Predicting urea hydrolysis at low temperatures in British Columbia forest soils

Urease activity in 14 sites, representing a wide range of forest and soil types, was determined by a non-buffer method. Urease activity in L-H horizons ranged from 23–203 μg N hydrolyzed (g soil) −1 h −1 at 40 °C. In all soils, urease activity decreased dramatically with depth. At 0 °C, hydrolysis w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of soil science 1990-08, Vol.70 (3), p.519-523
Main Authors: Marshall, V.G, Reynolds, S, Dangerfield, J.A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions
Biological and medical sciences
brunisolic soils
fertilization (reproduction)
forest soils
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General agronomy. Plant production
heat sums
luvisols
Nitrogen fertilization
Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium fertilizations
podzols
prediction
Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility. Fertilization. Amendments
urease
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Summary:Urease activity in 14 sites, representing a wide range of forest and soil types, was determined by a non-buffer method. Urease activity in L-H horizons ranged from 23–203 μg N hydrolyzed (g soil) −1 h −1 at 40 °C. In all soils, urease activity decreased dramatically with depth. At 0 °C, hydrolysis was estimated at 26.8 and 1.9 μg N g −1 h −1 for L-H and Bf horizons, respectively, for one site. Theoretical estimation of hydrolysis at 0 °C for the site with the lowest activity suggested that an operational application of urea (200 kg N ha −1 ) applied to snow could be hydrolyzed within 6 days in the rooting zone of all the soils studied. Key words: Urease activity, energy of activation, forest fertilization, Brunisols, Luvisols, Podzols
ISSN:0008-4271
1918-1841
DOI:10.4141/cjss90-053