Resolving the spatial variability of soil N using fractions of soil organic matter

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Cordova, C., Sohi, S. P., Lark, R. M., Goulding, K. W. T. and Robinson, J. S. 2012. Resolving the spatial variability of soil N using fractions of soil organic matter. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 147, pp. 66-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2011.06.016

AuthorsCordova, C., Sohi, S. P., Lark, R. M., Goulding, K. W. T. and Robinson, J. S.
Abstract

The spatial variability of soil nitrogen (N) mineralisation has not been extensively studied, which limits our capacity to make N fertiliser recommendations. Even less attention has been paid to the scale-dependence of the variation. The objective of this research was to investigate the scale-dependence of variation of mineral N (MinN, N–NO3− plus N–NH4+) at within-field scales. The study was based on the spatial dependence of the labile fractions of SOM, the key fractions for N mineralisation. Soils were sampled in an unbalanced nested design in a 4-ha arable field to examine the distribution of the variation of SOM at 30, 10, 1, and 0.12 m. Organic matter in free and intra-aggregate light fractions (FLF and IALF) was extracted by physical fractionation. The variation occurred entirely within 0.12 m for FLF and at 10 m for IALF. A subsequent sampling on a 5-m grid was undertaken to link the status of the SOM fractions to MinN, which showed uncorrelated spatial dependence. A uniform application of N fertiliser would be suitable in this case. The failure of SOM fractions to identify any spatial dependence of MinN suggests that other soil variables, or crop indicators, should be tested to see if they can identify different N supply areas within the field for a more efficient and environmentally friendly N management. 

Year of Publication2012
JournalAgriculture, Ecosystems & Environment
Journal citation147, pp. 66-72
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2011.06.016
Open accessPublished as non-open access
Funder project or codeSEF
Centre for Mathematical and Computational Biology (MCB)
Mechanistic descriptions for organic matter turnover in planted soils
Assessing soil based solutions to carbon management
Complex spatial variation of environmental variables: sampling, prediction and interpretation
Publication dates
Online07 Jul 2011
Publication process dates
Accepted14 Jun 2011
ISSN01678809
PublisherElsevier
Copyright licensePublisher copyright

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