Impact of non-growing season freeze-thaw conditions on nutrient cycling and Fall-applied fertilizers

Increased winter temperatures caused by climate warming may expose soils to colder temperatures and more freeze-thaw events. Freeze-thaw cycles influence chemical, biological, and physical soil properties that control carbon and nutrient cycling and microbial activity. Changes to these processes may impact nutrient export from affected soils, possibly altering soil health and nearby water quality. Determining these impacts to geochemical cycling and microbial activity will provide insight into the efficacy of pre-winter fertilizer applications and improve our conceptual and quantitative understanding of shallow subsurface biogeochemical processes. Thus, the overall aim of this research project is to assess the mechanisms of soil biogeochemical processes under variable freeze-thaw cycles and soil moisture content conditions, and determine the effects on carbon and nutrient cycling under variable snow cover and winter conditions.
This data set is created to support the project titled "Winter Soil Processes in Transition", which is Pillar 1-2 project under the Global Water Futures Program funded by Canada First Research Excellence Fund

Four soil columns were packed with sieved agricultural soil collected from the rare Charitable Research Reserve located in Cambridge, Ontario. The lower sections of the soil columns were wrapped with band heaters to simulate a realistic soil profile vertical temperature gradient. Fertilizer was applied to two of the soil columns. The soil columns were placed in a controlled temperature chamber and exposed to a non-growing season temperature and precipitation model for fifty-five days. Column leachate was collected and analyzed using non-purgeable organic carbon and total nitrogen analysis, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, and ion chromatography. Leachate, pH, and electric conductivity were also measured. All samples collected have been analysed in the Ecohydrology Research Group Laboratory at the University of Waterloo.

Rezanezhad, F., Krogstad, K., Hug, L., Jensen, G., Rudolph, D., Van Cappellen, P., and Vandergriendt, M. (2019). Impact of non-growing season freeze-thaw conditions on nutrient cycling and Fall-applied fertilizers. Waterloo, Canada: Canadian Cryospheric Information Network (CCIN). Unpublished Data.

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