Indices of soil nitrogen availability in five Tasmanian Eucalyptus nitens plantations
M. T. Moroni A B E , P. J. Smethurst A C and G. K. Holz A DA Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Production Forestry, Private Bag 12, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia.
B School of Agricultural Science, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 54, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia.
C CSIRO Forestry and Forest Products, Private Bag 12, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia.
D 31 Poimena Rd, Burnie, Tas. 7320, Australia.
E Corresponding author; email: mmoroni@nrcan.gc.ca
Australian Journal of Soil Research 42(7) 719-725 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR03145
Submitted: 2 October 2003 Accepted: 19 May 2004 Published: 12 November 2004
Abstract
Several soil analyses were used to estimate available N in surface soils (0–10 cm) over a 2-year period at 5 sites that supported 1- to 4-year-old Eucalyptus nitens plantations, and once in subsoils (10–120 cm) at 3 of these sites. Soils were derived from basalt (1 site previously pasture, 1 Pinus radiate, and 2 native forest) or siltstone (previously native forest). Soil analyses examined were total N, total P, total C, anaerobically mineralisable N (AMN), hot KCl-extractable N (hot KCl-N), and NH4+ and NO3– in soil solution and KCl extracts. AMN, KCl-extractable NH4+ and NO3–, and soil solution NH4+ and NO3– varied considerably with time, whereas hot KCl-N, total N, total P, and total C were temporally stable except for a gradual decline in total C with time at one site. Only total P was correlated with net N mineralisation (NNM) across all sites (r2 = 0.91, P < 0.05, n = 5). At 2–3 years after planting, soil solution and KCl-extractable NO3– dropped below 0.1 mm N and 1 μg N/g soil, respectively, at sites with NNM ≤24 kg N/ha.year (n = 3). Sites with NNM ≤24 kg N/ha.year also had ≤0.8 Mg P/ha. Although concentrations of indices of soil N availability decreased with depth, the contribution of subsoil (10–120 cm depth) to total profile N availability was estimated to be at least twice that of the top 10 cm. At an ex-pasture site, high concentrations of mineral N were found at 75–105 cm depths (KCl-extractable N, 289.3 μg N/g soil; 2.8 mm mineral N in soil solution), which may have become available to plantations as their root systems developed.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the University of Tasmania, the Federal Government, and Gunns Ltd for funding; Gunns Ltd and Norske Skog, Fletcher Challenge, and Boral for access to experimental sites; and R. Hand (deceased), A. Wilkinson and L. Ballard for technical help. The authors would also like to thank D. Mendham, C. Carlyle, and S. Nambiar, and 2 anonymous referees for comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript.
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