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Influence of Salinity on Nitrogen

Transformations in Soil
a a a
Muhammad Akhtar , Faqir Hussain , Muhammad Yasin Ashraf ,
a a a
Tariq Mahmood Qureshi , Javed Akhter & Abdul Rasool Awan
a
Soil Science Division , Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and
Biology , Faisalabad , Pakistan
Published online: 07 Jun 2012.

To cite this article: Muhammad Akhtar , Faqir Hussain , Muhammad Yasin Ashraf , Tariq
Mahmood Qureshi , Javed Akhter & Abdul Rasool Awan (2012) Influence of Salinity on Nitrogen
Transformations in Soil, Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 43:12, 1674-1683, DOI:
10.1080/00103624.2012.681738

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 Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 43:1674–1683, 2012
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0010-3624 print / 1532-2416 online
DOI: 10.1080/00103624.2012.681738

Influence of Salinity on Nitrogen

Transformations in Soil

MUHAMMAD AKHTAR, FAQIR HUSSAIN,

MUHAMMAD YASIN ASHRAF, TARIQ MAHMOOD
QURESHI, JAVED AKHTER, AND ABDUL RASOOL AWAN
Soil Science Division, Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology,
Faisalabad, Pakistan
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Laboratory experiments were carried out to study the influence of various salinity levels
[1 (control), 9 (medium), 17 (high), and 27 dS m–1 (strong)] on nitrogen (N) transfor-
mations in soil fertilized with urea and ammonium sulfate. Generally, soil salinization
affected the normal pathway of N transformations. The results showed that salinity
(medium to high) inhibited the second step of nitrification, causing nitrite (NO2 − ) accu-
mulation in soil. The inhibition was more severe in cases of high level of salinity. The
greatest salinity level caused inhibition of even the first step of nitrification, leaving
more ammonium (NH4 )-N accumulation in soil. Severity in nitrification inhibition was
observed with increase in salinity and rate of N application, which declined with time.
Ammonium accumulation with increased salinity caused N losses in the form of ammo-
nia (NH3 ) volatilization. After 14 days, the NH3 losses were 1.4-, 2-, and 5-fold greater
at 9, 17, and 27 dS m–1 than that of the control (1 dS m–1 ). After 42 days, the losses
reached up to 6-fold more than the control at the greatest salinity level. Initially (up to
14 days), NH3 losses were more from urea than from ammonium sulfate, whereas at the
later stages (42 days), the losses were almost equal from both the fertilizers. The overall
results revealed significant adverse effects of salinity on N transformations in soil.

Keywords Ammonia volatilization, nitrification, saline soil

Introduction
Soil salinity is one of the major abiotic factors responsible for lower crop yields. It affects
normal microbial distribution (Bernhard et al. 2007) that also influences biological pro-
cesses responsible for nitrogen (N) transformations in soil (McClung and Frankenberger
1985; Aslam and Qureshi 1998). Nitrogen availability to the crop is affected to a large
extent by change in normal mode of N transformation in salt-affected soils (Saleem and
Ahmed 1988). This is one of the reasons for lower N-fertilizer efficiency in salt-affected
soil; hence greater doses of N fertilizer are generally applied to meet the crop demand
(Aslam and Qureshi 1998; Yadav 1988). However, this management practice can be effec-
tive only up to moderate salinity level, and the problem of N availability again arises at
greater salinity levels (Al-Rashidi and Al-Jabri 1990; Irshad et al. 2005).

Received 30 April 2010; accepted 29 November 2011.

Address correspondence to Muhammad Yasin Ashraf, Soil Science Division, Nuclear Institute
for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB), Jhang Road, Faisalabad, Pakistan. E-mail: niabmyashraf@
hotmail.com; myashrafsp@yahoo.com

1674
 Nitrogen Transformations in Saline Soil 1675

Ammonia (NH3 ) volatilization has been found to be the main pathway of N losses
when ammonium (NH4 )-containing or NH4 -forming fertilizers are applied to salt-affected
soil (Westerman and Tucker 1974; Shaviv and Hagin 1992). Zhang et al. (1992) observed
30% to 32% N losses in alkaline calcareous soil. However, the losses increased with the
increase in salinity. Gandhi and Paliwal (2004) measured about 35 ± 5% gaseous N losses
at a maximum salinity value (ECe = 45 to 50 mmhos cm–1 ). They also observed that
salinity and pH both correlated negatively with the N mineralization and positively with
the gaseous losses of ammonia.
Actually, salinization affects the normal transformations of N in soil by retarding sev-
eral biological/microbial processes responsible for maintaining NH4 /NO3 balance (Lodhi
et al. 2009). Soil microbes responsible for converting ammonium to nitrate are affected
under elevated salinity, and hence conversion of NH4 -N to NO3 -N reduces (Sethi, Kaushik,
and Kaushik 1993; Westerman and Tucker 1974; Irshad et al. 2005; Kumar, Kumar,
and Singh 2007). As a result, ammonium N was found to be more accumulated in soils
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treated with urea or ammonium fertilizer (Omar and Ismail 1999; Irshad et al. 2005). Thus
ammonia formation and losses occur through these processes, escaping from the surface
of salt-affected soil having higher pH values (Aslam and Qureshi 1998; McClung and
Frankenberger 1985; Hussain and Naqvi 1998).
For efficient management of N fertilizers in salt-affected soils, it is important to have a
better understanding of N transformations in these soils following application of N fer-
tilizers. Therefore, laboratory experiments were conducted to understand the influence
of salinity on nitrification and ammonia volatilization processes in a soil fertilized with
ammonium sulfate and urea.

