Pedotransfer functions for the pool size of slowly mineralizable organic N in sandy arable soils

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Authors

  • Sabine Heumann
  • Jürgen Böttcher
  • Günther Springob
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Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)308-318
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science
Volume166
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2003

Abstract

The major aim of this study was to evaluate how the pool size of slowly mineralizable, 'old' soil organic N can be derived from more easily accessible soil and site information via pedotransfer functions (PTF). Besides modeling, this pool size might be of great importance for the identification of soils with high mineralization potential in drinking-water catchments. From long-term laboratory incubations (ca. 200 days) at 35°C, the pool sizes of easily mineralizable organic N (Nfast), mainly in fresh residues, and slowly mineralizable, 'old' soil organic N (Nslow) as well as their first-order rate coefficients were obtained. 90 sandy arable soils from NW Germany served to derive PTFs for Nslow that were evaluated using another 20 soils from the same region. Information on former land-use and soil type was obtained from topographical, historical, and soil maps (partly from 1780). Pool size Nslow very strongly depends on soil type and former land-use. Mean pool sizes of Nslow were much lower in old arable lowland (105 mg N kg-1) than upland soils (175 mg N kg-1) possibly due to lower clay contents. Within lowlands, mean pool sizes in former grassland soils (245 mg N kg-1) were 2 to 3 times larger than in old arable soils due to accumulation of mineralizable N. In contrast, mean pool sizes of Nslow were lowest in recently cleared, former heath- and woodland (31 mg N kg-1) as a result of the input of hardly decomposable organic matter. Neither N nor C in the light fraction (density < 1.8 g cm-3) was adequate to derive pool size Nslow in the studied soils (r2 < 0.03). Instead, Nslow can be accurately (r2 = 0.55 - 0.83) derived from one or two basic soil characteristics (e.g. organic C, total N, C : N, mineral fraction < 20 μm), provided that sites were grouped by former land-use. Field mineralization from Nslow during winter (independent data set) can be predicted as well on the basis of Nslow-values calculated from PTFs that were derived after grouping the soils by former land-use (r 2 = 0.51 ***). In contrast, using the PTF without soil grouping strongly reduced the reliability (r2 = 0.16).

Keywords

    Pedotransfer functions, Pool size, Sandy arable soils, Slowly mineralizable organic n

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Sustainable Development Goals

Cite this

Pedotransfer functions for the pool size of slowly mineralizable organic N in sandy arable soils. / Heumann, Sabine; Böttcher, Jürgen; Springob, Günther.
In: Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, Vol. 166, No. 3, 01.06.2003, p. 308-318.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Heumann S, Böttcher J, Springob G. Pedotransfer functions for the pool size of slowly mineralizable organic N in sandy arable soils. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science. 2003 Jun 1;166(3):308-318. doi: 10.1002/jpln.200390048
Heumann, Sabine ; Böttcher, Jürgen ; Springob, Günther. / Pedotransfer functions for the pool size of slowly mineralizable organic N in sandy arable soils. In: Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science. 2003 ; Vol. 166, No. 3. pp. 308-318.
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AU - Heumann, Sabine

AU - Böttcher, Jürgen

AU - Springob, Günther

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