Abstract
Carbon-13 abundance, expressed as δ13C in ‰, was measured in wheat straw grown between 1984 and 1989 on the Broadbalk Continuous Wheat Experiment at Rothamsted. In all six years, straw grown without fertilizer N contained less carbon-13 (i.e.δ13C was more negative) than straw grown with fertilizer, although the magnitude of this difference varied with year. In a dry year, when dry matter response to fertilizer N was relatively small, there was a large difference between the δ13C of straw grown with and without N. Conversely, in a wet year, when there was a marked response to N, there was little difference in the isotopic composition of N-fertilized and unfertilized straw. Over the six years, the difference between the δ13C value of straw grown with and without nitrogen (D 13C, in ‰) was related to drought, measured as the calculated soil water deficit on 15 July (Wj, in mm), by the equation D 13C=−0.299+0.01034 Wj (r=0.87). H Lambers Section editor
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Jenkinson, D.S., Coleman, K. & Harkness, D.D. The influence of fertilizer nitrogen and season on the carbon-13 abundance of wheat straw. Plant Soil 171, 365–367 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00010293
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00010293