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ABSTRACT
Aerobic incubations to estimate net nitrogen (N) mineralization typically involve periodic leaching of soil with 0.01 M calcium chloride (CaCl2), so as to remove mineral N that would otherwise be subject to immobilization. A study was conducted to evaluate the accuracy of leaching for analysis of exchangeable ammonium (NH4+)-N and nitrate + nitrite (NO3−+ NO2–)-N, relative to conventional extractions using 2 M potassium chloride (KCl). Ten air-dried soils were used, five each from Illinois and Brazil, that had been amended with NH4+-N (1 g kg−1) and NO3–-N (0.6 g kg−1). Both methods were in good agreement for inorganic N analysis of the Brazilian Oxisols, whereas leaching was significantly lower by 12–48% in recovering exchangeable NH4+-N from Illinois Alfisols, Mollisols, and Histosols. The potential for underestimating net N mineralization was confirmed by a 12-wk incubation experiment showing 9–86% of mineral N recoveries from three temperate soils as exchangeable NH4+.