Loading…

The soil sample conservation method and its potential impact on ammonium, nitrate and total mineral nitrogen measurements

[Display omitted] •Delaying sample measurement is possible in many kinds of soil nitrogen conditions.•Fresh soil analysis is necessary when high nitrogen and/or organic matter content.•Air drying soil samples allow delaying sample measuring with low infrastructures.•Freezing soil samples allow delay...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geoderma 2024-08, Vol.448, p.116963, Article 116963
Main Authors: Allende-Montalbán, Raúl, San-Juan-Heras, Raúl, Martín-Lammerding, Diana, Delgado, María del Mar, Albarrán, María del Mar, Gabriel, José L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:[Display omitted] •Delaying sample measurement is possible in many kinds of soil nitrogen conditions.•Fresh soil analysis is necessary when high nitrogen and/or organic matter content.•Air drying soil samples allow delaying sample measuring with low infrastructures.•Freezing soil samples allow delaying sample measuring but requires energy investment. Scientific literature for mineral soil nitrogen content (ammonium and nitrate) measurements usually differs regarding the chosen soil sample conservation method (fresh, frozen or air-dry) before soil extraction and analysis. In addition, most of the commonly used methodologies focus on the definition of the analysis processes, regardless of the previous sample conservation methodology. With the aim to fill this gap, we performed an analysis of the conservation method effect on the nitrate, and ammonium content in frozen or air-dried samples, comparing the results with direct fresh extraction. Moreover, the effects of additional soil parameters, such as soil texture, organic matter content or mineral nitrogen content range were also studied. The results showed that both, frozen and air drying soil samples, were capable of reliably preserving the N content of soil samples in most cases. However, some ammonium losses may occur in frozen samples when a high N content (>30 mg kg−1) is present. It was also observed that air-dried soil samples can reduce the soil nitrate and increase ammonium content in samples with a high N content. It was also observed that significant amounts of organic matter in soil can alter the mineral N measured depending on the conservation method chosen. On the other hand, the soil texture presented small effects on the mineral N measurements. In any case, a broader range of soils conditions (including i.e. pH or different natural organic matter content) should be further tested to confirm our findings.
ISSN:0016-7061
1872-6259
DOI:10.1016/j.geoderma.2024.116963