Abstract
At four sites across Denmark with varying medium- and long-term histories of annual slurry applications, N turnover rates and crop N use efficiencies were measured in 2000. No significant effect of medium-term (in this study, 3 years) annual slurry applications on gross N turnover was observed. However, a significant effect of long-term (in this study, >25 years) annual slurry applications was observed. At one site in Denmark with short-term (4 days before measurement) slurry application, N turnover was measured in 2001. Gross N turnover was 4–5 times higher in the slurry-amended soil compared to the unamended soil. In both years, net N turnover was unaffected by the slurry application. Generally, the crops had higher use efficiency of slurry NH4 +-N than of mineral fertilizer-N, indicating that the crops were able to extract slurry organic-N, independently of the net mineralization. The measured net N mineralization rate was generally higher than the difference between gross rates. The application of 15NH4 + to soil (a prerequisite for the determination of N mineralization and N immobilization turnover), probably stimulated the gross N immobilization rate in soil with little native NH4 +, since NH4 + is the substrate for immobilization. The results suggest that gross immobilization estimates should be interpreted with caution.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries for funding this study. The authors also thank the Danish Agricultural Advisory Service for collaboration and guidance. Finally the authors thank Birthe K. Nielse and Anja H. Ivø for their supreme laboratory skills.
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Luxhøi, J., Debosz, K., Elsgard, L. et al. Mineralization of nitrogen in Danish soils, as affected by short-, medium- and long-term annual inputs of animal slurries. Biol Fertil Soils 39, 352–359 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-003-0705-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-003-0705-3