小麦苗期施入氮肥在土壤不同氮库的分配和去向

应用盆栽试验和15N标记技术研究了小麦苗期施入N肥后土壤不同N库的动态。结果表明 ,施肥后 28d ,作物所吸收的土壤N占总吸N量的 58.1% ,吸收的肥料N占 41.9%。作物对肥料N的利用率达到 55.3% ,N肥在土壤中的残留率为 24.3% ,损失率为 20.4%。施肥后短期以NH4+-4 N存在的肥料N占施N量的 50.5% ,随着硝化作用的进行和作物的吸收 ,土壤中的NH4+-N显著下降。NO3--N在第 7d达到高峰 ,表现为先升高后降低的趋势 ,说明施肥后在 7d以前有强烈的硝化作用发生。施肥后 2d ,以固定态铵存在的肥料N占 33.7% ,至 28d ,仅占施入N量的 2.4% ,说明前期固定的铵在作物生长后期又重新释放出来供作物吸收。在施肥后第 7d ,肥料N以微生物N存在的量占施肥量的 15.2% ;至 28d来自肥料N的微生物N也几乎被耗竭 ,仅占施N量的 2.4%。随作物生长 ,肥料N在各个土壤N库中的数量均显著下降。在其它N库几乎被耗竭的情况下 ,至施肥后 28d主要以有机N的形式残留。在不种作物的条件下 ,土壤N素的矿化量很低 ,作物的吸收作用导致土壤有机N库不断矿化 ,施入N肥后 ,土壤N素的矿化量增加 ,表现为明显的正激发效应     

长期施肥对土壤氮矿化的影响

Two field experiments were conducted in Jiashan and Yuhang towns of Zhejiang Province, China, to study the feasibility of predicting N status of rice using canopy spectral reflectance. The canopy spectral reflectance of rice grown with different levels of N inputs was determined at several important growth stages. Statistical analyses showed that as a result of the different levels of N supply, there were significant differences in the N concentrations of canopy leaves at different growth stages. Since spectral reflectance measurements showed that the N status of rice was related to reflectance in the visible and NIR （near-infrared） ranges, observations for rice in 1 nm bandwidths were then converted to bandwidths in the visible and NIR spectral regions with IKONOS （space imaging） bandwidths and vegetation indices being used to predict the N status of rice. The results indicated that canopy reflectance measurements converted to ratio vegetation index （RVI） and normalized difference vegetation index （NDVI） for simulated IKONOS bands provided a better prediction of rice N status than the reflectance measurements in the simulated IKONOS bands themselves. The precision of the developed regression models using RVI and NDVI proved to be very high with R2 ranging from 0.82 to 0.94, and when validated with experimental data from a different site, the results were satisfactory with R2 ranging from 0.55 to 0.70. Thus, the results showed that theoretically it should be possible to monitor N status using remotely sensed data.     

Evaluation of biological and chemical nitrogen indices for predicting nitrogen-supplying capacity of paddy soils in the Taihu Lake region,China

Simple and rapid chemical indices of soil nitrogen (N)-supplying capacity are necessary for fertilizer recommendations. In this study, pot experiment involving rice, anaerobic incubation, and chemical analysis were conducted for paddy soils collected from nine locations in the Taihu Lake region of China. The paddy soils showed large variability in N-supplying capacity as indicated by the total N uptake (TNU) by rice plants in a pot experiment, which ranged from 639.7 to 1,046.2 mg N pot⁻¹ at maturity stage, representing 5.8% of the total soil N on average. Anaerobic incubation for 3, 14, 28, and 112 days all resulted in a significant (P < 0.01) correlation between cumulative mineral NH₄⁺-N and TNU, but generally better correlations were obtained with increasing incubation time. Soil organic C, total soil N, microbial C, and ultraviolet absorbance of NaHCO₃ extract at 205 and 260 nm revealed no clear relationship with TNU or cumulative mineral NH₄⁺-N. Soil C/N ratio, acid KMnO₄-NH₄⁺-N, alkaline KMnO₄-NH₄⁺-N, phosphate–borate buffer extractable NH₄⁺-N (PB-NH₄⁺-N), phosphate–borate buffer hydrolyzable NH₄⁺-N (PB_HYDR-NH₄⁺-N) and hot KCl extractable NH₄⁺-N (H_KCl−NH₄⁺-N) were all significantly (P < 0.05) related to TNU and cumulative mineral NH₄⁺-N of long-term incubation (>28 days). However, the best chemical index of soil N-supplying capacity was the soil C/N ratio, which showed the highest correlation with TNU at maturity stage (R = −0.929, P < 0.001) and cumulative mineral NH₄⁺-N (R = −0.971, P < 0.001). Acid KMnO₄-NH₄⁺-N plus native soil NH₄⁺-N produced similar, but slightly worse predictions of soil N-supplying capacity than the soil C/N ratio.     

