Nitrogen mineralization in soils amended with manure as affected by environmental conditions

Authors: Watts, Dexter; Torbert, Henry - Allen

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/23/2013
Publication Date: 3/1/2014
Citation: Watts, D.B., Torbert III, H.A. 2014. Nitrogen mineralization in soils amended with manure as affected by environmental conditions. In: He, Z., Zhang, H., editors. Applied Manure and Nutrient Chemistry for Sustainable Agriculture and Environment. Springer. p. 83-98.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8807-6_5

Interpretive Summary: Nitrogen is the most deficient nutrient in most agricultural production systems; therefore, the economic sustainability of most crops is dependent on adequate supply. Consideration for N availability must be taken into account when incorporating manure into a cropping system’s management practice. Since N mineralization is the process by which manure N is transformed into readily available forms for plant uptake, understanding how environmental conditions affect the N mineralization process is essential for making manure N availability prescriptions. This chapter discusses the factors that can effect N mineralization and demonstrate the impact of temperature, moisture, wetting and drying cycles, and field spatial variability on manure N availability. Our objective is to increase the understanding of manure management in cropping systems to maximize N use.

Technical Abstract: Nitrogen is the most deficient nutrient in most agricultural production systems; therefore, the economic sustainability of most crops is dependent on adequate supply. Consideration for N availability must be taken into account when incorporating manure into a cropping system’s management practice. Since N mineralization is the process by which manure N is transformed into readily available forms for plant uptake, understanding how environmental conditions affect the N mineralization process is essential for making manure N availability prescriptions. This chapter discusses the factors that can effect N mineralization and demonstrate the impact of temperature, moisture, wetting and drying cycles, and field spatial variability on manure N availability. Our objective is to increase the understanding of manure management in cropping systems to maximize N use.