New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research abstracts

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Soil acidification through carbon cycling in legumes: a pot experiment examining the contributions from white clover, lotus, caucasian clover, and lucerne

R. M. MONAGHAN
J. D. MORRISON
A. G. SINCLAIR*
AgResearch
Invermay Agricultural Centre
Private Bag 50034
Mosgiel, New Zealand

Abstract  Soil acidification, induced by the growth of four legume species (white clover, lotus, lucerne, or caucasian clover), was examined in a glasshouse pot trial at initial soil pH levels of either 4.5, 5.0, or 5.5. White clover and lotus out-yielded lucerne and caucasian clover at all soil pH levels, particularly at the lowest level of pH 4.5. The acidity produced as a result of this legume growth was shown to approximately correspond to the removal of excess cation over anion nutrients by the plants. Averaged over all three soil pH levels, plant excess cation concentrations decreased in the order: white clover > caucasian clover > lucerne > lotus. With the exception of white clover, there was no evidence of any consistent change in excess cation concentrations as soil pH decreased, indicating that the rate of excess cation removal did not decrease as soil pH declined. Although white clover was shown to have a higher excess cation concentration than the other three legumes, plant yield was the major determinant of legume-induced soil acidification, rather than legume species excess cation concentration.

Keywords  soil acidification; legumes; cation excess; liming; ash alkalinity

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 1998, Vol. 41: 243-250

0028-8233/98/4102-0243 $7.00/0 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand 1998

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (640K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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