Summary
Plant effects on the denitrification rate were investigated in pot experiments at different soil moisture tensions and nitrate concentrations. Nitrate concentrations and the soil moisture tension were regulated immediately before each measurement. The effects of the plants on denitrification rates were dependent on the soil moisture tension. At a low soil moisture tension (−7 cm H2O), there was a 10-fold increase in the denitrification rate (planted versus unplanted soil). At a medium moisture tension (−30 cm H2O) the plants had practically no effect, and at the highest tension (−60 cm H2O) the effect was slightly negative. Large differences in denitrification rates under different plant species were observed. At a low soil moisture tension, the average denitrification rate (μg N kg−1 soil h−1) was 39–42 under small grains (barley, wheat, and oats), 47–82 under the grasses (cocksfoot, meadow grass, meadow fescue, and timothy) and 18 under red clover. The differences between the monocots were attributable to differences in plant growth rates, rather than to any specific difference in stimulation or inhibition of denitrification, since the variations in photosynthetic activity fairly well predicted the differences in denitrification rates under different monocots. Clover, however, gave much lower denitrification rates than those predicted by the photosynthetic activity.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Aulakh MS, Rennie DA, Paul EA (1983) Field studies on gaseous nitrogen losses from soils under continuous wheat versus a wheat-fallow rotation. Plant Soil 75:15–27
Bakken LR, Børresen T, Njøs A (1987) Effect of soil compaction by tractor traffic on soil structure, denitrification and yield of wheat. J Soil Sci 38:541–552
Erich MS, Bekerie A, Duxbury JM (1984) Activities of denitrifying enzymes in freshly sampled soils. Soil Sci 138:25–32
Firestone MK (1982) Biological denitrification. In: Stevenson FJ (ed) Nitrogen in agricultural soils. Agronomy 22:209–306
Haider K, Mosier A, Heinemeyer O (1985) Phytotrone experiments to evaluate the effect of growing plants on denitrification. Soil Sci Soc Am J 49:636–641
Haider K, Mosier A, Heinemeyer O (1987) The effect of growing plants on denitrification at high soil nitrate concentration. Soil Soc Am J 51:97–102
Haller T, Stolp H (1985) Quantitative estimation of root exudation of maize plants. Plant Soil 86:207–216
Henriksen A, Selmer-Olsen AR (1970) Automatic methods for determining nitrate and nitrite in water and soil extracts. Analyst 95:514–518
Klemedtsson L, Berg P, Clarholm M, Schnürer J, Rosswall T (1987a) Microbial nitrogen transformations in the root environment of barley. Soil Biol Biochem 19:551–558
Klemedtsson L, Svensson BH, Rosswall T (1987b) Dinitrogen and nitrous oxide production by denitrification and nitrification processes in soil with and without roots. Plant Soil 99:303–319
Limner AW, Steele KW (1982) Denitrification potentials: Measurements of seasonal variation using a short term anaerobic incubation technique Soil Biol Biochem 14:179–184
Rheinbaben von W, Trolldenier G (1984) Influence of plant growth on denitrification in relation to soil moisture and potassium-nutrition. Z Pflanzenernaehr Bodenkd 147:730–738
Ryden JC (1983) Denitrification loss from a grassland soil in the field receiving different rates of nitrogen as ammonium nitrate. J Soil Sci 34:355–365
Scaglia J, Lensi R, Chalamet A (1985) Relationship between photosynthesis and denitrification in planted soil. Plant Soil 84:37–43
Selmer-Olsen AR (1971) Determination of ammonium in soil extracts by an automated indophenol method. Analyst 96:565–568
Smith SM, Tiedje JM (1979) The effect of roots on soil denitrification. Soil Sci Soc Am J 43:951–955
Svensson BH, Klemedtsson L, Rosswall T (1985) Preliminary field denitrification studies of NO3-fertilized and nitrogen fixing crops. In: Golterman EL (ed) Denitrification in the nitrogen cycle. Proc NATO workshop. Plenum, New York, pp 157–169
Stefanson RC (1972) Soil denitrification in sealed soil-plant systems: I. Effect of plants, soil water content and soil organic matter content. Plant Soil 33:113–127
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bakken, L.R. Denitrification under different cultivated plants: effects of soil moisture tension, nitrate concentration, and photosynthetic activity. Biol Fert Soils 6, 271–278 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00261011
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00261011