An exploration of manure derived N in soils using 15N after the application of biochar, straw and a mix of both

Abstract

It is common practice to apply manure onto soil as an effective way to increase soil fertility. However, the impact of different carbon sources on the transformation and fate of manure derived nitrogen (N) remains poorly understood. This study investigated the mineralization and immobilization turnover (MIT) of various manure-N fractions using sequential extractions and 15N tracing techniques combined after soil amendment with biochar, straw and mixtures thereof. Soil N was fractionated into mineral nitrogen (NH4+ and NO3−), microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN), hot water extractable organic nitrogen (HWDON), hydrochloric acid extractable organic nitrogen (HCl–N), and residual nitrogen (RN). Results showed that biochar addition increased the 15NH4+ content by 45% during the early stage. However, the high pH and labile C absence of biochar inhibited the remineralization of microbial immobilization N during the mid–to–late stage. Straw addition enhanced 15NH4+ assimilation by 10% to form HCl–15N. After that, microbial cellular structures and secondary metabolites were remineralized to meet crop N requirements. Adding carbon source mixtures with the organic fertilizer manifested the relationship between biochar and straw. The labile C content of the carbon sources rather than the C/N ratio was the critical factor regulating the N-MIT process. Overall, these findings offer new insights into the N transformation approaches using the co-application technique of organic amendments.