Aerobic and anaerobic incubation: Biological indexes of soil nitrogen availability

Abstract

Our researches have been made on brown forest soil that had been used in long-term experiments set up according to specified fertilization system for over 30 years. We have chosen those experiment variants in which quantities of nitrogen fertilizers were gradually increased. The soil samples taken from 0 cm to 30 cm depth were used to determine biological indexes of nitrogen availability (aerobic and anaerobic incubation). The same samples were also used for pot experiments with oat. Plant and soil parameters obtained in controlled conditions were used for determination of biological indexes reliability in measuring the soil nitrogen availability. On the grounds of correlation analysis, it can be concluded that biological index of nitrogen availability achieved by the anaerobic incubation (without substraction of the initial content of available nitrogen) of the investigated brown forest soil is the reliable indicator of soil nitrogen availability. That is not the case with the aerobic incubation in which reliability has not been established.