A Novel Method Combining FTIR-ATR Spectroscopy and Stable Isotopes to Investigate the Kinetics of Nitrogen Transformations in Soils

  • Kira O
  • Linker R
  • Shaviv A
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Abstract

Understanding and quantifying N transformations in soil is critical for sustainable use of this important plant nutrient and for understanding the mechanisms through which polluting N species are discharged to the environment. Advanced methods such as the "isotope dilution technique", which uses stable N-isotopes to estimate gross mineralization and nitrification rates, answer this need. In this study the use of Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) spectroscopy for measuring isotopic N species concentrations directly in soil pastes was tested as a complementary technique to the commonly used isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). It is shown that, with proper chemometric tools (e.g., partial least squares [PLS]), FTIR-ATR enables simple tracking of changes in the concentrations of the isotopic species of nitrate and ammonium and allows estimation of the gross reaction rates of N transformations in soil. Soil incubations were performed by adding either 15NO3– or 15NH4+ to the soils. The incubations with added 15NH4+ yielded a gross mineralization rate of 6.1 mg N kg-1 dry soil d-1 compared with a net mineralization rate of 4.1 mg N kg-1 dry soil d-1 and a gross nitrification rate of 40.9 mg N kg-1 dry soil d-1 compared with a net nitrification rate of 29.5 to 25.3 mg N kg-1 dry soil d-1. The incubations with added 15NO3- yielded a gross nitrification rate of 18.6 mg N kg-1 dry soil d-1 compared with a net nitrification rate of 11.9 to 18.3 mg N kg-1 dry soil d-1. The combined use of FTIR-ATR and 15NO3- or 15NH4+ enrichment appears to provide an effective tool for almost real-time quantification of N-dynamics in soils with minimal interference.

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Kira, O., Linker, R., & Shaviv, A. (2014). A Novel Method Combining FTIR-ATR Spectroscopy and Stable Isotopes to Investigate the Kinetics of Nitrogen Transformations in Soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 78(1), 54–60. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2013.08.0358dgs

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