The effect of form and level of inorganic N on nitrogen use efficiency of sugarcane grown in pots

To-date, assessments of nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of sugarcane have not included the contribution of its components, nitrogen uptake efficiency (NUpE) and nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUtE). This study determined these values, based on biomass and plant nitrogen (N) content, in two four-month-old pot-grown genotypes. The treatments included six N regimes, with nitrate (NO₃^—N) or ammonium (NH₄⁺-N) supplied alone, or as NO₃^?-N for the first 6 weeks and then NH₄⁺-N until harvest, each as 4 or 20 mM. Regardless of the N form, NUE was higher at four than at 20 mM due to significantly higher NUpE at low N supply. The results indicated that there was luxury N uptake and preference for NH₄⁺-N nutrition, which resulted in the highest determined NUE. There were significant differences between genotypes in biomass, morphological growth parameters, N uptake, total plant N and NUE, the latter matching previously established sucrose yield-based NUE field rankings.     

Impact of nitrogen and phosphorus additions on soil gross nitrogen transformations in a temperate desert steppe

Nutrient addition has a significant impact on plant growth and nutrient cycling. Yet, the understanding of how the addition of nitrogen (N) or phosphorus (P) significantly affects soil gross N transformations and N availability in temperate desert steppes is still limited. Therefore, a ¹⁵N tracing experiment was conducted to study these processes and their underlying mechanism in a desert steppe soil that had been supplemented with N and P for 4 years in northwestern China. Soil N mineralization was increased significantly by P addition, and N and P additions significantly promoted soil autotrophic nitrification, rather than NH₄⁺-N immobilization. The addition of N promoted dissimilatory NO₃⁻ reduction to NH₄⁺, while that of P inhibited it. Soil NO₃⁻-N production was greatly increased by N added alone and by that of N and P combined, while net NH₄⁺-N production was decreased by these treatments. Soil N mineralization was primarily mediated by pH, P content or organic carbon, while soil NH₄⁺-N content regulated autotrophic nitrification mainly, and this process was mainly controlled by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria rather than archaea and comammox. NH₄⁺-N immobilization was mainly affected by functional microorganisms, the abundance of narG gene and comammox Ntsp-amoA. In conclusion, gross N transformations in the temperate desert steppe largely depended on soil inorganic N, P contents and related functional microorganisms. Soil acidification plays a more key role in N mineralization than other environmental factors or functional microorganisms.     

灌溉施用氮肥后氮素在土壤中的转化及淋失状况: 土柱模拟研究

A soil column method was used to compare the effect of drip fertigation (the application of fertilizer through drip irrigation systems, DFI) on the leaching loss and transformation of urea-N in soil with that of surface fertilization combined with flood irrigation (SFI), and to study the leaching loss and transformation of three kinds of nitrogen fertilizers (nitrate fertilizer, ammonium fertilizer, and urea fertilizer) in two contrasting soils after the fertigation. In comparison to SFI, DFI decreased leaching loss of urea-N from the soil and increased the mineral N (NH₄⁺-N + NO₃^--N) in the soil. The N leached from a clay loam soil ranged from 5.7% to 9.6% of the total N added as fertilizer, whereas for a sandy loam soil they ranged between 16.2% and 30.4%. Leaching losses of mineral N were higher when nitrate fertilizer was used compared to urea or ammonium fertilizer. Compared to the control (without urea addition), on the first day when soils were fertigated with urea, there were increases in NH₄⁺-N in the soils. This confirmed the rapid hydrolysis of urea in soil during fertigation. NH₄⁺-N in soils reached a peak about 5 days after fertigation, and due to nitrification it began to decrease at day 10. After applying NH₄⁺-N fertilizer and urea and during the incubation period, the mineral nitrogen in the soil decreased. This may be related to the occurrence of NH₄⁺-N fixation or volatilization in the soil during the fertigation process.     

