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Plant Uptake of Indigenous and Fertilizer Nitrogen from a Cretaceous Shale and Coal Mine Spoils¹

ABSTRACT

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) was grown in a greenhouse in incubated and nonincubated samples of a Cretaceous shale, two strip mine coal spoils, and a soil (Cryoboroll) to evaluate the significance to plant growth of indigenous N mineralization and utilization of added NH₄⁺. These "soil" materials contained 730 to 1,190 ppm total N. Plants grown in the shale or fresh spoil took up less indigenous N than plants grown in vegetated spoil or in soil. Incubation did not significantly affect uptake of indigenous N from any of the four "soil" materials.

Less N added as NH₄⁺ was taken up by barley growing in incubated than nonincubated samples of shale, fresh spoil, and vegetated spoil. Total-N uptake from incubated "soil" material was positively correlated with NH₄⁺-N + NO₃^--N contents of "soil" material samples after laboratory incubation for 12, 21, and 42 days.

This study indicated that while initial plant recovery of fertilizer N from the geologic materials equaled that recovered from the soil, fertilizer N added to the geologic material may be less available to plants with time than the same amount of fertilizer N added to soil. The high correlations between mineral N contents of laboratory-incubated samples and total N uptake by barley grown under greenhouse conditions suggested that laboratory incubation tests could be useful in estimating the plant-available N potentials of certain drastically disturbed lands prior to extensive revegetation programs.

¹ Published by the Colorado State Univ. Exp. Stn. as Scientific Series Pap. no. 2208. This research was conducted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the M.S. by the senior author. It was supported in part by the Climax Molybdenum Co.

² Former Research Graduate Assistant, CSU Agronomy Dep., Fort Collins, Colorado (Now Soil Scientist, ARS USDA, Fort Collins, CO), and Associate Professor, Dep. of Agronomy, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, respectively.

Received for publication January 31, 1977. Accepted for publication May 5, 1977.