Abstract
Knowledge about the mineralization dynamics of plant material added to soil is essential in order to predict potential effects on off-season N losses and N uptake by subsequent crops. Among the factors that may influence mineralization is the degree of contact with the soil matrix, as determined by the extent of mixing when plant material is incorporated. In the present study, CO2 evolution, accumulation of mineral N, and denitrification in a loam soil with and without white-clover (Trifolium repens L.) foliage was studied in a controlled environment (15°C, 50–60% WHC; 132 days). Net mineralization from clover was estimated as the difference between that in amended and unamended soil, respectively. Under the same physical conditions, remaining ash-free dry matter and N in red-clover (T. pratense L.) material confined within mesh bags in soil was also measured. By the end of the rapid decay phase (52 days), net N mineralization was 51% of applied white-clover N when the shoot material was added as discrete clumps and 41% when evenly mixed into the soil. 42% was mineralized after a freezing/thawing pretreament of the foliage versus 50 when added fresh. In mesh bags 50% of the initial N remained undecomposed after 52 days. The C mineralization from white clover (average 62%, of applied) was similarly, but less, affected by the various treatments. It was postulated that more intimate contact with soil, and resulting lower turnover rates owing to “protection” of microbial biomass and organic substances, was the most likely reason for the lower values with even mixing and freezing/thawing. By fitting of double exponential functions to mineralization data, it was estimated that 59–68% of the initial clover C and 33–51% of the N belonged to a readily decomposable fraction with half-lives of 5–9 and 9–11 days, respectively. The half-lives of the more recalcitrant fraction were three orders of magnitude longer. The denitrification rate was positively correlated with the respiration rate (r=0.68). It was highest where frozen/thawed material was added as a clump. For this treatment, the total denitrification during the incubation was estimated to be 7% of the added white-clover N.
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Breland, T.A. Enhanced mineralization and denitrification as a result of heterogeneous distribution of clover residues in soil. Plant Soil 166, 1–12 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02185475
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02185475