Summary
The depth distributions of rates of net nitrogen mineralization and nitrification were measured in a series of field and laboratory incubations. Field studies suggested that the highest rates of mineralization and nitrification occurred in the surface 2.5 cm such that forty to sixty percent of the N mineralization in 20-cm soil column occurred in the surface 2.5cm. Some upward nitrate movement occurred but laboratory studies suggested that surface rates were not an artifact of nitrate mobility alone. Microclimatic data indicate that either dew or upward movement and condensation of soil water vapor may drive biological activity at the soil surface. High rates of N mineralization even in dry horizons were sustained as long as water was stored within the 0-to 20-cm depth. High rates of nitrification were found in all incubations, and field measurements showed NO −3 to be the predominant form of inorganic N, despite previous characterization of the shortgrass steppe as an NH +4 -dominated system.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Birch H F 1958 The effect of soil drying on humus decomposition and nitrogen availability. Plant and Soil 10, 9–31.
Clark F E 1977 Internal cycling of15Nitrogens in a shortgrass prairie. Ecology 58, 1322–1332.
Day P R 1965 Particle fractionation and particle size analysis.In Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 1. Agronomy 9, 545–567. Ed. C A Black. Am. Soc. Agron., Madison, WI.
Herlihy M 1979 Nitrogen mineralisation in soils of varying texture, moisture and organic matter. I. Potential and experimental values in fallow soils. Plant and Soil 53, 255–267.
Jury W A and Letey J Jr 1979 Water vapour movement in soil: reconciliation of theory and experiment. J. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. 43, 823–827.
Malhi S S and McGill W B 1982 Nitrification in three Alberta soils: Effect of temperature, moisture and substrate concentration. Soil Biol. Biochem. 14, 393–399.
Meetenmeyer V 1978 Macroclimate and lignin control of litter decomposition rates. Ecology 59, 465–472.
Nelson D W and Sommers L E 1980 Total nitrogen analysis of soil plant tissues. J. Assoc. Off. Anal. Chem. 63, 770–778.
Parton W J, Lauenroth W K and Smith F M 1981 Water loss from a shortgrass steppe. Agric. Meteorol. 24, 97–109.
Parton W J and Logan J A 1979 A model for diurnal variation in soil and air temperature. Agric. Meteorol. 23, 205–216.
Pastor J, Aber J D, McClaugherty C A and Melillo J M 1984 Aboverground production and N and P cycling along a nitrogen mineralization gradient on Blackhawk Island, Wisconsin. Ecology 65, 256–268.
Rice E L and Pancholy S K 1972 Inhibition of nitrification by climax vegetation. Am. J. Bot. 59, 1033–1040.
Richards L A 1965 Physical condition of water in soil.In Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 1. Agronomy 9, 128–151. Ed. A. Black. Am. Soc. Agron., Madison, WI.
Robertson G P and Vitousek P M 1981 Nitrification potentials in primary and secondary succession. Ecology 62, 376–386.
Sala O E and Lauenroth W K 1982 Small rainfall events: an ecological role in semiarid regions. Oecologia (Berl.) 53, 301–304.
Sala O E, Lauenroth W K, Parton W J and Trlica M J 1981 Water status of soil and vegetation in shortgrass steppe. Oecologia 48, 327–331.
Santos P F, Elkins N Z, Steinberger Y and Whitford W G 1984 A comparison of surface and buriedLarrea tridentata leaf litter decomposition in North America hot deserts. Ecology 65, 278–284.
Schimel D S, Stillwell M A and Woodmansee R G Biogeochemistry of C, N, and P in a catena of shortgrass steppe. Ecology (In press).
Snyder J D and Trofymow J A A rapid accurate wet oxidation diffusion procedure for determining organic and inorganic carbon in plant and soil samples. Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. (In press).
Sørensen L H 1974 Rate of decomposition of organic matter in soil as influenced by repeated air drying-rewetting and repeated additions of organic matter. Soil Biol. Biochem. 6, 287–292.
Stillwell M A and Woodmansee R G 1981 Chemical transformations of urea-nitrogen and movement of nitrogen in a shortgrass prairie soil. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 45, 893–898.
Vitousek P M, Gosz J R, Grier C G, Melillo J M and Reiners W A 1982 A comparative analysis of potential nitrification and nitrate mobility in forest ecosystems. Ecol. Monogr. 52, 155–177.
Wetselaar R 1968 Soil organic nitrogen mineralization as affected by low soil water potentials. Plant and Soil 29, 9–17.
Whitford W G, Meentemeyer V, Seastedt T R, Cromack K Jr, Crossley D A Jr, Santos P, Todd R L and Waide J B 1981 Exceptions to the AET model: Deserts and clear-cut forests. Ecology 62, 275–277.
Whitford W G, Freckman D W, Elkins N Z, Parker L W, Parmalee R, Philips J and Tucker S 1981 Diurnal migration and responses to simulated rainfall in desert soil microarthropods and nematodes. Soil Biol. Biochem. 13, 417–425.
Woodmansee R G 1978 Additions and losses of nitrogen in grassland ecosystems. BioScience 28, 448–453.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Schimel, D.S., Parton, W.J. Microclimatic controls of nitrogen mineralization and nitrification in shortgrass steppe soils. Plant Soil 93, 347–357 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02374285
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02374285