Microbial transformation of nitrogen compounds in middle taiga soils

The intensity of mineralization, nitrogen fixation, and denitrification in forest soils of the Karelian middle taiga ecosystems has been evaluated. Podzol-gleyish soil underlying a birch forest with gramineous plants and miscellaneous herbs was shown to have the highest nitrogen-fixing activity. The loss of gaseous nitrogen during denitrification was insignificant due to the low nitrifying activity of the soils named above. N₂O uptake by microorganisms was rather intensive in all the soils analyzed, and in illuvial-humo-ferric podzols underlying pine and spruce forests this process predominated. Podzolic sandy loam gley-like soil of a birch forest with gramineous plants and miscellaneous herbs had the highest potential for the mineralization of organic nitrogen; the rate of ammonification and nitrification in this soil was maximal.