1. Laboratory assessment of nitrogen losses from restored topsoils at opencast mine sites
- Author
-
J.C. Williamson and D. Barrie Johnson
- Subjects
chemistry.chemical_classification ,Denitrification ,Ecology ,Soil Science ,chemistry.chemical_element ,Nitrate leaching ,Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous) ,Nitrogen ,Ammonia ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,chemistry ,Agronomy ,Soil water ,Organic matter ,Nitrification - Abstract
Topsoils in stockpiles become anaerobic, and continued organic matter mineralisation coupled with inhibition of nitrification results in an accumulation of large quantities of ammonium-nitrogen, typically in the order of 100–200 μ NH4+ -N g-1 soil. Soluble organic compounds also accumulate as a result of incomplete mineralisation of organic matter. The fate of this accumulated NH4+-N and its relationship with soluble C when stockpiles are dismantled and soils restored were studied in a series of laboratory- and greenhouse-based experiments. Loss of nitrogen as volatile ammonia was found to be relatively minor in the soils used (pH
- Published
- 1994