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Rapid fertilizer turnover and dominant soil N mineralization in a cool-climate vineyard revealed by 15N tracing, biological N availability, and N exposure.

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Title: Rapid fertilizer turnover and dominant soil N mineralization in a cool-climate vineyard revealed by 15N tracing, biological N availability, and N exposure.
Authors: Zhang, Bangwei1 (AUTHOR), Burton, David L.1 (AUTHOR) dburton@Dal.Ca, Hammermeister, Andrew M.1 (AUTHOR), Fuller, Keith D.2 (AUTHOR), Price, Gordon W.1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Biology & Fertility of Soils. Jul2026, Vol. 62 Issue 5, p743-760. 18p.
Subject Terms: *Nitrogen in soils, *Nitrogen fertilizers, *Nitrogen, *Radiolabeling, *Vineyards
Geographic Terms: Nova Scotia, Canada
Abstract: The relative contributions of fertilizer N and native soil N cycling to seasonal vine N supply remain unclear in cool-climate vineyards. We conducted a two-year field experiment in a Chardonnay vineyard in Nova Scotia, Canada, to quantify soil N supply, fertilizer fate, and whole-system N use efficiency (NUE) using 15N-labelled ammonium sulfate, biological N availability, and in situ ion-exchange membrane measurements of N exposure. Three N fertilizer rates (0, 25, 50 kg N·ha− 1) were tested. Fertilizer N generated only a short-lived mineral N pulse, with a half-life of about 18–20 d, and contributed only ~ 12% of seasonal N exposure in the labelled treatment. By contrast, native soil organic N mineralization was estimated to provide ~ 80–90% of seasonal vine-available N. Fertilizer increased vegetative growth and early-season tissue N status, but did not improve berry yield or fruit quality. NUE remained low and similar among treatments (26–35%). By harvest, only ~ 9% of applied fertilizer N was recovered in berries, while most fertilizer N was no longer recovered in the measured aboveground biomass and 0–50 cm soil pools. N exposure was moderately associated with total N supply estimated from biological N availability (R2 ≈0.5), supporting its value as a time-integrated indicator of vineyard N availability. These findings indicate that seasonal vine N supply in this cool-climate vineyard was driven mainly by native soil N cycling rather than spring fertilizer input, highlighting the need to explicitly account for soil N supply in vineyard N budgeting and fertilization strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Database: Energy & Power Source
Description
Abstract:The relative contributions of fertilizer N and native soil N cycling to seasonal vine N supply remain unclear in cool-climate vineyards. We conducted a two-year field experiment in a Chardonnay vineyard in Nova Scotia, Canada, to quantify soil N supply, fertilizer fate, and whole-system N use efficiency (NUE) using 15N-labelled ammonium sulfate, biological N availability, and in situ ion-exchange membrane measurements of N exposure. Three N fertilizer rates (0, 25, 50 kg N·ha− 1) were tested. Fertilizer N generated only a short-lived mineral N pulse, with a half-life of about 18–20 d, and contributed only ~ 12% of seasonal N exposure in the labelled treatment. By contrast, native soil organic N mineralization was estimated to provide ~ 80–90% of seasonal vine-available N. Fertilizer increased vegetative growth and early-season tissue N status, but did not improve berry yield or fruit quality. NUE remained low and similar among treatments (26–35%). By harvest, only ~ 9% of applied fertilizer N was recovered in berries, while most fertilizer N was no longer recovered in the measured aboveground biomass and 0–50 cm soil pools. N exposure was moderately associated with total N supply estimated from biological N availability (R2 ≈0.5), supporting its value as a time-integrated indicator of vineyard N availability. These findings indicate that seasonal vine N supply in this cool-climate vineyard was driven mainly by native soil N cycling rather than spring fertilizer input, highlighting the need to explicitly account for soil N supply in vineyard N budgeting and fertilization strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:01782762
DOI:10.1007/s00374-026-02008-5