Comparative Study on Disturbed and Undisturbed Soil Sample Incubation for Estimating Soil Nitrogen-Supplying Capacity

摘要

Application of nitrogen (N) fertilizers without knowing the N-supplying capacity of soils may lead to low N use efficiency, uneconomical crop production, and pollution of the environment. Based on the results from pot experiments treated with soil initial nitrate leaching and native soil, long-term alternate leaching aerobic incubation was conducted to study the disturbed and undisturbed soil N-supplying capacity of surface soil samples in 11 sites with different fertilities on the Loess Plateau. The results indicated that the entire indexes and ryegrass (Lolium perenne) uptake N with soil initial nitrate leaching showed a better correlation than that without soil initial nitrate leaching. Except the correlation coefficients for soil initial nitrate (NO3-)-N and mineral N extracted by calcium chloride (CaCl2) before aerobic incubation with ryegrass uptake without soil initial nitrate leaching, the correlation coefficients for soil initial NO3--N and mineral N extracted by CaCl2 before aerobic incubation with ryegrass uptake with soil initial nitrate leaching and those for mineralizable N extracted by aerobic incubation, soil initial mineral N and mineralizable N extracted by aerobic incubation, potentially mineralizable N (N0) and soil initial mineral N + N0 with ryegrass uptake N under the two cases in disturbed treatment were all higher than those in undisturbed treatment. We concluded that NO3--N in soil extracted by CaCl2 before aerobic incubation can reflect soil N-supplying capacity but cannot reflect soil potential N-supplying capacity. Without soil initial nitrate leaching, the effect of disturbed and undisturbed soil samples incubated under laboratory conditions for estimating soil N-supplying capacity was not good; however, with soil initial nitrate leaching, this method could give better results for soil N-supplying capacity. Based on the results from pot experiments treated with soil initial nitrate leaching and native soil, the mineralization of disturbed soil samples can give provide better results for predicting soil N-supplying capacity for in situ structure soil conditions on the Loess Plateau than undisturbed soil samples.