Analysis of manure and soil nitrogen mineralization during incubation

Understanding the N-cycling processes that ensue after manuring soil is essential in order to estimate the value of manure as an N fertilizer. A laboratory incubation of manured soil was carried out in order to study N mineralization, gas fluxes, denitrification, and microbial N immobilization after manure application. Four different manures were enclosed in mesh bags to allow for the separate analysis of manure and soil. The soils received 0.15 mg manure N g^–1 soil, and the microcosms were incubated aerobically and sampled throughout a 10-week period. Manure addition resulted in initial NH₄-N concentrations of 22.1 to 36.6 mg kg^–1 in the microcosms. All manured microcosms had net declines in soil mineral N. Denitrification resulted in the loss of 14.7 to 39.2% of the added manure N, and the largest N losses occurred in manures with high NH₄-N content. Increased soil microbial biomass N amounted to 6.0 to 8.6% of the added manure N. While the microcosms as a whole had negative N mineralization, all microcosms had positive net nitrification within the manure bags. Gas fluxes of N₂O and CO₂ increased in all manured soils relative to the controls. Our results show that measurement of microbial biomass N and denitrification is important to understand the fate of manure N upon soil application.     

Transformations of nitrogen fertilizers in soil

The effects of ¹⁵N-labelled urea, (NH₄)₂SO₄ and KNO₃ on immobilization, mineralization, nitrification and ammonium fixation were examined under aerobic conditions in an acid tropical soil (pH 4.0) and in a neutral temperate soil (pH 6.8). Urea, (NH₄)₂SO₄ and KNO₃ slightly increased net mineralization of soil organic nitrogen in both soils. There was also an apparent Added Nitrogen Interaction (ANI) i.e. added labelled NH₄-N stood proxy for unlabelled NH₄-N that would otherwise have been immobilized. So far as immobilization and nitrification were concerned, urea and (NH₄)₂SO₄ behaved very similarly in each soil. Immobilization of NO₃-N was negligible in both soils. Some of the added labelled NH₄-N was rapidly fixed, more by the temperate soil than by the tropical soil. This labelled fixed NH₄-N decreased during incubation, in contrast to labelled organic N, which did not decline.     

Biodegradation of an oily waste as influenced by nitrogen forms and sources

Biodegradation rates of oily waste in soil can be limited by mineral nutrients, particularly N and P. A laboratory incubation experiment was carried out to investigate the influence of N forms, nitrate (NO^? ₃-N) vs ammonium nitrogen (NH⁺ ₄-N), and sources, i.e., the conjugate cations/anions, on C mineralization rate (CMR) was determined daily by measuring the CO₂ evolved using gas chromatography. The CMR and the cumulative C mineralized (CCM) varied with the form and/or the source of N applied. The greatest enhancement in CMR occurred in the NO^? ₃-treatments in which the source conjugate cation was Ca⁺². The addition of P fertilizer further enhanced C mineralization rates irrespective of the form and/or the source of N added. The results show that up to 45% of the added oily waste mineralized as CO₂-C in 28 d. The residual P and N (NO^? ₃-N plus NH⁺ ₄-N) data showed that approximately 90% of the added P and N were utilized for oil decomposition. The amount of residual NO^? ₃-N appeared to have an inverse relationship with CCM. The NO^? ₃-N utilization occurred at the expense of NH⁺ ₄-N and this was particularly high in the treatments which received P.     

干污泥和堆肥污泥施用于红壤中N素的释放特性

在红壤自然状况下,模拟了施肥沟,对红壤不同污泥施肥处理的N素释放特性进行了研究。试验结果表明,干污泥配比在10%~20%时,碱解氮、铵态氮和硝态氮累计释放量分别为:25.71%~33.48%,9.57%~14.85%和4.08%~7.65%。堆肥污泥配比在20%~33%时,其累计释放量分别为13.55%~15.65%,2.03%~4.23%和3.11%~5.37%。干污泥处理的释放量大于堆肥污泥处理的释放量,释放过程变化较堆肥污泥剧烈,铵态氮和硝态氮均有明显峰值,铵态氮最大含量532.98±10 mg/kg,释放量最大达10.95%;硝态氮含量最大为149.2±14 mg/kg,释放量最大时为3.32%。无论是从氮的肥效角度,还是氮释放的环境风险角度考虑,污泥堆肥处理后施肥方式均优于干污泥处理施肥方式。     

