Browsing by Subject "huuhtoutuminen"

The soil mineral nitrogen content is affected by many factors such as nitrogen fertilizer, fertilization and cultivated plant species. The effects of these factors on soil mineral nitrogen content were examined and the research was conducted at the Viikki Research Farm during 2013–2015. The possibility of using soil mineral nitrogen content and nitrogen balance to optimise nitrogen fertilization was also studied as well as the leaching of mineral nitrogen during winter and the factors affecting leaching. The soil type of the experimental area was clay loam in topsoil and sandy loam in subsoil. Soil samples were taken in the spring before tillage and in the autumn before soil freezing from topsoil (0-20 cm) and subsoil (30-50 cm). Ammonium and nitrate were extracted from soil samples with 2 M KCl. Plant species and fertilization changed every year, but fertilization followed the regulations for the subsidies of agricultural environment and all the fertilizers and cultivars were commercially available in Finland. The nitrogen content of the seed and forage samples were determined. The actual nitrogen yield and nitrogen balance were calculated. The expected nitrogen yield and nitrogen balance were calculated with the common nitrogen contents of seeds published by the Finnish Agency for Rural Affairs and compared to the actual nitrogen yield and nitrogen balance, but no differences were found. Soil mineral nitrogen content, nitrogen balance and nitrogen yield varied a lot from year to year which was partly caused by the differences between the growing seasons and winters as well as the changes of cultivated plants and fertilization. The soil mineral nitrogen content was smaller in the spring (33 N kg/ha) than in the autumn (55 N kg/ha). Grass took more nitrogen than the other plant species. The soil nitrate content was smaller under growing grass than harvested plant stand in the autumn and the ammonium content was greater under growing grass than other plant species in the spring. The soil mineral nitrogen content was reduced and differences between treatments were moderated during the winter, which was probably caused by leaching. Fertilization had no direct effect on soil mineral nitrogen content. Increasing nitrogen fertilization increased nitrogen balance, but there was no correlation between nitrogen balance and soil mineral nitrogen content.