Relationship between color value and nitrogen in forest mineral soils

Abstract

To assess the extent to which moist color value of forest mineral soils supports their differentiation according to concentrations of mineralizable and total N, 239 samples of 0-30-cm mineral-soil layers were examined for the relationship between nitrogen measures and selected climatic and soil variables. The best regression models, using soil color value (SCV), climate, soil moisture and soil texture as categorical variables, explained nearly 70% of the variation in both mineralizable and total N, with climate accounting for most of the variation. The results provided support for the present usage of SCV in estimating mineralizable and total N in forest soils but suggested improvements for the development of a more effective estimation procedure. -Authors