Abstract
Abstract A study was conducted to evaluate conventional steam‐distillation techniques for N‐isotope analysis of inorganic forms of N in soil extracts. Extracts obtained with 2 M KCl from 10 diverse soils were treated with: (i) (15NH4)2SO4 and KNO3, (ii) (NH4)2SO4 and K15NO3, or (iii) KNO3and Na15NO2. Steam distillations were performed sequentially to determine NH4 +‐N and NO3 ‐‐N, and were also carried out to determine (NO3 ‐ + NO2 ‐)‐N or (NH4 + + NO3 ‐ + NO2 ‐)‐N; a pretreatment with sulfamic acid was used to determine NO3 ‐‐N in the presence of NO2 ‐‐N. Recovery of added N ranged from 95 to 102%. Significant isotopic contamination was observed in sequential distillation of unlabeled NO3 ‐‐N following labeled NH4 +‐N; otherwise, analyses for 15N were usually within 1% of the values calculated by isotope‐dilution equations.
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