Long‐term effects of liming on microbial biomass and activity and soil organic matter quality (13C CPMAS NMR) in organic horizons of Norway spruce forests in Southern Germany

Long‐term effects of liming on microbial biomass and activity and soil organic matter (SOM) were investigated in samples from organic horizons (Of/Oh) in spruce forests at Adenau, Höglwald, Idar‐Oberstein, and Schluchsee (Southern Germany) where plots have been manually treated 7 to 13 years ago with dolomitic limestone. At all sites, pH values were markedly increased after liming. The contents of C and N in the organic horizons of the limed plots appeared to be lower with the greatest decrease at Höglwald (Dystric Luvisol) where liming has affected the soil properties for the longest time of all sites. Catalase activity was promoted after liming at Adenau (Cambic Podzol). This was also the case for the Dystric Luvisol where liming resulted also in higher basal respiration. Biomass‐C was higher in samples from the limed plot at Idar‐Oberstein (Dystric Cambisol). The ¹³C CPMAS NMR spectra of organic horizons from the control plots indicate no differences in the gross carbon composition of SOM. Furthermore, spectra from the limed Cambic Podzol, Dystric Cambisol, and Haplic Podzol (Schluchsee) were remarkably similar. However, for the Dystric Luvisol, the lime‐induced promotion of microbial activity resulted in lower O‐alkyl‐C intensity. The observed patterns of microbial biomass and activity were site‐dependent rather than a result of liming. Obviously liming had only small long‐term effects on the humus quality in the organic horizons, as far as detectable by CPMAS NMR spectroscopy. More sensitive techniques like pyrolysis‐GC/MS should be applied to analyze differences in C composition.     

Agricultural improvement of cultivated organic soils I. Effects of deep cultivation, liming, irrigation and P-fertilization on crop yields

Abstract. Four field experiments were carried out on cultivated shallow fen peat overlying acid gyttja (lake mud) soil. The accessibility of the generally ample supply of physically available water was restricted by a limited root depth caused by low pH and high levels of aluminium in the subsoil. In order to improve the nutrient status and the crop water supply of the soils liming, deep cultivation, P-fertilization and irrigation were tested in field experiments comprising these four main treatments and their combinations. Liming and P-fertilization of the topsoil, irrigation and deep cultivation in combination with deep liming improved crop yields. Deep cultivation without liming had a negative effect on yield in most years.     

Quality of liming materials used in aquaculture in Thailand

Samples of 45 brands of liming materials were obtained in Thailand and analyzed for chemical and physical properties. Eight of 10 products sold as ground calcium carbonate (calcitic agricultural limestone) were properly identified by vendors and of high quality, that is, neutralizing value and fineness rating above 85%. Seven of 15 products sold as ground dolomite (dolomitic agricultural limestone) were properly identified, seven were ordinary pulverized limestone instead of dolomite, and one was lime. The seven dolomitic agricultural limestone samples were of high quality, that is, fineness ratings above 85% and neutralizing values above 95%. Only two of eight misidentified samples were of high quality. Only one of four products sold as marl had neutralizing value and efficiency rating above 85%, but all were properly identified. Five products sold as crushed seashell had been burned and should have been identified as lime. However, neutralizing values (72–103%) were lower than those of good quality lime. All 13 samples sold as lime were properly identified, and eight were of good quality, that is, neutralizing value above 120% and fineness rating above 85%. The cost of liming materials ranged from US$ 0.01 to 0.20kg^–1 for marl and from US$ 0.10 to 0.14kg^–1 for lime. There was no relationship between product quality and cost. Fish and shrimp farmers in Thailand should insist that manufacturers and vendors of liming materials provide data on product composition.     

