Increase in the Capacity of Interlayer Sites in a Paddy Soil as a Possible Factor Affecting the Dynamics of Fixed Ammonium at the Initial Stage of Anaerobic Incubation

To evaluate whether the capacity of interlayer sites affects the dynamics of fixed ammonium (NH₄⁺) in a paddy soil, a combination of potassium (K)–saturation treatment and stepwise extraction of nonexchangeable K with 0.01 mol L^?1 hydrochloric acid was applied to a soil incubated anaerobically up to 70 days. The capacity of interlayer sites increased with an increase of weakly fixed NH₄⁺ during the initial 28 days (r = 0.78, P < 0.01), and remained stable thereafter. On the other hand, the concentration of exchangeable NH₄⁺ increased curvilinearly during the whole incubation period, which was correlated with an increase of weakly fixed NH₄⁺ (r = 0.85, P < 0.01). These results suggested that the dynamics of weakly fixed NH₄⁺ in a paddy soil is regulated not only by the chemical equilibrium between exchangeable and weakly fixed NH₄⁺ but also by the capacity of interlayer sites within a few weeks after flooding.