Atmospheric nitrogen fixation by photosynthetic microorganisms in a submerged Philippine soil

Photosynthetic nitrogen-fixing microorganisms help maintain the nitrogen level of soil in rice paddies when environmental factors favor the growth of microorganisms. Our studies showed that blue-green algae in particular have a significant role in nitrogen-fixation in light. The most active nitrogen-fixation by microorganisms occurred in the soil shortly after it had been submerged under light. The longer the submergence, the less nitrogen microorganisms were fixed. In a greenhouse experiment, the fixed nitrogen appeared not to be immediately available to the rice plant. The amount of nitrogen that can be fixed in the field by nitrogen-fixing microorganisms in paddy water was estimated using the acetylene reduction method during the rice-growing period. The amount of nitrogen fixation by these microorganisms is not sufficient to account for the amount of nitrogen uptake by rice during the rice-growing period.