Nitrogen Mineralization in a Tussock Tundra Soil

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Abstract
The effects of substrate quality, temperature and moisture on N mineralization from a tussock tundra soil were examined with laboratory soil incubations utilizing air-dried samples and field-moist intact cores. The potentially mineralizable N (PMN) was highly correlated to total soil N (positively) and the C/N ratio (negatively). All soil horizons exhibited a net N mineralization even at a high C/N ratio of 92. Field-moist intact soil cores provide a more reliable estimate than the air-dried samples of both PMN and the mineralization rate under standard laboratory conditions. There was no significant effect of moisture tension (0.0-0.4 bars) on net N mineralization. The average Q10 (temperature effect) for net N mineralization was 2.5. Evidently, temperature, through its effects on N mineralization, plays an important role in controlling plant productivity in these naturally N-deficient tundra ecosystems.

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