Garden with Insight v1.0 Help: Soil daily N cycling group

Change in total nitrate today: The net change in plant- available nitrate today due to various nitrogen cycling processes.

N as nitrate moved to surface from evaporation today: Nitrate N lost from the soil patch through its solution in water that evaporated from the surface of the soil today.

N nitrification today by layer: Nitrification is the conversion of ammonia to nitrate by some types of aerobic soil bacteria. Decreased by things that inhibit the growth of aerobic bacteria: high or low soil temperature, dry soil, and high or low pH.

N as fresh organic in flat residue mineralized today by layer: Amount of fresh organic N mineralized by microbes. Depends on soil water, temperature, and C:N and C:P ratios in flat residue. 80% of mineralized fresh organic N goes into nitrate, and 20% returns to active humus N in dead microbial biomass.

N as active organic in humus mineralized today by layer: Amount of active humus N mineralized to nitrate by soil microbes. Reduced by factors that inhibit microbial activity: soil dryness, low soil temperature, and/or soil compaction (increase in bulk density).

N flow from active to stable in humus today by layer: Equilibrium flow today from active (loosely bound) to stable (tightly bound) humus nitrogen. If negative, is flow from stable to active humus N. Based on rate constant and years of previous cultivation when soil patch was created, which is a constant 150.

Residue decay rate today by layer: Rate of decay of flat residue, which consists of dead plant matter and microbial biomass. Determined by C:N and C:P ratios in flat residue, soil water, and soil temperature. Influences N and P mineralization to nitrate and labile P.

Nutrient cycling temperature factor today by layer: A factor from zero to one used for nutrient cycling and based on the soil layer temperature. Used in denitrification, flat residue decay, and mineralization of fresh and active humus N and P.

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