不同肥料结构对红壤稻田氮素迁移的影响

不同肥料结构对红壤稻田淹水层、不同深度渗漏水、外排水和土壤剖面中氮素的含量、形态及其动态变化的影响研究结果表明 ,各处理淹水层、外排水和渗漏水中NH4+-N含量明显高于NO3--N。淹水层中N的含量 ,水稻生育前期以单施化肥的高 ,约相当于配施有机肥的 1.18～ 1.20倍 ,而水稻生育后期 ,后者为前者的 1.11～ 1.2 1倍。各处理外排水中N素的输出量均以苗期最高 ,单施化肥明显大于配施有机肥。土壤剖面中NH4+-N向下迁移比碱解N更为明显 ,且配施有机肥的远高于单施化肥的 ,而NO3--N则相反。不同深度渗漏水中NO3--N的比例 ,上层 (30cm)低于下层 (50cm) ,随水逸出的N量各处理渗漏水均小于外排水 ;随水输入的N量远低于随水输出的N量 ,且以单施化肥的N亏损最大。水稻未利用的N量也以单施化肥的最大 ,约为配施有机肥的 1.0 9倍。     

Effect of nitrogen fertilization and irrigation on soil microbial activities and population dynamics — a field study

In a field experiment, net nitrogen (N) mineralization and immobilization were studied in relation to: 1) population dynamics and activities of N-metabolizing soil microbial communities, 2) changes in substrate-induced respiration (SIR) and 3) potential urease acitvity. Nitrogen fertilization (80 kg NO₃-N ha^-1) without irrigation induced additional N mineralization up to 280 kg N ha^-1. Net N-mineralization was weakly correlated to cell numbers of ammonifying and NH₄⁺-oxidizing microorganisms. Potential urease activity, respiration activity, and substrate-induced respiration activity were not correlated with the amount of mineralized nitrogen. Irrigation significantly increased potential urease activity of the soil microflora. Substrate induced respiration activity and basal respiration activity of the soil microflora were highest in the unfertilized and non irrigated treatment. But greatest differences were detected between the two sampling dates. NO₂^--oxidizing and ammonifying microbial populations increased, while populations of NH₄⁺-oxidizing and denitrifying microorganisms decreased with time. The results of this study demonstrate the interaction of nitrogen fertilizer application and irrigation on population dynamics of N-transforming soil microorganisms and microbial activities under field conditions. Detailed microbiological investigations of this type improve our understanding of nitrogen transformations in soil and suggest possible reasons of nitrogen losses, so that N fertilizer can be used more effectively and N losses be reduced.     

Soil nitrogen mineralization as affected by water and temperature interactions

Summary The hypothesis that water and temperature interact to influence the rate of soil N mineralization was studied in laboratory incubation experiments with two contrasting soils. Small sample rings (10 mm tall, 50 mm diameter) were packed to uniform bulk density with 1–2 mm aggregates of Plano silt loam and Wacousta silty clay loam. Samples were brought to five different water potentials (–0.1, –0.33, –0.5, –1.0, –3.0 bars) using pressure-plate techniques, and the undisturbed sample rings were then incubated at 10–35°C for 3, 10 or 14 days. The concentration of soil exchangeable NH₄ ⁺-N and NO₃ ^–-N was measured at the end of each incubation period on replicate samples. The Q₁₀ of N mineralization was approximately 2 for all tested water potentials. Soil N mineralization was linearly related to water content or log water potential, but no water-temperature interaction was evident. The Q₁₀ was constant with water content, and the scaled water content-N mineralization relationship was constant with temperature. We recommend the use of scaling approaches for assessing interactive effects between water and other environmental factors on N turnover in soils.     

Influence of spatial root distribution,organic nitrogen mineralization and fertilizer application on soil interlayer ammonium

The amount of interlayer NH ₄ ⁺ -N and net mineralization of organic N were measured at periodic intervals, over a period of 10 months, in soil samples collected from a peach orchard which had been subjected to different rates of N fertilizer application. Two different groups of soil samples, designated sampling 1 and sampling 2 were collected. Soils of sampling 1 were collected from sites where the soil was heavily penetrated by tree roots and those of sampling 2 were collected from sites where the soil remained free from tree roots. In sampling 1, during the 10-month period, the concentration of interlayer NH ₄ ⁺ -N showed significant variations, while in sampling 2 no significant variation was found. In sampling 1 the amount of NH ₄ ⁺ -N released from the interlayers of the clay minerals were not influenced by the N fertilizer application rate. Changes in the interlayer NH ₄ ⁺ -N concentrations were related to variation in net N mineralization and immobilization rates as well as to plant uptake N. It is concluded that, in our experiment, the dynamics of interlayer NH ₄ ⁺ -N in soil were influenced by the spatial distribution of the tree roots and organic N mineralization, while N application influenced seasonal variation but not the total interlayer NH ₄ ⁺ -N released during the experiment.     

