Nitrogen Behavior in Field Soil

521 Pages·1978·6.197 MB·English

by  Donald R. Nielsen (Eds.)

Academic Press Rapid Manuscript Reproduction
NITROGEN in the
ENVIRONMENT
Volume 1
Nitrogen Behavior in Field Soil
Edited by
DONALD R. NIELSEN
J. G. MacDONALD
Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources
University of California
Davis, California
ACADEMIC PRESS New York San Francisco London 1978
A Subsidiary of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers
COPYRIGHT © 1978, BY ACADEMIC PRESS, INC.
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List of Contributors
Numbers in parentheses indicate pages on which authors' contributions begin.
J. W. Biggar (201), Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of California,
Davis, California 95616
S. Bissell (459), US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service,
Botany Department, University of California, Davis, California 95616
J. M. Bremner (477), Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames,
Iowa 50010
F. E. Broadbent (1), Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of California,
Davis, California 95616
A. B. Carlton (1), Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Parlier, California
93648
R. M. M. Crawford (427), Department of Botany, University of St. Andrews, St.
Andrews, Scotland
J. M. Davidson (131), Department of Soils, University of Florida, Gainesville,
Florida 32611
C. C. Delwiche (459), Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of California,
Davis, California 95616
T. W. Embleton (275), Department of Plant Sciences, University of California,
Riverside, California 92502
H. Flühler (363), Swiss Forest Research Institute, Zurich, Switzerland
M. I. Fried (43), Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Atomic Energy in Food and
Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria
M. J. Frissel (145), Institute for Atomic Sciences in Agriculture, Wageningen, The
Netherlands
D. J. Greenwood (213), National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne,
Warwick, England
S. K. Gupta (79), Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of California,
Davis, California 95616
R. D. Hauck (63), National Fertilizer Development Center, Tennessee Valley
Authority, Muscle Shoals, Alabama 35660
R. E. Jessup (131), Department of Soils, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
32611
W. W. Jones (275), Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, River-
side, California 92502
vii
viii LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
B. A. Kimball (351), US Water Conservation Laboratory, Phoenix, Arizona 85040
D. H. Kohl (183), Center for the Biology of Natural Systems, Washington Univer-
sity, St. Louis, Missouri 63130
R. C. J. Koo (303), Agricultural Research and Education Center, Lake Alfred,
Florida 33850
E. Lemon (493), Department of Agronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
14850
L. J. Lund (223), Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of
California, Riverside, California 92502
R. J. Miller (163), West Side Field Station, Five Points, California 93624
R. A. Olson (257), Department of Agronomy, University of Nebraska, Lincoln,
Nebraska 68583
W. H. Patrick, Jr. (449), Agronomy Department, Louisiana State University,
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803
P. F. Pratt (223), Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of
California, Riverside, California 92502
P. S. C. Rao (131), Department of Soils, University of Florida, Gainesville,
Florida 32611
H. J. Reitz (297), Agricultural Research and Education Center, Lake Alfred,
Florida 33850
J. M. Rible (223), Cooperative Extension, University of California, Riverside,
California 92502
D. E. Rolston (309), Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of California,
Davis, California 95616
G. Shearer (183), Center for the Biology of Natural Systems, Washington Univer-
sity, St. Louis, Missouri 63130
K. A. Smith (337), Soil Science Department, Edinburgh School of Agriculture,
Edinburgh, Scotland
B. A. Stewart (267), US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Ser-
vice, Southwestern Great Plains Research Center, Bushland, Texas 79012
Lewis H. Stolzy (363), Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, Univer-
sity of California, Riverside, California 92502
Kenneth K. Tanji (79), Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of California,
Davis, California 95616
J. A. Van Veen (145), Institute of Atomic Sciences in Agriculture, Wageningen,
The Netherlands
Frank G. Viets (173), Ft. Collins, Colorado 80521
R. Virginia (459), Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of California,
Davis, California 95616
Francis Vithayanthil (183), Center for the Biology of Natural Systems, Washington
University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130
D. W. Wolfe (163), West Side Field Station, Five Points, California 93624
Foreword
The complex problems of our technological civilization can seldom be dealt with
by a single scientific discipline, and it is an added challenge to develop organiza-
tional instruments to mobilize scientists for multidisciplinary efforts.
These two volumes are a fitting memorial to a man who believed in scientific
research and education and whose public-spirited generosity made possible the
development of one such instrument. M. Theodore Kearney was a prominent
California land developer and a moving force in the cooperative development of the
raisin industry in the San Joaquin Valley. His substantial estate, left to the Univer-
sity of California, provided the means to establish the M. Theodore Kearney Foun-
dation of Soil Science.
The Foundation was established in 1954, and during its first years sought new
approaches to old unsolved problems and generally focused on problems outside the
recognized programs of research best carried out by regular departments. In 1969
the Foundation's operations were reoriented and its efforts were organized around
concentrated five-year task force programs, each focused on a specific, definitive
mission and led by a director appointed for the duration of the mission.
The Foundation's programs may address any significant problem in the fields of
