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Factors controlling nitrogen mineralization and nitrification in forest ecosystems in New Mexico

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Summary

Forest floor and mineral soil from ponderosa-pine, Douglas-fir, aspen and spruce-fir ecosystems located along a rising gradient in New Mexico were tested with laboratory assays for factors controlling N mineralization and nitrification. We concluded that low pH in combination with factors associated with organic quality controlled N mineralization and almost completely limited nitrification in spruce-fir soils, while N mineralization in the forest floor of ponderosa-pine was limited by low nutrient availability (other than N). Organic quality of the substrate and temporal changes in organic quality appeared to control N-mineralization and nitrification processes in forest-floor and mineral soils from all other sites.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biology Department, University of New Mexico, 87131, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    C. S. White & J. R. Gosz

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  1. C. S. White
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  2. J. R. Gosz
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White, C.S., Gosz, J.R. Factors controlling nitrogen mineralization and nitrification in forest ecosystems in New Mexico. Biol Fert Soils 5, 195–202 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00256900

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00256900

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