DEVELOPMENT OF A SOIL N TEST FOR FERTILIZER REQUIREMENTS FOR WHEAT

Optimal fertilizer nitrogen (N) rates result in economic yield levels and reduced pollution. A soil test for determining optimal fertilizer N rates for wheat has not been developed for Quebec, Canada, or many other parts of the world. Therefore, the objectives were to determine: 1) the relationship among soil nitrate (NO^? ₃)- N, soil ammonium (NH ⁺ ₄)- N and N fertilizer on wheat yields; and 2) the soil sampling times and depths most highly correlated with yield response to soil NO^? ₃-N and NH ⁺ ₄-N. In a three year research work, wet and dried soil samples of 0- to 30- and 30- to 60-cm depths from 20 wheat fields that received four rates of N fertilizer at seeding and postseeding (plants 15 cm tall) were analyzed for NH ⁺ ₄-N and NO^? ₃ -N using a quick-test (N-Trak) and a standard laboratory method. Wheat yield response to N fertilizer was limited, but strong to soil NO^? ₃-N.     

Soil inorganic nitrogen composition and plant functional type determine forage crops nitrogen uptake preference in the temperate cultivated grassland,Inner Mongolia

ABSTRACT

Plant nitrogen (N)-acquisition strategy affects soil N availability, community structure, and vegetation productivity. Cultivated grasslands are widely established to improve degraded pastures, but little information is available to evaluate the link between N uptake preference and forage crop biomass. Here an in-situ ¹⁵N labeling experiment was conducted in the four cultivated grasslands of Inner Mongolia, including two dicots (Medicago sativa and Brassica campestris) and two monocots (Bromus inermis and Leymus chinensis). Plant N uptake rate, shoot- and root biomass, and concentrations of soil inorganic-N and microbial biomass-N were measured. The results showed that the root/shoot ratios of the dicots were 2.6 to 16.4 fold those of the monocots. The shoot N concentrations of the dicots or legumes were 40.6% to 165% higher than those of the monocots or non-legumes. The four forage crops in the cultivated grassland preferred to uptake more NO₃^?-N than NH₄⁺-N regardless of growth stages, and the NH₄⁺/NO₃^? uptake ratios were significantly lower in the non-legumes than in the legumes (p < 0.05). Significant differences in the NH₄⁺-N rather than NO₃^?-N uptake rate were observed among the four forages, related to plant functional types and growth stages. The NH₄⁺ uptake rate in the perennial forages exponentially decreased with the increases in shoot-, root biomass, and root/shoot ratio. Also, the plant NH₄⁺/NO₃^? uptake ratio was positively correlated with soil NH₄⁺/NO₃^? ratio. Our results suggest that the major forage crops prefer to absorb soil NO₃^?-N, depending on soil inorganic N composition and belowground C allocation. The preferential uptake of NO₃^?-N by forages indicates that nitrate-N fertilizer could have a higher promotion on productivity than ammonium-N fertilizer in the semi-arid cultivated grassland.     

Immobilization and mineralization of nitrogen in soils incubated with pig slurry or ammonium sulphate

Nitrogen mineralization and immobilization were investigated in two soils incubated with ammonium sulphate or pig slurry over a range of temperatures and moisture contents. A reduction in the mineralization of soil organic N was observed in soils incubated with 100 μg NH₄⁺-Ng^?1 soil as ammonium sulphate at 30°C but not at lower temperatures. Addition of 100 μg NH₄⁺-N g^?1 soil as pig slurry resulted in a period of nett immobilization lasting up to 30 days at 5°C. Although the length of the immobilization phase was shorter at higher temperatures the total N immobilized was similar. The subsequent rate of mineralization in slurry-treated soils was not significantly greater (P = 0.05) than in untreated soils. There was no evidence of any subsequent increased mineralization arising from the immobilized N or slurry organic N for up to 175 days. The rate of immobilization was found to increase with increasing moisture content, though the period of nett immobilization was shorter, so that the amount of N immobilized was similar over a range of moisture contents from 10 to 40%. Approximately 40% of the NH₄⁺-N in the slurry was immobilized under the incubation conditions used.     

