Summary
Ammonium was compared with nitrate as a source of nitrogen for micro-organisms in the decomposition of oat straw. When both ions were added in sufficient and equal quantities the organisms utilized the ammonium ion almost exclusively. The relative absorption of the two ions was determined by means of tagged nitrogen.
Ammonium was also found to promote a greater total immobilization of nitrogen and more rapid decomposition of the oat straw under a wide range of environmental conditions. The results suggest that ammonium may be preferable to nitrate in the production of composts and to have certain advantages when nitrogen is applied to promote decomposition of crop residues.
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Journal Paper J-2461, Project 1070 of the Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station. This work was supported in part by the Royal Agricultural College, Uppsala 7, Sweden, and was performed while the senior author was an Exchange Visitor at Iowa State College.
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Jansson, S.L., Hallam, M.J. & Bartholomew, W.V. Preferential utilization of ammonium over nitrate by micro-organisms in the decomposition of oat straw. Plant Soil 6, 382–390 (1955). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01343647
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01343647