Organic Matter and Mineralizable Nitrogen Relationships in Wetland Rice Soils

Abstract

Soil nitrogen (N) supply plays a dominant role in the N nutrition of wetland rice. Organic matter has been proposed as an index of soil N availability to wetland rice. This is based on the finding that mineralizable N produced under waterlogged conditions is related to soil organic carbon (C) and total N. The relationship between organic matter and mineralizable N is a prerequisite for determining the N requirement of wetland rice. However, no critical analysis of recent literature on organic matter–mineralizable N relationships has been made. This article evaluates current literature on the relationships of mineralizable N or ammonium N production with soil organic C in wetland rice soils. A number of studies with diverse wetland rice soils demonstrate a close relationship of N mineralized (ammonium‐N) under anaerobic conditions with organic C or total N. However, a few recent studies made on sites under long‐term intensive wetland rice cropping showed that strong positive relationships of mineralizable N with organic C or total N do not hold. Clearly, both quantity and quality of organic matter affect N mineralization in wetland rice soils. Future research is needed to clarify the role of quality of organic matter, especially its chemistry, as modified by the chemical environment of submerged soils, on the mineralization of organic N in wetland rice soils.