availability ◽

Fine Root ◽

Carbon Allocation ◽

Root Production ◽

N Availability ◽

Soil N ◽

Soil N Availability ◽

Allocation Patterns

The influence of soil N availability on growth, on seasonal C allocation patterns, and on sulfate-S content in sugar maple seedlings (Acersaccharum Marsh.) was tested experimentally. Relative to controls, the production of foliage doubled in response to high N availability, and the production of foliage, stems, coarse roots, and fine roots was halved in response to N deprivation. The period of foliage production was lengthened by fertilization and the period of fine root production was shortened by N deprivation compared with controls. In August, a shift in priority C allocation from foliage to roots occurred in the N-deprivation treatment. Therefore, during this month alone, the shoot to root ratio was greater in fertilized plants (1.0) than in N-deprived plants (0.5). Allocation to storage reserves was highest in N-deprived and lowest in fertilized plants (average 160 vs. 125 mg glucose/g biomass produced), and storage in roots of unfertilized plants commenced earlier (August) than in fertilized plants (after September). This resulted in unfertilized plants having higher fine root starch concentrations (5.2%) than fertilized plants (4.0%) in December, although sugar concentrations were similar (5.7%). The lengthened season of shoot growth and the low starch to sugar ratios in fine roots of fertilized plants are symptoms consistent with a higher risk of frost injury and microbial pathogen infection. Although soil N availability did not influence the sulfate-S content in foliage, N deprivation resulted in higher organic S to N ratios. This suggests that more S-containing proteins are produced when N availability is poor.

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Larch litter and nitrogen availability in mixed larch–spruce stands. II. A comparison of larch and spruce litters as a nitrogen source for Sitka spruce seedlings

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x86-055 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 327-329 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

J. C. Carlyle ◽

D. C. Malcolm

Keyword(s):

Nitrogen Source ◽

Nitrogen Availability ◽

Sitka Spruce ◽

N Availability ◽

Litter Fall ◽

Mixed Stands ◽

Available N ◽

Spruce Stands ◽

N Status ◽

Quantitative Importance

On deep peat sites where available N levels are low, the growth and N status of Sitka spruce are improved when the species is grown in mixed larch–spruce (75/25%) stands. It has been suggested that larch litter mineralizes more readily than other coniferous litters, thereby increasing N availability in mixed stands. However, while larch litter was demonstrated to release N more readily than spruce litter, the amount of N contained in larch litter fall seems too low to be of quantitative importance.

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