TRANSFORMATION OF FERTILIZER-NITROGEN IN SOILS FROM A HARDWOOD WOODLOT AND AN ABANDONED PASTURE

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Abstract
Fresh soil (0- to 7.5-cm depth) was collected at intervals of approximately 2 wk during the growing season from a maple woodlot and an abandoned pasture. When samples were perfused with a solution of (NH4)2SO4 containing 20 ppm N, the rate of nitrification diminished during the summer and, for both soils, halved between mid-June and mid-July. Nitrification in the woodlot soil was nearly twice as rapid as in the pasture soil. Perfusion of soil, that had been stored for 2 mo at 0 C and to the surface of which granular fertilizer was then added, showed that urea and (NH4)2SO4 were nitrified very rapidly in woodlot soil but more slowly in pasture soil. Ureaform was nitrified slowly in both soils. It was concluded from these laboratory experiments that for experimental trials of fertilization (of sugar maple) in the field, the most suitable nitrogenous fertilizer to apply to woodlot soil could be ureaform, and to pasture soil could be (NH4)2SO4. Probably the most effective time at which to apply the fertilizer would be mid-June.

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