Summary
This 180-year longitudinal field study reveals that sustained manure and mineral fertiliser applications have created divergent soil nitrogen cycling regimes with distinct decomposition pathways. Long-term manure input appears to have established soil conditions favouring particular organic nitrogen processing routes, whereas mineral fertilisation has driven alternative cycling mechanisms. The findings suggest that fertilisation legacies shape not only soil chemistry but fundamental biogeochemical processes governing nitrogen availability and potential greenhouse gas emissions.
UK applicability
Highly applicable to United Kingdom arable and mixed farming practice. The longevity and scale of the underlying experiment provide robust evidence for how UK fertilisation choices—particularly the choice between organic matter inputs and synthetic nitrogen—establish persistent soil conditions affecting nutrient cycling over decades. Results may inform transition strategies toward regenerative management.
Key measures
Soil organic nitrogen decomposition rates, nitrogen mineralisation, organic matter composition, microbial community response to nitrogen substrates, as suggested by analysis of a long-term managed field experiment
Outcomes reported
The study characterised distinct soil organic nitrogen decomposition pathways that have developed over 180 years of differential fertilisation management. The research measured nitrogen mineralisation rates, organic matter quality, and microbial processing of nitrogen under contrasting long-term fertilisation regimes.
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