Abstract
Red clover root material confined in mesh bags was buried in three different limed and unlimed soils and incubated for 196 days at room temperature. Remaining amounts of organic matter, as well as concentrations of C and N of the decomposing material were determined three times during the incubation and finally the concentration of soil mineral N and pH of remaining roots was also assessed.
Liming only temporarily affected the decomposition rate of organic matter and N release, and at the end of the incubation no effects could be observed due to liming. A possible explanation is that the decomposing root residues provide a well buffered micro-environment for the decomposing microflora. Liming did not change the pH of the root residues even when 97–98% of dry mass had disappeared from the mesh bags.
Concentrations of mineral N were higher in limed than in unlimed soils.
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Müller, M.M., Berg, B. Release of carbon and nitrogen from decomposing roots of red clover as affected by liming of soil. Plant Soil 105, 149–152 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02371153
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02371153