Diffusion of Soil Extracts for Nitrogen and Nitrogen-15 Analyses by Automated Combustion/Mass Spectrometry
1990
Burke, Ingrid C. | O'Deen, Louise A. | Mosier, Arvin R. | Porter, Lynn K.
The coupling of automated combustion instruments with mass spectrometry has streamlined total N and ¹⁵N analyses of soil and plant materials. New methods are needed for analysis of soil NH₄ and NO₃ ¹⁵N to take advantage of the efficiency in automated combustion analysis. We have developed a method to quantitatively determine NO₃, NH₄, and ¹⁵N content of soil extracts by automated combustion/mass spectrometry. Soil extracts are made basic, and diffused into acid-washed zeolite in tin combustion cups. Zeolite samples are then analyzed on the automated combustion/mass spectrometry system for N and ¹⁵N. Ammonium- and NO₃-N and ¹⁵N can be quantitatively recovered and analyzed during this procedure, reliably collecting 97% of the N and ¹⁵N in the extract, with a repeatability of ±2%. Contribution from the Natural Resource Ecology Lab., Colorado State Univ., and USDA-ARS.
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