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Leys and soil organic matter: II. The accumulation of nitrogen in soils under different leys

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

C. R. Clement  and
T. E. Williams
C. R. Clement
Affiliation:
The Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, Berkshire
T. E. Williams
Affiliation:
The Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, Berkshire
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Extract

1. The nitrogen content of an arable soil to 15 cm depth, sown to a ryegrass/white clover sward increased on average by 0·005 % N each year.

2. Under a grass sward without clover and without fertilizer nitrogen, there was an increase of 0·017 % N in 3 yeais in the top 7·5 cm of soil; an annual addition of about 70 kg N/ha.

3. Including white clover in grass swards not receiving nitrogen fertilizer resulted in an increase over 3 years of 0·026% N to 7·5 cm depth in one experiment, and 0·014% N to 15 cm depth in another, an annual increment of 100–110 kg N/ha.

4. The increase was greater under ryegrass/white clover swards than under cocksfoot/white clover swards. A similar difference was found both in accumulation of organic carbon and in clover content. In an experiment comparing many different grasses it was not possible to distinguish differences in the level of soil nitrogen, after 4 years under grass, which could be ascribed to species or strains.

There was no significant effect of nitrogen fertilizer applied at rates of up to 314 kg N/ha per year for 3 consecutive years.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 69 , Issue 1 , August 1967 , pp. 133 - 138
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1967

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