HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Reeder, J. D. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Reeder, J. D. Agricola Articles by Reeder, J. D.

Transformations of Nitrogen-15-Labeled Fertilizer Nitrogen and Carbon Mineralization in Incubated Coal Mine Spoils and Disturbed Soil

USDA-ARS, Mountain States Area, 301 South Howes, P.O. Box E, Fort Collins, CO 80522-0470.

^* Corresponding author.

ABSTRACT

Limited information is available concerning N transformations in exposed geologic materials of disturbed lands in the western USA. A laboratory incubation study was therefore conducted using ¹⁵N to trace the dynamics of fertilizer ¹⁵NH⁺₄ added to samples of one topsoil and five coal mine spoils from Colorado and Wyoming. Carbon dioxide evolution, N mineralization, nitrification, microbial immobilization, and NH⁺₄ fixation within clay minerals were monitored over time. The organic matter in three of the spoils was considerably less susceptible to microbial decomposition than the topsoil organic matter, whereas the organic matter in the fourth spoil was slightly less susceptible than, and in the fifth spoil comparable to, topsoil organic matter in susceptibility to microbial decomposition. However, the amount of plant-available N mineralized was at least five times higher in the topsoil than in any of the spoil materials. The data suggest that, under field conditions, none of the spoil materials evaluated in this study will likely be able to adequately supply the N requirements of a reseeded plant community. The significantly more active microbial population of the topsoil immobilized more of the added ¹⁵NH⁺₄ than in any of the spoils except the shale, whereas more of the added ¹⁵NH⁺₄ was nitrified and remained as NO^–₃ in the spoils than in the topsoil. The data indicate that under field conditions, a larger proportion of added fertilizer NH⁺₄ will be susceptible to loss via NO^–₃ leaching or volatilization in the spoils than in the topsoil.

Key Words: N transformations • Nitrification • Geologic N, CO₂ evolution • Organic matter decomposition

Contribution from the Hydro-Ecosystem Res. Unit, USDA-ARS, Fort Collins, CO.

Received for publication February 21, 1987.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. J. Ingram, G. E. Schuman, P. D. Stahl, and L. K. Spackman Microbial Respiration and Organic Carbon Indicate Nutrient Cycling Recovery in Reclaimed Soils Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., September 29, 2005; 69(6): 1737 - 1745. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]