Soil–Plant–Nitrogen Relationships

526 Pages·1978·13.253 MB·English

by  Donald R. Nielsen and J. G. MacDonald (Eds.)

Academic Press Rapid Manuscript Reproduction
NITROGEN in the
ENVIRONMENT
Volume 2
Soil- Plant- Nitrogen
Relationships
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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PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
List of Contributors
Numbers in parentheses indicate pages on which authors' contributions begin.
K. Andersen (393), Plant Growth Laboratory, University of California, Davis,
California 95616
J. E. Beringer (417), John Innes Institute, Norwich, England
J. R. Burford (365, 379), Agricultural Research Council, Letcombe Laboratory,
Wantage, Oxfordshire, England
P. R. Day (305), Soils and Plant Nutrition, University of California, Berkeley,
California 94704
H. E. Doner (305), Soils and Plant Nutrition, University of California, Berkeley,
California 94704
R. J. Dowdell (365), Agricultural Research Council, Letcombe Laboratory, Wan
tage, Oxfordshire, England
P. G. Falkowski (143), Department of Applied Science, Brookhaven National
Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973
Dennis D. Focht (433), Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, Univer
sity of California, Riverside, California 92502
C. E. Furlong (89), Department of Biochemistry, University of California, River
side, California 92502
A. M. Galsworthy (379), Department of Soil Science, University of Reading,
Reading, England
D. J. Greenland (379), Department of Soil Science, University of Reading, Read
ing, England
A. J. Hiatt (191), Department of Agronomy, University of Kentucky, Lexington,
Kentucky 40506
R. C. Huffaker (1), Plant Growth Laboratory, University of California, Davis,
California 95616
William A. Jackson (45), Department of Soil Science, North Carolina State Uni
versity, Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
Jorge Jimenez (253), Biology Department, Purdue University, Ft. Wayne, Indiana
46805
A. W. B. Johnston (417), John Innes Institute, Norwich, England
O. A. Lorenz (201), Department of Vegetable Crops, University of California,
Davis, California 95616
VII
viii LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
J. M. Lynch (365), Agricultural Research Council, Letcombe Laboratory, Wan
tage, Oxfordshire, England
A. D. McLaren (305), Soils and Plant Nutrition, University of California, Davis,
California 95616
Donald N. Maynard (221), Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of
Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01002
B. J. Miflin (279), Biochemistry Department, Rothamsted Experiment Station,
Harpenden, Hertfordshire, England
P. L. Minotti (235), Department of Vegetable Crops, Cornell University, Ithaca,
New York 18450
C. Morandi (393), Istituto di Microbiologia é Fisiologia Vegetale, Università di
Pavia, Italy
F. O'Gara (393), Plant Growth Laboratory, University of California, Davis,
California 95616
W. J. Payne (503), Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens,
Georgia 30602
D. W. Rains (1), Agronomy and Range Science, University of California, Davis,
California 95616
H. M. Reisenauer (157), Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of Califor
nia, Davis, California 95616
V. V. Rendig (253), Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of California,
Davis, California 95616
G. D. Schellenberg (89), Department of Biochemistry, University of California,
Riverside, California 92502
L. E. Schrader (101), Department of Agronomy, University of Wisconsin, Madi
son, Wisconsin 53706
K. T. Shanmugam (393), Plant Growth Laboratory, University of California,
Davis, California 95616
R. C. Valentine (393), Plant Growth Laboratory, University of California, Davis,
California 95616
F. van Egmond (171), Department of Soils and Fertilizers, Agricultural University,
Wageningen, The Netherlands
W. Verstraete (491), Faculteit van de Landbouwwetenschappen, Laboratorium
voor Algemene en Industriel Microbiologie, Gent, Belgium
R. S. Wolfe (429), Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois, Urbana,
minois 61801
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 manus
cripts. 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 1
Field Trials with Isotopically Labeled Nitrogen Fertilizer
F. E. Broadbent and A. B. Carlton
Critique: Maurice Fried
Critique: Roland D. Hauck
Computer Simulation Modeling for Nitrogen in Irrigated Croplands
Kenneth K. Tanji and Sumant K. Gupta
Critique: J. M. Davidson, P. S. C. Rao, and R. E. Jessup
Critique: Martin J. Frissel and J. A. Van Veen
Nitrogen Inputs and Outputs: A Valley Basin Study
R. J. Miller and D. W. Wolfe
Critique: Frank G. Viets
Critique: Daniel H. Kohl, Georgia Shearer, and Francis Vithayanthil
Spatial Variability of Nitrogen in Soils
J. W. Biggar
Critique: D. J. Greenwood
An Approach to Measuring Leaching of Nitrate from Freely Drained Irrigated Fields
P. F. Pratt, L. J. Lund, and J. M. Rible
Critique: Robert A. Olson
Critique: B. A. Stewart
Nitrogen Fertilizer Management Programs, Nitrate-Pollution Potential, and Orange Productivity
T. W. Embleton and W. W. Jones
Critique: Herman J. Reitz
Critique: R. C. J. Koo
Application of Gaseous-Diffusion Theory to Measurement of Denitrification
D. E. Rolston
Critique: K. A. Smith
Critique: B. A. Kimball
Measurement and Prediction of Anaerobiosis in Soils
Lewis H. Stolzy and H. Flühler
Critique: R. M. M. Crawford
Critique: William H. Patrick, Jr.
Soil and Other Sources of Nitrous Oxide
C. C. Delwiche, S. Bissell, and R. Virginia
Critique: J. M. Bremner
Critique: Edgar Lemon
Index
XIII
FACTORS INFLUENCING NITRATE ACQUISITION BY PLANTS;
ASSIMILATION AND FATE OF REDUCED NITROGEN
R. C. Huffaker and D. W. Rains
University of California
ABSTRACT
The uptake and assimilation of nitrate into reduced nitrogen
were investigated in barley* annual range grasses and wheat. The
absorption of nitrate showed saturation kinetics and was closely
coupled to metabolism with ATP or other high energy intermediates
apparently responsible for accumulation of this ion. The uptake
system is inducible by nitrate and is suggestive of a permease
transport mechanism.
The nitrate uptake system strongly influenced nitrate reduc­
tion and accumulation by supplying the initial nitrate flux into
the plant. The kinetic patterns for uptake and reduction by bar­
ley seedlings were identical over time and nitrate concentrations.
Evidence is strong that the uptake system can function indepen­
dently from the nitrate reduction system. On the other hand*
studies showed that uptake was greater in plants which had an
already induced NR system indicating that NR activity may also
influence the rate of uptake.
Two varieties of wheat* Anza and UC 44-111* showed marked
differences in nitrate content of foliar tissue. A systematic
study of the uptake* NR activity* assimilation* protein content
and distribution was conducted with these two genotypes. The
breakdown and retranslocation of protein from the foliage to the
grain during seed filling time were critical physiological
1