Fixation of Atmospheric Nitrogen by Nonlegumes in Wet Mountain Meadows
1969
Porter, L. K. | Grable, A. R.
Mountain soils subjected to excessive irrigation and high water tables accumulate organic matter in sod mats. Meadow soils often contain two or three times more N than equal areas of adjacent dry soils. Symbiotic nitrogen fixation by legumes is one possible source of N for sod mat formation. Fixation of N₂ by free-living organisms has also been postulated and was verified by the laboratory studies reported here. Nitrogen fixation by sod mats containing no legumes was determined at 18C in atmospheres containing N₂¹⁵ Both photosynthetic and nonphotosynthetic organisms appeared to fix N₂. In 10 days, mats in the dark fixed from 0.76 to 1.90 kg N₂ ha⁻¹ and illuminated mats fixed from 3.72 to 6.86 kg N ha⁻¹.
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