soil science, plant nutrition, and water science, and staff members may be appointed
from any department of the University for any period up to five years. This type of
flexibility, enabling the Foundation to recruit special scientific competence and
experience wherever available without locking staff resources into over-long com-
mitment to one problem for too long, is a manifest advantage in an era of complex
problems and changing priorities.
At a time when food production and environmental quality are major concerns,
the existence of such a capability within the framework of the University's Division
of Agricultural Sciences is particularly significant. The following pages, product of
the culminating event of the Foundation's first five-year mission on nitrogen in the
environment, are an impressive demonstration of the need for, and possibilities
inherent in, multidisciplinary interchange and collaboration.
J. B. KENDRICK, JR.
Vice President
Agriculture and University Service
University of California
Berkeley, California
ix
Preface
The timeliness of the studies presented herein is attested to by the recent exten-
sive and well-publicized need for using greater amounts of nitrogen in the
worldwide production of food and fiber, in conflict with a need for controlling and
reducing the levels of nitrogen in surface and ground-waters. During 1970-1975,
University of California scientists at three campuses (Berkeley, Davis, and River-
side) conducted research of nitrogen in relation to the mission of the M. Theodore
Kearney Foundation of Soil Science. In 1976, they were asked to provide a discus-
sion document on any phase of that research. Upon their acceptance, they were
provided resources to visit scientists throughout the world to discuss and exchange
viewpoints on their chosen topic. Each manuscript was submitted to the Kearney
Foundation for him to arrange a review of it by one or more scientists. These
reviewers each provided a written critique of the manuscript. An international
conference on "Nitrogen in the Environment," held at the University of California
Conference Center, Lake Arrowhead, in February, 1977, entailed a group discus-
sion and debate on the original papers and the critiques. All original manuscripts
were revised in accordance with discussions at the conference.
The chapters published in these volumes are those revised manuscripts, with
provisions in each chapter to preserve the major suggestions for their improvement.
These two volumes—Nitrogen Behavior in Field Soil and Soil–Plant–Nitrogen
Relationships—should be of value in bringing into perspective current knowledge
on selected aspects of nitrogen in the environment.
We extend our appreciation to everyone who made this book possible and the
conference a success. We thank the authors for their presentations, their participa-
tion at the conference, and their promptness in completing and revising their manu-
scripts. We thank Mr. Ted Szuszkiewicz for local arrangements during the confer-
ence.
We are especially appreciative of the efforts of Dr. C. W. Rose and Dr. F. P. W.
Winteringham, who attended the conference, reviewed all manuscripts, and pro-
vided a thorough critique of all Kearney Foundation activities for the period 1970-
1975.
Special thanks are extended to Mr. Kelvin Deming for editorial assistance. We
are grateful to the staff of Academic Press for their cooperation in the production of
this book. Finally, we acknowledge the innovative contributions of our Vice Presi-
xi
xii PREFACE
dent of Agricultural Sciences, Dr. James B. Kendrick, Jr., and the support provided
by the endowment funds of the Kearney Foundation, which made the conference a
reality.
Contents of Volume 2
Factors Influencing Nitrate Acquisition by Plants; Assimilation and Fate of Reduced Nitrogen
R. C. Huffaker and D. W. Rains
Critique: William A. Jackson
Critique: C. E. Furlong and G. D. Schellenberg
Critique: L. E. Schrader
Critique: P. G. Falkowski
Absorption and Utilization of Ammonium Nitrogen by Plants
H. M. Reisenauer
Critique: F. van Egmond
Critique: A. J. Hiatt
Potential Nitrate Levels in Edible Plant Parts
O. A. Lorenz
Critique: Donald N. Maynard
Critique: P. L. Minotti
Nitrogen Nutrition as a Regulator of Biosynthesis of Storage Protein in Maize (Zea mays L.) Grain
V. V. Rendig and Jorge Jimenez
Critique: B. J. Miflin
Relationships among Microbial Populations and Rates of Nitrification and Denitrification in a Hanford
Soil
P. R. Day, H. E. Diner, and A. D. McLaren
Critique: J. R. Burford, R. J. Dowdell, and J. M. Lynch
Critique: A. M. Galsworthy, J. R. Burford, and D. J. Greenland
Control of Biological Nitrogen Fixation
K. T. Shanmugam, F. O'Gara, K. Andersen, C. Morandi, and R. C. Valentine
Critique: J. E. Beringer and A. W. B. Johnston
Critique: R. S. Wolfe
Methods for Analysis of Dentrification in Soils
Dennis D. Focht
Critique: W. Verstraete
Critique: W. J. Payne
Index
xiii
FIELD TRIALS WITH ISOTOPICALLY LABELED NITROGEN FERTILIZERI
F. E. Broadbent and A. B. Carlton
University of California, Davis
ABSTRACT
Field trials utilizing 151-depleted ammonium sulfate ferti-
lizer were established at two locations, one on Solo fine sandy
loam at U.C. Davis, and the other on Hanford sandy loam at the
Kearney Field Station, with corn as the test crop. At Davis 3
irrigation regimes and 4 fertilizer rates were used, while at
Kearney 6 fertilizer rates were used with uniform irrigation.
Plant tissue, soil solution and soil samples were analyzed to
determine the fate of the applied N. Efficiency of 1 uptake by
crops ranged from 30 to 67% at Davis and from 35 to 68% at the
Kearney site, with maximum values occurring at fertilizer levels
which produced maximum grain yield. Soil solution analyses
showed that very little nitrate derived from fertilizer escaped
from the root zone unless fertilizer rates were in excess of
crop needs. The experiments demonstrate the potential for use
of 151-depleted materials in field trials, which makes it
possible to obtain very useful information not available with
conventional techniques. Costs for labeled fertilizer for field-
scale experiments are relatively modest.
1This work was supported by Grants GI34733X, GI43664 and A EN74-
11136 A01 of the National Science Foundation.
1