Mineralization of Organic-Amendment-Derived Nitrogen in Two Mediterranean Soils with Different Organic-Matter Contents

Abstract

The use of organic fertilizers in lands with low organic-matter content, such as those found in the Mediterranean region, is an attractive option for enhancing soil quality and fertility status. However, it is difficult to assess the nitrogen (N) mineralization rate and the quantity of the organic amendment to be added. Thus we conducted a 300-day incubation trial, where four commonly found organic amendments (three different animal manures and one sewage sludge) were mixed with two soils. Our aim was to assess the potentially mineralizable N with the use of the first-order exponential model. Our findings indicated that the N-mineralization data fitted well to the model we used and that the active N fraction (eluted available N per total N added) ranged from 28.4% to 50.3%, depending on indigenous organic carbon (C) content, as well as on the organic amendment C/N ratio and total N content.