Importance of organic nitrogen fractions in sandy soils,obtained by electro-ultrafiltration or CaCl2 extraction,for nitrogen mineralization and nitrogen uptake of rape

Summary Sandy soils have low reserves of mineral N in spring. Therefore organic-bound N is the most important pool available for crops. The objective of the present investigation was to study the importance of the organic-bound N extracted by electro-ultrafiltration and by a CaCl₂ solution for the supply of N to rape and for N mineralization. Mitscherlich-pot experiments carried out with 12 different sandy soils (Germany) showed a highly significant correlation between the organic N extracted (two fractions) and the N uptake by the rape (electroultrafiltration extract: r=0.76^***; CaCl₂ extract: r=0.76^***). Organic N extracted by both methods before the application of N fertilizer was also significantly correlated with N mineralization (electro-ultrafiltration extract: r=0.75^***; CaCl₂ extract: r=0.79^***). N uptake by the rape and the mineralization of organic N increased with soil pH and decreased with an increasing C:N ratio and an increasing proportion of sand in the soils. Ninety-eight percent of the variation in N uptake by the rape was determined by the differences in net mineralization of organic N. This show that in sandy soils with low mineral N reserves (NO _inf3 ^sup- -N, NH ₄ ⁺ -N) the organic soil N extracted by electro-ultrafiltration or CaCl₂ solutions indicates the variance in plant-available N. Total soil N was not related to the N uptake by plants nor to N mineralization.     

The fate of ammonium nitrogen applied to flooded rice as affected by zeolite addition

High rice (Oryza sativa L.) yields are closely related to plant absorption of a large amount of nitrogen (N). However, there is little information on the fate of N applied at the middle growth stages of rice. Labeled ¹⁵N ammonium sulfate was applied at the panicle formation stage in Experiment I, and 10 d after heading in Experiment II. Zeolite was also added at the concentration of 0, 0.01, and 0.1 kg kg^-1 to increase the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the soil. The amount of ¹⁵N fertilizer in the soil surface water decreased exponentially and the fertilizer disappeared within 2 d after application. The soil that received zeolite at 0.1 kg kg^-1 exhibited significantly less ¹⁵NH₄ ⁺-N in the surface water and in the soil solution than the soil without the zeolite amendment. A significantly larger amount of exchangeable ¹⁵NH₄ ⁺-N was observed in the high zeolite-treatment of soil compared to the low zeolite-treatment of soil. The amount of exchangeable ¹⁵NH₄ ⁺-N increased initially, and thereafter decreased to traces 4 d after application in Experiment I, while 6 or 9 d after application in Experiment II. The disappearance of exchangeable ¹⁵NH₄ ⁺-N could be attributed mainly to the uptake by plants. The zeolite amendment or the time of N application did not significantly affect the amount of immobilized N. The rate of N adsorption was inhibited with increasing zeolite application. Moreover, zeolite application did not increase the recovery percentage of ammonium sulfate by rice plants. The total recovery of applied N ranged from 65 to 75%, irrespective of the zeolite treatments or the time of N application.     

Quantitative effects of soil depth and soil and fertilizer nitrogen on nitrogen uptake by tall fescue and switchgrass

Abstract

In semi‐arid regions, soil depth influences soil N uptake, but not ferilizer N uptake. How soil depth interacts with soil and fertilzer N to influence N uptake in humid regions is not known. The objective was to determine the relative importance of soil depth and soil and fertilizer N uptake, by forage grasses. Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) were grown on soils of varying depths. Nitrogen rates are 0, 90, and 180 kgN/ha of ¹⁵N depleted (NH₄)SO₄ applied in a split application on fescue and in one aplication to switchgrass. Total N and fertilizer N uptake, were regressed against fertilizer N, variables related to soil depth (waterholding capacity (WC), water use (WU), water loss (WL), and total soil N (SN). Soil variables explained 28% of the accoutable variation in total N uptake by first cut fescue but only 10% by second cut fescue. Soil variables explained 11% of the accountable variation in fertilizer N uptake by first cut fescue and none by the seoond. Soil variables explained 40% of the accountable variation in the total N uptake, by switchgrass, but only 10% of the variation in the fertilizer N uptake. Only where soil depth was less than 90 cm did it have a significant effect on the fertilizer N uptake by first cut fescue. Soil depth had no significant effect on the uptake, of fertilizer N by second cut fescue or switchgrass.