Defining the relation between soil water content and net nitrogen mineralization

Simulation models of net mineralization of nitrogen (N) in soil need to be able to incorporate the effect of soil water. Our objective was to identify and define the best way of expressing soil water and its effect on net mineralization across a range of soil types. We collated data from 12 laboratory incubation studies, including a total of 33 different soils, where rates of net mineralization of N were determined from the net accumulation of mineral N under a range of water contents at near-optimal temperatures. Measurements of water potential and limits of water content observed in the field were available for most of these soils. The percentage of pore space filled with water was estimated from measurements of soil bulk density. We found that relative water content, particularly when expressed relative to an upper and lower limit of water content observed in the field, was the best descriptor for net mineralization. The next best descriptions were soil water potential, water content relative to the optimal water content for mineralization, and percentage of pore space filled with water, with water content alone being poor. Although various functions may be used to describe the relation between relative water content and net mineralization of N, an equation for a sigmoidal curve provided the best fit, and explained 78% of the variation.