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Use of blue-green algae and bryophyte biomass as a source of nitrogen for oil-seed rape
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Use of blue-green algae and bryophyte biomass as a source of nitrogen for oil-seed rape

D L N Rao and Richard G Burns
Biology and Fertility of Soils, Vol.10(1), pp.61-64
1990
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00336126
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https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00336126View
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Abstract

blue-green algae n2 fixation nostoc muscorum oil-seed rape organic matter productivity wetland rice soil
Blue-green algal (Nostoc muscorum) or bryophyte (Barbula recurvirostra) growth on the surface of a brown earth silt loam contained in flooded columns significantly increased soil C (+20.9% and ±23.0%, respectively) and soil N (+25.1% and +9.6%, respectively) after 5 weeks in the surface 0.7-cm soil layer. Differences in the lower layers were not significant since there was no movement of C or N metabolites down the profile, even after 21 weeks. The input of C by the inoculated blue-green algae was estimated at 0.48 Mg C 100-1 g soil or 0.45g C ha-1; the bryophyte growth gave 0.5 Mg C ha-1. N fixation by the blue-green algae alone was estimated at 60 kg N ha-1 after 5 weeks of growth. Blue-green algae associated with bryophyte growth had fixed 23 kg N ha-1 after 5 weeks, rising to 40 kg ha-1 after 21 weeks. Decomposition of the bryophyte biomass led to a significant increase in the dry weight (+16.8%) and the N uptake (+27.5%) of spring oil-seed rape planted in homogenised soil. In contrast, soil incorporation of the blue-green algal biomass had no significant effect on yield. The equivalent mineralized N from the blue-green algal and bryophyte incorporation was estimated as 24 and 58 kg N ha-1, respectively. © 1990 Springer-Verlag.

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