Abstract
The effect of drainage on the mineralization of nitrogen in peat has been investigated using samples from a field experiment in which the water table has been artificially maintained at different levels in five plots for a period of 7 years. Samples cut from the o–10 cm horizon were incubated in the laboratory at 30 °C for 120 days in a moist condition (aerobic) and also in a completely waterlogged state (anaerobic). The results of anaerobic incubation indicate that lowering the water-table level to 18 cm significantly decreases the amount of nitrogen mineralized but that further lowering of the water level reverses the position, mineral nitrogen increasing significantly at least to a water-table depth of 34 cm; the position regarding samples incubated under aerobic conditions is more complex but can be explained on the basis of samples containing a mixture of aerated and non-aerated material.
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