Abstract
A field experiment was conducted at Vegreville (east-central Alberta) to determine the residual effect of various amounts of fertilizer N on chemical and biological properties of a Solonetzic soil. The experiment was established in 1961 and soil samples were taken in 1986. Five fertilizer treatments were applied from 1961 to 1978: 0, 76, 152 and 305 kg N ha −1 as ammonium nitrate (AN) and 74 kg N ha −1 plus 139kg P ha −1 as monoammonium phosphate (MAP). Nitrogen fertilization with AN depressed the pH of the Ap horizon from 5.7 in the unfertilized N treatment to 4.2 with 305 kg N ha −1 and this acidification effect was more pronounced with MAP than at the equivalent rate of N with AN. Fertilizer N caused a significant decrease in extractable Mg in the Ap horizon. There was a trend towards decreased sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), soluble Na, and extractable Na and Ca, with applied N. Microbial biomass C and N, and the amount of mineralizable C and N decreased with N fertilization, with the lowest values at the highest rates of fertilizer application. However, total soil organic carbon and soil organic N increased with N application.
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