Nitrification and denitrification in forest soil subjected to sprinkling infiltration

In Ahvenisto esker, southern Finland, artificial recharging of groundwater has been done by sprinkling infiltration, i.e. by sprinkling lake water directly onto forest soil. Due to infiltration, the pH of the humus layer rose from about 5 to 6.5, nitrification was initiated and the fluxes of N2O and leaching of nitrate from the soil increased. Our aim was to study nitrogen transformations in different soil layers and to determine the response of nitrification to pH. Nitrification in ammonium-enriched soil suspensions was pH-dependant in a gradient from 4.7 to 6.7. In the soils subjected to infiltration, the production of (NO2+NO3)-N was inhibited by decreasing the pH to 5.3 or lower. Low pH also led to decreased numbers of nitrifiers. In the soils not subjected to infiltration (control soils), (NO2+NO3)-N production initiated at pH 6.7 and the numbers of nitrifiers increased. In incubation experiments, with no added ammonium, the adjustment of pH to 6.7 also initiated nitrification in the control soils. Thus, increase in soil pH was the main reason for initiation of nitrification at this site. During infiltration, N2O was produced mainly by denitrification and approximately 75% of the denitrification products was N2. In the samples from the humus layer, the concentrations of (NO2+NO3)-N, the net production of mineral N and net nitrification were in general less, whereas denitrification enzyme activity and denitrification potential were higher than in the samples from the mineral soil layer. The mineral soil may therefore contribute substantially to the leaching of nitrate.