Increased abundance of European eel (Anguilla anguilla) in acidified Norwegian rivers after liming

The prevalence and abundance (density 100 m^?2) of European eel (Anguilla anguilla) were studied by means of electrofishing in 13 acidified rivers in Norway that had been limed to restore acceptable water quality for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Status of Atlantic salmon in these rivers varied prior to liming, from being entirely lost in six highly acidified rivers and in different stages of decline in seven less acidified rivers. Four of the rivers are heavily affected by hydropower development. The abundance and prevalence of European eel increased significantly during the study period. The best model for predicting eel abundance was that with four explanatory variables: time after liming, time after liming squared, status of salmon stocks and hydropower regulation. The eel density was expected to increase by a factor of almost 5 after 10 years of liming. The model also predicts that a river with a formerly reduced Atlantic salmon stock has a 2.8 times higher density of eel than rivers with formerly lost salmon stocks. Before liming, European eel were on average recorded at 15 and 41% of the sampling stations in rivers with formerly lost and reduced Atlantic salmon populations, respectively, increasing to 49 and 68% in individual rivers, respectively, after 10 years of liming. The recovery of European eel in these formerly acidified rivers by means of liming took place during the same period as their abundance declined in other parts of their distribution area in Norway and elsewhere in Europe.     

High‐Energy Milling Improves the Effectiveness of Silicate Rock Fertilizers: A Glasshouse Assessment

Abstract

The effectiveness of intensively milled gneiss and potassium (K-feldspar) as K fertilizers was evaluated through a glasshouse experiment with ryegrass. Plant were grown on two soil types for 12 months. Results show that the agronomic effectiveness of milled gneiss was nearly as great as potassium sulfate (K₂SO₄), but milled K‐feldspar was much less effective because of the relatively small extent of dissolution of K‐feldspar in the soil. The positive effects of K‐silicate rock fertilizers (K‐SRFs) included increases in plant biomass, uptake of K and silicon (Si), and soil pH with increasing application rate of the K‐SRFs. The application of K‐SRFs will be most advantageous for amending K‐deficient soils, and high‐energy milling provides a simple method for manufacturing effective multinutrient SRFs.     

Combined N,P, K fertilization and liming maximises crop productivity of acid loams in Lithuania

Crop response to fertilization and liming was investigated in field and pot trials on sandy loam Dystric Albeluvisols (pH 4.2–4.3). Treatments in the field trial were: 1, no fertilizer; 2, PK; 3, NK; 4, NP; 5, NPK; 6, lime; 7, lime+PK; 8, lime+NK; 9, lime+NP; 10, lime+NPK. In the pot trial, they were: 1, no fertilizer; 2, N; 3, P; 4, K; 5, NP; 6, NK; 7, PK; and 8, NPK applied to unlimed and limed soils. All treatments were in four replicates. Crops sensitive to soil acidity (winter wheat, fodder beet, spring barley and clover-timothy ley) and the less acid-sensitive winter rye, potatoes, oats and lupins and oats mixture were sown in the field trial. In the pot trial, the acid-sensitive spring barley and red clover, and the less acid-sensitive oats and lupin-oats served as the test crops. Combined application of fertilizers (NPK) increased yields of crops sensitive to soil acidity in plots receiving lime by 23%, and those of crops less sensitive to soil acidity by 18% in comparison to crops grown on unlimed soils. The results of pot experiments corroborated the field results. When N was applied alone, crop yields were always higher than those recorded for P or K treatments on both the unlimed and limed treatments. N application proved to be a prerequisite for high crop yields in the soils investigated. Thus, the efficiency of P and K fertilizers increased in the order NK<NP<NPK, with the effects being accentuated more in the limed than in the unlimed treatments. The results demonstrated the importance of multi-nutrient (NPK) fertilization in combination with liming for enhancement of high crop productivity in the unlimed soil investigated. N applied alone in combination with liming produced relatively good yields; hence, where resources are limited for the purchase of P and K fertilizers, applying N and lime can be a viable option in the short term.     

