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Nitrogen release in organic matter?

Here is the question...

I have a soil that is 4% organic matter. Calculate the pounds of nitrogen that in will be relased from the OM in one year. Please help. I know I had this in my notes at one time but think that the kids ate them. It is finals week and would appreciate any help you can give me!

Update:

I know that this is possible i know that on average nitrogen is 5% of the organic matter. this question came straight from my soil fertility instructor.I just can't remember what the basic weight that is used for the equation.

Update 2:

thank you so much for the help! Finals week has just started and my brain is already fried!

3 Answers

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  • john h
    Lv 7
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    They estimate roughly that soil with a 5% organic matter content will release 65 pounds of Nitrogen per year. In your case that would be 4/5 of that or 52 pounds of Nitrogen. There are a lot of variables influencing that like temperature, rainfall, etc.

  • 1 decade ago

    While organic matter on decomposition does release nitogen nutrients it is not possible to answer the question as stated.

    New organic matter will yield far more nitrogen than very old matter. Given a soil temperture profile one can evaluate the ratio of new to old humus. But there are significant differences based on soil temperature. Canadian Prarie soils have far more carbon and less nitrogen, while a soil that is in Tennessee would have much less carbon to nitrogen ratio. Tropical soils of course have almost no carbon content but not nearly zero nitrogen, as they benefit from recent decomposition of fresh vegetation.

  • 1 decade ago

    Increased tillage increases the decomposition rate of organic matter which therefore increases the amount of nitrogen released. Intensive tillage also burns up the OM which reduces tilth. The cotton soils of Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia are good examples. Back in the 30's, many of those soils had less than 1% OM and is why they set up like concrete in dry weather.

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