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 Sexstone, A. J. Articles by Tiedje, J. M. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Sexstone, A. J. Articles by Tiedje, J. M. Agricola Articles by Sexstone, A. J. Articles by Tiedje, J. M.

Temporal Response of Soil Denitrification Rates to Rainfall and Irrigation¹

ABSTRACT

The response of soil denitrification to increased soil moisture was compared in a non-aggregated sandy loam soil and an aggregated clay loam soil using a soil core technique and the acetylene inhibition method. Elevated field denitrification rates were observed on 9 of 11 occasions on three sites following irrigation or rainfall of > 1 cm water. The denitrification rate in the sandy loam soil increased immediately after water addition and reached a maximum rate within 3–5 h and returned to preirrigation levels within 12 h. A similar, but slower denitrification response occurred in the clay loam soil, requiring 8–12 h before a maximum rate was observed and 48 h before the original background rate was restored. Maximum denitrification rates of 209 and 383 ng N g^–1 d^–1 occurred following water inputs of 7 and 2 cm in the sandy loam and clay loam soils, respectively. These water additions resulted in air-filled porosities of 0.37 m³ m^–3 in the two soils. Nitrogen losses from the clay loam soil were double that of the sandy loam although the sandy loam received almost twice the water input. This difference was apparently due to the longer duration of the enhanced denitrification rate in the clay loam soil following the increase in the soil moisture. In the two soils 38 and 55% of the total N loss in late spring occurred within 48 h after rainfalls greater than 1 cm. These studies confirm that significant denitrification losses can occur in bursts in response to rainfall, and illustrate that sampling schemes based on integration of denitrification rate measurements must include these episodes to obtain meaningful estimates of N loss. A denitrification response to rainfall was not always the case, however, suggesting that NO^-₃ or carbon may also limit nitrogen loss.

¹ Contribution from the Dep. of Crop & Soil Sciences and of Microbiology & Public Health, Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI 48824-1114. Published as Journal Article no. 11212 of the Michigan Agric. Exp. Stn. This work was supported by National Science Foundation Grant DEB-80-12168, USDA Cooperative Agreement no. 58-32U4-1-329 and USDA Regional Research Project NE-39.

² Former Graduate Student, Research Associate, and Professor of Soil Microbiology, respectively. Present addresses: A.J.S., Division of Plant and Soil Sciences, West Virginia Univ., Morgantown, WV 26506 and T.B.P., Soil Nitrogen & Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, Beltsville Agric. Res. Center, Beltsville, MD 20705.

Received for publication November 4, 1983. Accepted for publication August 6, 1984.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. J. Bremer Nitrous Oxide Fluxes in Turfgrass: Effects of Nitrogen Fertilization Rates and Types J. Environ. Qual., August 9, 2006; 35(5): 1678 - 1685. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. P. Horgan, B. E. Branham, and R. L. Mulvaney Direct Measurement of Denitrification Using 15N-labeled Fertilizer Applied to Turfgrass Crop Sci., September 1, 2002; 42(5): 1602 - 1610. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. T. Bergsma, G. P. Robertson, and N. E. Ostrom Influence of Soil Moisture and Land Use History on Denitrification End-Products J. Environ. Qual., May 1, 2002; 31(3): 711 - 717. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. L. Meyer, T. Kjaer, and N. P. Revsbech Nitrification and Denitrification near a Soil-Manure Interface Studied with a Nitrate-Nitrite Biosensor Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., March 1, 2002; 66(2): 498 - 506. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. R. S. Rozas, H. E. Echeverria, and L. I. Picone Denitrification in Maize Under No-Tillage: Effect of Nitrogen Rate and Application Time Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., July 1, 2001; 65(4): 1314 - 1323. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S.O. Petersen, K. Kristensen, and J. Eriksen Denitrification Losses from Outdoor Piglet Production: Spatial and Temporal Variability J. Environ. Qual., May 1, 2001; 30(3): 1051 - 1058. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. van Bochove, D. Prévost, and F. Pelletier Effects of Freeze-Thaw and Soil Structure on Nitrous Oxide Produced in a Clay Soil Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., September 1, 2000; 64(5): 1638 - 1643. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				P. Rochette, E. van Bochove, D. Prévost, D. A. Angers, D. Côté, and N. Bertrand Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics Following Application of Pig Slurry for the 19th Consecutive Year: II. Nitrous Oxide Fluxes and Mineral Nitrogen Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., July 1, 2000; 64(4): 1396 - 1403. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				J.R. White and K.R. Reddy Influence of Nitrate and Phosphorus Loading on Denitrifying Enzyme Activity in Everglades Wetland Soils Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., November 1, 1999; 63(6): 1945 - 1954. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Maag and F. P. Vinther Effect of Temperature and Water on Gaseous Emissions from Soils Treated with Animal Slurry Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., July 1, 1999; 63(4): 858 - 865. [Abstract] [Full Text]