Mineralization of soil nitrogen in the presence of different metallic and organic solids

Abstract

Abstract Mineralization of soil N was determined under aerobic and anaerobic conditions with four soils, three alfisols and one mollisol, for up to 24 weeks in the presence of various solids. These include: 1) metals—aluminum, brass, copper, iron, nickel, lead, stainless steel, tin, and zinc; 2) woods—cedar, pine, and redwood; and 3) other—latex paint and polyvinyl chloride. Presence of the metals, in general, had little or no effect, or depressed soil N mineralization, sometimes more than 50 percent. With a few exceptions, depression occurred mainly in the presence of brass, copper, iron, and zinc. Iron, however, exhibited little depression under anaerobic conditions. In essentially all cases, presence of the woods depressed mineralization, sometimes as much as 90 percent. Presence of polyvinyl chloride had little effect, but the latex paint, which contained trimethylol amino methane, resulted in higher N values.