Characteristics of the results of determining the mineralization of nitrogen-containing compounds by substantiated biological methods
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31073/acss100-06Keywords:
soil nitrogen status; ammonium and nitrate nitrogen; composting; N-mineralization; potential nitrification; actual nitrificationAbstract
Most biological methods for determining the content of nitrogen potentially available to plants in the soil are based on determining the amount of mineralization products of nitrogen-containing compounds. The article presents the results of determining N-mineralization and nitrification according to DSTU ISO 14238:2003 and soil nitrification capacity according to DSTU 7538:2014. The analysis procedure included parallel composting of typical chernozem (Haplic Chernozem) samples for 7, 12, 14, 21, and 28 days without the addition of a nitrogen-containing substrate and with the addition of (NH4)2SO4. Based on the results obtained, we propose to distinguish between actual nitrification - based on the content of nitrate nitrogen in the soil at the time of sampling, and potential nitrification – based on the amount of nitrate nitrogen accumulated during composting. For qualitative and quantitative characterization of potential nitrification, it is proposed to differentiate ammonium nitrogen by origin and, based on this, to distinguish nitrification of «exogenous» and «endogenous» ammonium nitrogen. Nitrification of «exogenous» ammonium nitrogen leads to the formation of nitrates through the oxidation by nitrifying bacteria of mineral ammonium-containing compounds (for example, in fertilizers) that are not products of soil processes. Nitrification of «endogenous» ammonium nitrogen characterizes the potential ability of nitrifying bacteria to oxidize ammonium nitrogen, which is a product of mineralization of the organic component of the soil. To assess the potential nitrification of soil, we suggest using the following gradations: very low – less than 5 mg
N-NO3/kg of soil, low – 6–8, medium – 9–15, high – 16–30, high – 31–60, very high – more than 60 mg N-NO3/kg of soil
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