Volume 23, Number 1, 1999

The determination of the cation exchange capacity (CEC) and the relative fractions occupied by the most common cations is crucial for soil chemical characterization and soil fertility diagnostic. These variables and the exchangeable Al3+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ concentrations have been determined in the routine soil analysis by official laboratories in the States of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina since 1994. The relationship between the SMP index and the H + Al value (potential acidity) was studied in order to establish […]

The reaction of nitrogen compounds with ninhydrin can be used as an indicator of cytoplasmic materials released from microbial cells killed by fumigation. Total-N, ninhydrin-reactive-N (NR-N), ammonium-N (A-N), and α-amino-N in the microbial biomass of soils from the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, were determined, in 1996, in 0.5 mol L-1 K2SO4 extracts of fumigated and non-fumigated soils. Total-N varied from 20.3 to 104.4 mg kg-1 and the ninhydrin-reactive-N corresponded, in average, to 27% of this. The ninhydrin-reactive-N was made up of […]