Abstract
Studies were conducted to compare N mineralization rates in salt-amended nonsaline soils to naturally-occurring saline soils. NaCl, CaCl2, and Na2SO4 were added to nonsaline soils at rates that produced electrical conductivities of the saturation extracts (ECe) of 5, 10, 15, and 20 dS m−1. Saline soils with similar properties were leached to the same ECc levels. N mineralization in the Chino soil was inhibited by salt addition, particularly with sodium and calcium chlorides. In the Domino soil there was some inhibition of N mineralization with the chloride salts, but enhancement with Na2SO4 was observed. Nitrification in both soils was more sensitive to salt addition than ammonification.
N mineralization occurred more slowly in both leached saline soils compared to the salt-amended soils. Leached saline soils often accumulated greater amounts of inorganic N compared to their native saline counterparts, particularly with the 5 dS m−1 Chino soil (native, 44 dS m−1) and with the 5, 10, 15 and 20 dS m−1 Domino soils (native, 32 dS m−1). Kinetic parameters were estimated by the linear least squares (LLS) and the nonlinear least squares (NLLS) methods. Generally, the LLS transformation estimated greater values of potentially mineralizable N (No) and lower rate constants (k). With the NLLS equation, No values for the leached saline soils were usually lower, and k values usually higher than in the salt-amended soils. The nonsaline controls generally had the highest No and lowest k estimates. Average LLS rate constants for the salt-amended and leached saline soils were 0.055 and 0.083 for the Chino, and 0.104 and 0.137 week−1, respectively, for the Domino soils. With the NLLS equation, average k values for the salt-amended and leached saline soils were 0.087 and 0.089 for the Chino, and 0.181 and 0.387 week−1, respectively, for the Domino soils. These results suggest that N mineralization rates obtained in salt-amended nonsaline soils may not be representative of those in naturally-occurring saline soils.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agarwal A S, Singh B R and Kanehiro Y 1971 Ionic effects of salts on mineral nitrogen release in an allophanic soil. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 35, 454–457.
Barnes H and Folkard A R 1951 The determination of nitrites. Analyst (London 76, 599–603.
Bremner J M and Keeney D R 1966 Determination and isotope — ratio analysis of different forms of nitrogen in soils: 3. Exchangeable ammonium, nitrate, and nitrite by extraction-distillation methods. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 30, 577–582.
Broadbent F E 1965 Effects of fertilizer nitrogen on the release of soil nitrogen. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 29, 692–696.
Broadbent F E and Nakashima T 1971 Effects of added salts on nitrogen mineralization in three California soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 35, 457–460.
Bundy L G and Bremner J M 1973 Inhibition of nitrification in soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 37, 396–398.
Burlington R S 1973 Handbook of Mathematical Tables and Formulas. pp 186–187. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Frankenberger W T Jr and Abdelmagid H M 1985 Kinetic parameters of nitrogen mineralization rates of leguminous crops incorporated in soil. Plant and Soil 87, 257–271.
Frankenberger W T Jr and Bingham F T 1982 Influence of salinity on soil enzyme activities. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 46, 1173–1177.
Heilman P 1975 Effects of added salts on nitrogen release and nitrate levels in forest soils of the Washington Coastal area. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 39, 778–782.
Johnson D D and Guenzi W G 1963 Influence of salts on ammonium oxidation and carbon dioxide evolution from soil. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 27, 663–666.
Laura R D 1974 Effects of neutral salts on carbon and nitrogen mineralization of organic matter in soil. Plant and Soil 41, 113–127.
Laura R D 1976 Effects of alkali salts on carbon and nitrogen mineralization of organic matter in soil. Plant and Soil 44, 587–596.
Laura R D 1977 Salinity and nitrogen mineralization in soil. Soil Biol. Biochem. 9, 333–336.
McClung G and Frankenberger W T Jr 1985 Soil nitrogen transformations as affected by salinity. Soil Sci. 139, 405–411.
McCormick R W and Wolf D C 1980 Effect of sodium chloride on CO2 evolution, ammonification, and nitrification in a Sassafras sandy loam. Soil Biol. Biochem. 12, 153–157.
Sindhu M A and Cornfield A H 1967 Comparative effects of varying levels of chlorides and sulfates of sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium on ammonification and nitrification during incubation of soil. Plant and Soil 27, 468–472.
Singh B R, Agarwal A S and Kanehiro Y 1969 Effect of chloride salts on ammonium nitrogen release in two Hawaiian soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 35, 557–560.
Smith J L, Schnabel R R, NcNeal B L and Campbell G S 1980 Potential errors in the first-order model for estimating soil nitrogen mineralization potentials. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 44, 996–1000.
Stanford G and Smith S J 1972 Nitrogen mineralization potentials of soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 36, 465–472.
Talpaz H, Fine P and Bar-Yosef B 1981 On estimation of N-mineralization parameters for incubation experiments. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 45, 993–996.
Walker N 1978 On the diversity of nitrifiers in nature. Microbiol. 5, 346–347.
Watson S W, Valois F W and Waterbury J B 1981 The family Nitrobacteraceae.In The Prokaryotes: A Handbook on Habitats, Isolation, and Identification of Bacteria. Eds. M P Starret al. Vol. I. pp 1005–1022. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Westerman R L Tucker T 1974 Effects of salts and salts plus nitrogen-15-labeled ammonium chloride in mineralization of soil nitrogen, nitrification and immobilization. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 38, 602–605.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McClung, G., Frankenberger, W.T. Nitrogen mineralization rates in salinevs. salt-amended soils. Plant Soil 104, 13–21 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02370619
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02370619