Abstract
15N-labelled ammonium nitrate was applied to spring barley growing on a Cambisol soil in western Switzerland. Immobilization, plant uptake and disappearance of inorganic nitrogen were followed at frequent intervals. Fertilizer nitrogen disappeared shortly after its application, mainly through immobilization by soil microorganisms and absorption by the crop. Some of the added nitrogen was probably denitrified as a result of humid conditions during the first days after fertilizer application. At the end of the growing season, 31% of the added nitrogen was recovered from the aerial barley plants, and 56% was immobilized by microorganisms. Most of the fertilizer nitrogen not used by the crop was immobilized in the upper 0–30 cm soil layer. This prevented downward movement of nitrate and limited nitrogen losses. Fertilizer efficiency was mainly determined by the competition between crop uptake and microbial immobilization. Careful consideration of the time of fertilization, taking into account plant growth and weather conditions, can result in an increase in fertilizer efficiency and minimal pollution.
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Vos, G.J.M., Duquet, B., Vedy, J.C. et al. The course of 15N-ammonium nitrate in a spring barley cropping system. Plant Soil 150, 167–175 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00013014
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00013014