Soil organic nitrogen composition in Pinus forest acid soils: variability and bioavailability
2000
Prieto-Fernandez, A. | Carballas, T.
The total N content in the acid forest soils studied ranged between 0.41% and 1.43%, and 1.43%, and in more than 98% was composed of organic N. Total hydrolysable organic N, hydrolysable unknown N (HUN) and alpha-aminoacidic N represented around 70%, 34% and 20% of the organic N, respectively, and varied in wide ranges. The percentages of amidic N and of the organic N compounds solubilised to NH4(+) were approximately 6% and 5%, respectively, and ranged in narrow intervals. Aminoglucidic N reached a maximum of 3.8% of the organic N and was undetectable in some of the samples analysed. Most of the hydrolysable N, HUN and alpha-aminoacidic N was solubilised with 1 N and 3 N HCl, while a high amount of the compounds recovered as NH4(+) (60%) was obtained with 6 N HCl. The distribution of aminoglucidic N in the four fractions of increasing hydrolytic intensity was very irregular. The organic N composition in the 0 to 5-cm and 5 to 10-cm layers was not significantly different. The variation among samples was determined mainly by the organic N compounds less resistant to acid hydrolysis (hydrolysable N and HUN less resistant to acid hydrolysis, amidic N and labile ammoniacal N) and by all alpha-aminoacidic N fractions. Aminoacidic N was positively correlated with electrical conductivity and negatively correlated with exchangeable Al. The net N mineralisation over 10 weeks of incubation was positive in all the soil samples analysed. The inorganic N content after the incubation and the microbial N content were positively correlated with other variables--mainly with amidic N and alpha-aminoacidic N, as well as with HUN and the hydrolysable N less resistant to hydrolysis.
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