Manganese Fertilizer Requirement to Prevent Manganese Deficiency When Liming to Remediate Ni‐Phytotoxic Soils

Abstract

Nickel (Ni) contamination occurred near a Ni refinery at Port Colborne, Ontario, on soils susceptible to Mn deficiency. Previous studies showed that adding limestone to remediate these soils induced Mn deficiency in plants. This greenhouse pot experiment was conducted with Welland loam and Quarry muck soils to learn the application of MnSO₄ needed when these soils were limed. Limestone application, along with Mn fertilizer, allowed normal growth of oat and red beet known as sensitive to Ni phytotoxicity and Mn deficiency. Strontium (Sr)‐nitrate extractable Ni was a smooth function of slurry pH with much higher Ni extractable from the Welland loam than Quarry muck. Ni phytotoxicity was severe at low pH for the Welland loam but it was generally prevented by liming. No severe Mn deficiency was observed in this experiment when nitrogen was applied as combination of urea, ammonia, and nitrates. Manganese fertilization greatly improved Mn uptake by both crops in both soils.     

Effects of Sugar Foam Liming on the Water-Retention Properties of Soil

The influence of sugar foam amendment on the moisture-retention properties of three profiles of an acidic vineyard soil in Retuerta del Bullaque (Ciudad Real, Spain) has been studied. The values obtained for the surface horizons of modified soils and the original soil (under natural vegetation) were compared, as were those for the surface and subsurface horizons of the liming profiles. The water-retention curves (drying curve) were determined in triplicate on the sieved soil with Richards plates and the field capacity (FC), permanent wilting point (PWP), and available water-retention capacity (AWRC) were calculated. In the original soil FC, PWP, and AWRC values were greater than the average values for the amended soils (36.5 percent, 15.1 percent, and 21.5 percent versus 23.5 percent, 10.35 percent, and 13.1 percent, respectively). Comparison of the surface horizons and the subsurface horizons of the three profiles showed that the values for the AWRC were greater in the former (13.1 percent, 12.5 percent, and 14 percent for P1, P2, and P3, respectively) than in the latter (11.9 percent, 9 percent, and 8.6 percent for P1, P2, and P3, respectively), although FC and PWP were lower in A horizons than in B horizons.     

Liming Influences Forms of Acidity in Soils Belonging to Different Orders under Subtropical India

A pot experiment was conducted to study the influence of liming on changes in different forms of acidity in relation to soil properties. Thirty-six surface (0–15 cm deep) soil samples were collected from different soil orders, namely Entisols, Inceptisols, Alfisols, and Entisols of coastal saline zone of West Bengal, India, and incubated for 21 days with three doses of lime [i.e., no lime (L₀), half lime (L_1/2), and full lime (L₁)]. Results of analysis of soil showed that there were significant increases in pH in water (pH_w) and pH in 0.02 M calcium chloride (CaCl₂) (pH_Ca) (1.3 and 1.5 units) and decrease in total acidity, hydrolytic acidity, exchange acidity, electrostatically bound aluminium (EBAl³⁺), and electrostatically bound hydrogen (EBH⁺) upon liming being from 1.53 to 0.57, 1.40 to 0.54, 0.13 to 0.03, 0.08 to 0.01, and 0.06 to 0.02 cmol (p⁺) kg^?1, respectively. The decrease in values of all the forms of acidity was greater in L₁ than in L_1/2 treatment under Entisols of the terai zone, followed by Entisols of coastal saline zone, Inceptisols, and Alfisols. The forms of acidity showed significant positive correlation with each other but negative correlation with pH_w and pH_Ca, except for EBH⁺.     

Liming in relation to soil acidity and p fertilizer efficiency

Abstract

An acid brown podzolic (pH 4.0) soil of wide distribution in Ireland was limed with Ca(OH)₂ to pH values of 5.2 and 7.4. With each increment of lime significant increases in growth and F uptake by Italian ryegrass occurred, the increases being greatest with the first increment. Increasing soil pH resulted in decreased extractable aluminum and iron as well as exchangeable hydrogen. Available P as measured by various extractants increased with increasing soil pH.

The relative performance of three P fertilizers, superphosphate, phospal and basic slag was affected by liming. Basic slag was more effective than superphosphate at pH 4.0, was as effective at pH 5.2 and was less effective at pH 7.4. Phospal was poorest at each pH level. While growth and P uptake increased with increasing P levels the relative responses to the three fertilizers decreased with increasing soil pH.