Diffusive fluxes and water-extractable concentrations of different nitrogen forms in a temperate agricultural soil
Erich Inselsbacher
A * and Robert Peticzka B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Forest and Soil Sciences, Institute of Soil Research, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences – BOKU, Peter Jordan Strasse 82, 1190 Vienna, Austria.
B Department of Geography and Regional Research, University of Vienna, Universitätsstrasse 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria.
Soil Research 59(8) 848-853 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR21024
Submitted: 22 January 2021 Accepted: 29 April 2021 Published: 29 September 2021
© 2021 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing
Abstract
Synchronising nitrogen (N) fertiliser inputs and crop N demand is a major goal in intensive agriculture. However, assessing how much and in which form N arrives at the root surfaces remains a major challenge. Microdialysis has been introduced as a suitable technique to face this challenge and, in this study, we applied microdialysis to assess in situ diffusive N fluxes in a temperate agricultural field. Additionally, soil N concentrations were estimated by water extractions to compare different approaches for measuring plant-available N. Concentrations and diffusive fluxes of N did not correlate and differed significantly regarding the relative contribution of different N forms to total N. Nitrate was the dominant N form (∼80%) in water extracts while diffusive fluxes of NO3−, NH4+ and free amino acids were similar (38%, 34% and 28%, respectively). Extractable N and diffusive N fluxes varied strongly across the entire field, with a higher variability at smaller scales. Our results suggest that diffusive N fluxes are affected by a complex network of abiotic and biotic factors, either directly controlling diffusion or indirectly by affecting soil N production and consumption rates. We therefore recommend that future efforts should be directed into including such factors in more complex modelling approaches to assess plant-available N in agricultural fields.
Keywords: agriculture, amino acids, corn (Zea mays), inorganic nitrogen, microdialysis, nitrogen fertiliser, soil diffusive fluxes, soil extraction.
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