Comparison of different methodologies for field measurement of net nitrogen mineralization in pasture soils under different soil conditions

Abstract

Net mineralization was measured in free-draining and poorly drained pasture soils using three different field incubation methodologies. Two involved the use of enclosed incubation vessels (jar or box) containing C2H2 as a nitrification inhibitor. The third method confined soil cores in situ in an open tube in the ground, with an anion-exchange resin at the base to retain leached NO3– (resin-core technique, RCT). Measurements were made on three occasions on three free-draining pastures of different ages and contrasting organic matter contents. In general, rates of net mineralization increased with pasture age and organic matter content (range: 0.5–1.5 kg N ha–1 day–1) and similar rates were obtained between the three techniques for a particular pasture. Coefficients of variation (CVs) were generally high (range: 10.4–98.5%), but the enclosed incubation methods were rather less variable than the RCT and were considered overall to be the more reliable. The RCT did not include C2H2 and, therefore, newly formed NO3– may have been lost through denitrification. In a poorly drained pasture soil, there were discrepancies between the two enclosed methods, especially when the soil water content approached field capacity. The interpretation of the incubation measurements in relation to the flux of N through the soil inorganic N pool is discussed and the drawbacks of the various methodologies are evaluated.