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A simple model for estimating the contribution of nitrogen mineralization to the nitrogen supply of crops from a stabilized pool of soil organic matter and recent organic input

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Abstract

A simple model was developed to estimate the contribution of nitrogen (N) mineralization to the N supply of crops. In this model the soil organic matter is divided into active and passive pools. Annual soil mineralization of N is derived from the active pool. The active pool comprises stabilized and labile soil organic N. The stabilized N is built up from accumulated inputs of fresh organic N during a crop rotation but the labile N is a fraction of total N added, which mineralizes faster than the stabilized N. The passive pool is considered to have no participation in the mineralization process. Mineralization rates of labile and stabilized soil organic N from different crop residues decomposing in soil were derived from the literature and were described by the first-order rate equation dN/dt =-K*N, where N is the mineralizable organic N from crop residues andK is a constant. The data were groupedK 1 by short-term (0–1 year) andK 2 by long-term (0–10 years) incubation. Because the range of variation inK 2 was smaller than inK 1 we felt justified in using an average value to derive N mineralization from the stabilized pool. The use of a constant rate ofK 1 was avoided so net N mineralization during the first year after addition is derived directly from the labile N in the crop residues. The model was applied to four Chilean agro-ecosystems, using daily averages of soil temperature and moisture. The N losses by leaching were also calculated. The N mineralization varied between 30 and 130 kg N ha−1 yr−1 depending on organic N inputs. Nitrogen losses by leaching in a poorly structured soil were estimated to be about 10% of total N mineralized. The model could explain the large differences in N- mineralization as measured by the potential N mineralization at the four sites studied. However, when grassland was present in the crop rotation, the model underestimated the results obtained from potential mineralization.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DLO Research Institute for Agrobiology and Soil Fertility, P.O. Box 129, 9750 AC, Haren, The Netherlands

    F. J. Matus & J. Rodríguez

  2. División de Suelos del Departamento de Ciencias Vegetales, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla 114 D, Santiago, Chile

    F. J. Matus & J. Rodríguez

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  1. F. J. Matus
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  2. J. Rodríguez
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Matus, F.J., Rodríguez, J. A simple model for estimating the contribution of nitrogen mineralization to the nitrogen supply of crops from a stabilized pool of soil organic matter and recent organic input. Plant Soil 162, 259–271 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01347713

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01347713

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