Soil aggregate sequestration of cover crop root and shoot-derived nitrogen

Cover crop roots and shoots release carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) compounds in situ during their decomposition. Depending upon the season, these C and N compounds may be sequestered, the C may be respired or the N may be leached below the root zone. A field study was established to identify the contributions of cover crop root and shoot N to different regions within aggregates in the A_p horizon of a Kalamazoo loam soil. Fall-planted rye plants (Secale cerealeL.) were labeled the next May with foliar applications of solutions containing 99% atom (¹⁵NH₄)₂SO₄. Isotopic enrichment of soil aggregates ranging from 2.0 to 4.0, 4.0–6.3 and 6.3–9.5 mm across was determined following plant residue applications. Concentric layers of aggregates were removed from each aggregate by newly designed meso soil aggregate erosion (SAE) chambers. Non-uniform distributions of total N and recently derived rye N in soil macroaggregates, across time, suggested that the formations and functions of macroaggregates are very dynamics processes and soil aggregates influence where N is deposited. Early in the season, more ¹⁵N migrated to the interior regions of the smallest aggregates, 2–4 mm across, but it was limited to only surfaces and transitional regions of the larger aggregates, 6.3–9.3 mm across. Exterior layers of aggregates between 6.0 and 9.5 mm retained 1.6% of the N_{derived from roots} in July 1999, which was three times more than their interior regions. This was slightly greater than the % N_{derived from shoot.} One month later, as the maize root absorption of N increased rapidly, % N_{derived from roots} and % N_{derived from shoot} were nearly equal in exterior layers and interior regions of soil aggregates. This equilibrium distribution may have been from either greater diffusion of N within the aggregates and/or maize root removal form aggregate exteriors. Results supported that most of roots grew preferentially around surfaces of soil aggregates rather than through aggregates. Cover crop roots contributed as much N as cover crop shoots to the total soil N pool. Subsequent crops use N from the most easily accessible zones of soil structure, which are surfaces of larger soil aggregates. Therefore maintaining active plant roots and aggregated soil structure in the soil enhances N sequestration and maximize soil N availability. These studies suggest that the rapid and perhaps bulk flow of soil N solutions may bypass many of the central regions of soil aggregates, resulting in greater leaching losses.