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Abstract Various soil health indicators that measure a chemically defined fraction of nitrogen (N) or a process related to N cycling have been proposed to quantify the potential to supply N to crops, a key soil function. We evaluated five N indicators (total soil N, autoclavable citrate extractable N, water‐extractable organic N, potentially mineralizable N, andN‐acetyl‐β‐D‐glucosaminidase activity) at 124 sites with long‐term experiments across North America evaluating a variety of managements. We found that 59%–81% of the variation in N indicators was among sites, with indicator values decreasing with temperature and increasing with precipitation and clay content. The N indicators increased from 6%–39% in response to decreasing tillage, cover cropping, retaining residue, and applying organic sources of nutrients. Overall, increasing the quantity of organic inputs, whether from increased residue retention, cover cropping, or rotations with higher biomass, resulted in higher values of the N indicators. Although N indicators responded to management in similar ways, the analysis cost and availability of testing laboratories is highly variable. Further, given the strong relationships of the N indicators with carbon (C) indicators, measuring soil organic C along with 24‐h potential C mineralization could be used as a proxy for N supply instead of measuring potentially mineralizable N or any other N indicator directly.
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Long-term Dynamics in Soil Field Available Nitrogen and Potentially Mineralizable Nitrogen in a Chihuahuan Desert Grassland at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico (1989-2014)
Associated with a project that was based upon the assumption that nitrogen may limit net primary plant production in desert grasslands, this project began measuring available inorganic soil N and potentially mineralizable N of soils at two desert grassland locations. Both available N and potentially mineralizable N were greatest following a drought period in 1989, declined during wetter periods that followed and remained relatively stable until another extended drought period. After drought in 1995-6, both forms of soil N increased, indicating the potential for greater NPP following drought and lower potential NPP during periods of normal precipitation.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1655499
- PAR ID:
- 10424180
- Publisher / Repository:
- Environmental Data Initiative
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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