2018 journal article
Soil-Test Biological Activity with the Flush of CO2: I.C and N Characteristics of Soils in Corn Production
SOIL SCIENCE SOCIETY OF AMERICA JOURNAL, 82(3), 685–695.
open access via dl.sciencesocieties.org (publisher PDF)
Core Ideas Soil nitrogen mineralization can be predicted with the flush of CO2. Soil texture does not alter the relationship between the flush of CO2 and N mineralization. Large quantity of mineralizable N in surface soils is possible with conservation management. The flush of CO2 is an appropriate indicator for soil‐test biological activity. The flush of CO2 is a rapid and reliable indicator of soil N availability. Nitrogen limits crop production when insufficient and harms the environment when excessive. Tailoring N inputs to cropping systems remains a high priority to achieve production and environmental goals. We collected soils from 47 corn (Zea mays L.) production fields in North Carolina and Virginia at depths of 0 to 10, 10 to 20, and 20 to 30 cm and evaluated soil C and N characteristics in association with soil N mineralization. Soil organic C at a depth of 0 to 10 cm varied among sites from ∼10 to 80 g kg–1, and generally declined with depth because of many sites with no‐tillage management. Net N mineralization during 24 d of aerobic incubation (25°C, 50% water‐filled pore space) was 54 to 114 mg N kg–1 (24 d)–1 at 0 to 10 cm, 22 to 41 mg N kg–1 (24 d)–1 at 10 to 20 cm, and 12 to 22 mg N kg–1 (24 d)–1 at 20 to 30 cm (middle 50% of observations at each depth). Total soil N was positively associated with net N mineralization (r2 = 0.58), but the flush of CO2 during 3 d was even more closely associated with net N mineralization (r2 = 0.77). Association between the flush of CO2 and net N mineralization did not change significantly when data were sorted by different regions or soil textural classes. The flush of CO2 is a rapid, reliable, and robust indicator of soil‐test biological activity. The strong association of the flush of CO2 with net N mineralization also corroborated use of the flush of CO2 as a rapid and reliable indicator of soil N availability.