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| DOI: | 10.1016/S0098-8472(98)00038-0 |
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| Web URL(s): | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0098847298000380
Last checked: 05/30/2013
Access conditions: Item is within a limited-access website |
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| Author(s): | Unkovich, Murray;
Jamieson, Nicola;
Monaghan, Ross;
Barraclough, Declan |
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| Author Affiliation: | Unkovich: Department of Botanty and Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia; Jamieson, Monaghan and Barraclough: Department of Soil Science, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom |
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| Title: | Nitrogen mineralisation and plant nitrogen acquisition in a nitrogen-limited calcareous grassland |
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| Source: | Environmental and Experimental Botany. Vol. 40, No. 3, December 1998, p. 209-219. |
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| Publishing Information: | Elsevier |
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| # of Pages: | 11 |
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| Keywords: | TIC Keywords: Nitrogen mineralization; Grasslands; Calcareous soils; Biomass; Nitrogen fertilization; Nitrates; Nitrification
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| Abstract/Contents: | "A field study measured the rate of soil mineral N supply and its effects on plant biomass and N accumulation in a 13-year-old, naturally regenerating, calcareous grassland. Gross rates of N mineralisation (2 Μg g-1 day-1, i.e. 0.69 kg ha-1 day-1), assessed using 15N pool dilution, were at the lower end of the range previously reported for grasslands. Weekly additions of liquid N fertiliser ([NH4] 2SO4, NH4NO3 or KNO3) and, to a lesser extent the addition of water, increased plant growth substantially, demonstrating that the primary constraint to plant growth was low N availability. In plants that had received NO3-, the activity of the inducible enzyme nitrate reductase in shoots initially increased in proportion to the amount of NO3- supplied. However, as above-ground herbage accumulated, nitrate reductase activity declined to similar low levels in all treatments, despite the continuance of the constant NO3- additions. The decline in NR specific activity reflected declining tissue NO3 concentrations, although total plant NRA may have remained constant during the period of study. The study has shown that plant growth is limited by low N mineralisation rates and indeed the soil is a sink for much added N. Low water availability provides an additional constraint on N mineralisation in this calcareous grassland soil. Any disturbances in the N cycle which increase the availability of mineral N will result in a substantial increase in plant growth within this ecosystem." |
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| Language: | English |
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| References: | 41 |
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| Note: | Tables
Graphs |
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| ASA/CSSA/SSSA Citation (Crop Science-Like - may be incomplete):
Unkovich, M., N. Jamieson, R. Monaghan, and D. Barraclough. 1998. Nitrogen mineralisation and plant nitrogen acquisition in a nitrogen-limited calcareous grassland. Environmental and Experimental Botany. 40(3):p. 209-219. |
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| DOI: 10.1016/S0098-8472(98)00038-0 |
| Web URL(s):
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0098847298000380
Last checked: 05/30/2013
Access conditions: Item is within a limited-access website |
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MSU catalog number: QK 711 .A1 R3 |
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