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TECHNICAL REPORTS

Ecological Risk Assessment

Quantification of the Effect of Fumigation on Short- and Long-Term Nitrogen Mineralization and Nitrification in Different Soils

^a University of Gent, Department of Soil Management and Soil Care, Division of Soil Fertility and Soil Data Processing, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium
^b Present address: University of Veszprem, Georgikon Faculty of Agronomy, Department of Chemistry and Microbiology, Deák F. u. 16, 8360 Keszthely, Hungary

^* Corresponding author (Stefaan.DeNeve{at}UGent.be).

Received for publication July 3, 2003. The effect of soil fumigation on N mineralization and nitrification needs to be better quantified to optimize N fertilizer advice and predict NO^–₃ concentrations in crops and NO^–₃ leaching risks. Seven soils representing a range in soil texture and organic matter contents were fumigated with Cyanamid DD 95 (a mixture of 1,3-dichloropropane and 1,3-dichloropropene). After removal of the fumigant, the fumigated soils and unfumigated controls were incubated for 20 wk and N mineralization and nitrification were monitored by destructive sampling. The average short-term N mineralization rates (k_s) were significantly larger in the fumigated than in the unfumigated soils (P = 0.025), but the differences in k_s between fumigated and unfumigated soils could not be related to soil properties. The average long-term N mineralization rates (k_l) were slightly larger in the fumigated soils but the difference with the unfumigated soils was not significant. Again, the differences in k_l values could not be related to soil properties. Nitrification was inhibited completely for at least 3 wk in all soils, and an effect on nitrification could be observed up to 17 wk in one soil. An S-shaped function was fitted to the nitrification data corrected for N mineralization, and both the rate constant () and the time at which maximum nitrification was reached (t_max) were strongly correlated to soil pH. However, since no correlations were found between the effect of fumigation on N mineralization and soil properties, taking into account the effects of fumigation in fertilizer advice and in the prediction of NO^–₃ leaching risks will need further research.

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This Issue in Journal of Environmental Quality

JEQ 2004 33: 1589-1599. [Full Text]