Mineralisation of organic matter

The mineralisation of organic matter is the process by which organic matter is degraded by soil micro-organisms and transformed into CO2, H2O and basic mineral compounds such as N2, H2S, Fe(II), Fe(II), Fe(II), N2, H2S, Fe(II), Fe(II), Fe(II), Fe(II), Fe(II) and Fe(II). etc... depending on environmental (aerobic or anaerobic) and microbiological conditions.

Mineralisation therefore releases gases such as CO2 and generates nutrients that will be assimilated or leached to deeper layers.

The source of mineralisation on sports surfaces is given by two fundamental origins of carbon:

• Mowing residues, fresh organic matter with a low C/N ratio
• Mature organic matter from roots and leaves with higher C/N ratio.

The lower the C/N ratio, the higher the nitrogen supply. C/N ratios around 8-10 are ideal for rapid mineralisation.

About 30 % of the C and N from these sources is transformed to CO2 or inorganic N in the first two weeks, regardless of the microbial composition (Jiang et al. 2000).

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The net balance of nitrogen released into the soil is given by the difference between the nitrogen assimilated by the micro-organisms and the nitrogen mineralised. For example, in active growing seasons from May to October, mineralised nitrogen in Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactilon L.) was estimated to be between 60 and 154 kg N/ha (Lee et al. 2003).

It is important to take into account in the fertilisation programme the generation of nutrients that occurs naturally through the process of mineralisation of organic matter.

Various authors such as Kaye et al. 2005 or Shi et al. 2006 estimate, for example, a nitrogen production by the phenomenon of organic matter mineralisation of between 0.2 and 2 micrograms N/g soil per day.

The production of natural nitrogen, which can help us to reduce our contribution as greenkeepers in fertilisers, will be higher the more organic matter the soil has, or the more active and larger the microbiological community in our soil is.

Author: Raúl Bragado Alcaraz. Head Greenkeeper at La Manga Club de Golf.