The soil sample conservation method and its potential impact on ammonium, nitrate and total mineral nitrogen measurements

Abstract

Scientific literature for mineral soil nitrogen content (ammonium and nitrate) measurements usually differs regarding the chosen soil sample conservation method (fresh, frozen or air-dry) before soil extraction and analysis. In addition, most of the commonly used methodologies focus on the definition of the analysis processes, regardless of the previous sample conservation methodology. With the aim to fill this gap, we performed an analysis of the conservation method effect on the nitrate, and ammonium content in frozen or air-dried samples, comparing the results with direct fresh extraction. Moreover, the effects of additional soil parameters, such as soil texture, organic matter content or mineral nitrogen content range were also studied. The results showed that both, frozen and air drying soil samples, were capable of reliably preserving the N content of soil samples in most cases. However, some ammonium losses may occur in frozen samples when a high N content (>30 mg kg−1) is present. It was also observed that air-dried soil samples can reduce the soil nitrate and increase ammonium content in samples with a high N content. It was also observed that significant amounts of organic matter in soil can alter the mineral N measured depending on the conservation method chosen. On the other hand, the soil texture presented small effects on the mineral N measurements. In any case, a broader range of soils conditions (including i.e. pH or different natural organic matter content) should be further tested to confirm our findings.