Despite the importance of anhydrous ammonia (AA) and urea as nitrogen (N) fertilizer sources in the United States, there have been few direct comparisons of their effects on soil nitrous oxide (NO) and nitric oxide (NO) emissions. We compared N oxide emissions, yields, and N fertilizer recovery efficiency (NFRE) in a corn ( L.) production system that used three different fertilizer practices: urea that was broadcast and incorporated (BU) and AA that was injected at a conventional depth (0.20 m) (AAc) and at a shallower depth (0.10 m) (AAs). Averaged over 2 yr in an irrigated loamy sand in Minnesota, growing season NO emissions increased in the order BU < AAc < AAs. In contrast, NO emissions were greater with BU than with AAc or AAs. Emissions of NO ranged from 0.5 to 1.4 kg N ha (50-140 g N Mg grain), while NO emissions ranged from 0.2 to 0.7 kg N ha (20-70 g N Mg grain). Emissions of total N oxides (NO + NO) increased in the order AAc < BU < AAs. Despite having the greatest emissions of NO and total N oxides, the AAs treatment had greater NFRE compared with the AAc treatment. These results provide additional evidence that AA emits more NO, but less NO, than broadcast urea and show that practices to reduce NO emissions do not always improve N use efficiency.

Empirical temperature models are commonly used to estimate N release from polymer‐coated controlled‐release fertilizers (CRFs) under field conditions where the influence of soil moisture is negligible. For surface‐applied CRF in bare‐root nurseries, the effect of soil moisture may be important. To quantify the effect of soil moisture on N release from surface‐applied CRF, two experiments were conducted in a sandy‐textured soil: (i) a laboratory experiment to develop two semiempirical models that characterized the effect of soil temperature (T model) and moisture (MT model) on N release, and (ii) a field experiment to evaluate the precision of these models. In the laboratory experiment, the N release from CRF (urea, 41–0–0, ∼2‐mo release) was measured under 16 combinations of four soil temperatures (5, 10, 23, and 35°C) and four soil moisture contents (0.002, 0.04, 0.11, 0.22 kg kg−1). The calculated time constants for each abiotic combination showed that both soil temperature and soil moisture content controlled the cumulative N release (CNR). The difference between model estimates and field measurements of CNR indicated that the T model significantly underestimated CNR by as much as 18% (P < 0.01). In contrast, this difference was reduced to 8% using the MT model; the slope of the least‐square fit for the MT model was not significantly different from unity at the 1% level and just significant at 5% (P = 0.052). Therefore, we argue that a model parameterized by both soil temperature and soil moisture will improve estimates of CNR from surface‐applied CRF in irrigated tree nurseries.

The influence of individual tree species on base-cation (Ca, Mg, K, Na) distribution and cycling was examined in sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), basswood (Tilia americana L.), and hemlock (Tsuga canadensis L.) in old-growth northern hardwood -hemlock forests on a sandy, mixed, frigid, Typic Haplorthod over two growing seasons in northwestern Michigan. Base cations in biomass, forest floor, and mineral soil (0-15 cm and 15-40 cm) pools were estimated for five replicated trees of each species; measured fluxes included bulk precipitation, throughfall, stemflow, litterfall, forest-floor leachate, mineralization + weathering, shallow-soil leachate, and deep-soil leachate. The three species differed in where base cations had accumulated within the single-tree ecosystems. Within these three single-tree ecosystems, the greatest quantity of base cations in woody biomass was found in sugar maple, whereas hemlock and basswood displayed the greatest amount in the upper 40 cm of mineral soil. Base-cation pools were ranked: sugar maple > basswood, hemlock in woody biomass; sugar maple, basswood > hemlock in foliage; hemlock > sugar maple, basswood in the forest floor, and basswood > sugar maple, hemlock in the mineral soil. Base-cation fluxes in throughfall, stemflow, the forest-floor leachate, and the deep-soil leachate (2000 only) were ranked: basswood > sugar maple > hemlock. Our measurements suggest that species-related differences in nutrient cycling are sufficient to produce significant differences in base-cation contents of the soil over short time intervals (<65 years). Moreover, these species-mediated differences may be important controls over the spatial pattern and edaphic processes of northern hardwood-hemlock ecosystems in the upper Great Lakes region.

Climate and parent material strongly control vegetation structure and function, yet their control over the belowground microbial community is poorly understood. We assessed variation in microbial lipid profiles in undisturbed forest soils (organic and surface mineral horizons) along an altitudinal gradient (700, 1,700, and 2,700 m a.s.l. mean annual temperature of 12-24°C) on two contrasting parent materials (acidic metasedimentary vs. ultrabasic igneous rock) in Mt. Kinabalu, Borneo. Soil organic carbon and nitrogen concentrations were generally higher at higher altitudes and, within a site, at upper soil horizons. Soil pH ranged from 3.9 to 5.3, with higher values for the ultrabasic soils especially at higher altitudes. The major shifts in microbial community structure observed were the decline in the ratio of fungal to bacterial lipid markers both with increasing soil depth and decreasing altitude. The positive correlation between this ratio with soil C and N concentrations suggested a strong substrate control in accord with the literature from mid to highlatitude ecosystems. Principal component analysis using seven groups of signature lipids suggested a significant altitude by parent material interaction-the significant difference in microbial community structure between the two rock types found at 2,700-m sites developed on weakly weathered soils diminished with decreasing altitude towards 700-m sites where soils were strongly weathered. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that parent material effect on soil microbial community (either directly via soil geochemistry or indirectly via floristic composition) is stronger at an earlier stage of ecosystem development.

No abstract