Materials and Methods

The soil used was collected from 0–15 cm deep in a field in the experimental area of the
Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB), Faisalabad. The soil was air dried,
ground to pass through a 2-mm sieve, and analyzed for pH and electrical conductivity
(EC) (Rhoades 1982), calcium carbonate (CaCO3 ) (Puri 1931), texture (Bouyoucos 1927),
organic-matter content (Walkley and Black 1934), and N (Keeney and Nelson 1982). The
soil was normal (EC = 1.0 dS m–1 ), alkaline (pH = 7.3), calcareous (CaCO3 equivalent
= 1.7%), and sandy clay loam in texture and contained small amounts of organic matter
(0.59%), total N (0.059%), nitrate (NO3 )-N (4 mg kg–1 soil) and NH4 -N (2 mg kg–1 soil).
Different salinity levels of 1 (control), 9, 17, and 27 dS m–1 were produced by adding
salts of sodium sulfate (Na2 SO4 ), sodium chloride (NaCl), calcium chloride (CaCl2 ), and
magnesium chloride (MgCl2 ) in the ratio of 10:4:5:1. Water was added to bring the soil
water content to 80% field capacity, and soil was incubated at room temperature for 15 days
so as to obtain equilibrium. The soils were then dried and ground for further use.

Nitrification Study
An incubation experiment was conducted for a period of 14 days to study the influence of
salinity on nitrification. Fifty-g subsamples of soils [salinized and nonsalinized (control)]
were placed in plastic bottles with stoppers having a central hole for gaseous exchange.
Solution of ammonium sulfate or urea at 20, 50, 100, and 200 mg N kg–1 soil was added.
Wherever required, additional deionized water was added to bring the soil moisture to 80%
field capacity. The incubation was carried out at 30 o C for 7 and 14 days. At the end of each
incubation period, the soil in bottles was thoroughly mixed, and subsamples were extracted
 1676 M. Akhtar et al.

with 2 M potassium chloride (KCl). The extracts thus obtained were analyzed for NH4 - and
NO3 -N by steam distillation (Bremner and Keeney 1966) and for NO2 -N by the diazonium
coupling reaction described under a modified Griess–Ilosvay method (Keeney and Nelson
1982). The percentage of nitrification inhibition as defined by Bundy and Bremner (1973)
was calculated by the formula

(C − S)
Nitrification inhibition (%) = × 100
C

where C and S are the amounts of NO3 -N produced in the nonsalinized and salinized soils,
respectively.

Ammonia Volatilization
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An incubation experiment to study the influence of salinity on ammonia volatilization was

conducted for a period of 42 days. Subsamples (50 g) of soils [salinized and nonsalinized
(control)] were placed in 250-ml Erlenmeyer flasks and were treated with solutions of
ammonium sulfate or urea at 200 mg N kg–1 soil. If required, additional deionized water
was added to bring the soil moisture to 80% field capacity. The flasks were then fitted with
an air device and an acid trap for absorption of ammonia (Bremner and Douglas 1971) that
evolved on incubation of the soil. The device was a rubber stopper that had a central hole
fitted with a glass tube. Attached to the lower end of the tube was a glass vial with 5 ml of
0.25 M sulfuric acid (H2 SO4 ). The bottom of the vial was almost 1.5 cm above the surface
of soil in the flask; the other end of the glass tube was 1 cm above the top of the stopper.
The stoppered flasks were placed in an incubator maintained at 30 o C for 3, 7, 10, 14, 21,
28, 35, and 42 days. At the end of each incubation period, the contents of the acid vial were
collected and the fresh acid was replaced for the next incubation period after adjusting the
soil moisture to 80% field capacity. Ammonia absorbed in acid was determined by steam
distillation with 4 mL of 1 M sodium hydroxide (NaOH) (Bremner and Douglas 1971).

Statistical Analysis
The data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using Statistix 8.1 (Statistix,
Tallahassee, Fl.) for Windows (Analytical Software 2005), and the differences among
means were identified by the least significant difference (LSD) test at P < 0.05.

Results and Discussion

Influence of Salinity on Ammonium, Nitrate, and Nitrite Dynamics in Soil

The results of 7 days of incubation showed the maximum NH4 accumulation in soil at both
the greatest salinity and N levels, irrespective of the N fertilizers. After 14 days incubation,
greater NH4 -N content was still found at the greatest salinity level (Table 1). Omar and
Ismail (1999) also reported greater NH4 accumulation in soil at the greatest salinity levels.
Irshad et al. (2005) also found significantly greater amounts of NH4 -N in salt-affected soil
than in normal soil.
The results indicated that greater soil salinity caused marked inhibition of the very
first step of nitrification during 7 days of incubation, which resulted in lower conversion
of NH4 to NO2 -N, and consequently a large amount of N was present in NH4 form at the
 Nitrogen Transformations in Saline Soil 1677

Table 1
Salinity effect on NH4 -N recovery (mg N kg–1 soil) from soils treated with ammonium
sulfate or urea

N fertilizer treatment (mg N kg–1 soil)

Ammonium sulfate Urea

Salinity (dS m–1 ) 50 100 200 50 100 200

After 7 days of incubation
1 (cont.) 0.0g 0.0g 6.3f 0.4g 1.5g 1.6g
9 0.0g 0.0g 0.0g 0.0g 0.0g 0.0g
17 0.0g 1.4g 67.9b 0.0g 9.1f 53.4d
27 16.0e 50.8d 150.0a 91.1e 58.3c 152.8a
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After 14 days of incubation

1 (cont.) 0.7f 0.0f 0.0f 1.2f 0.0f 1.7ef
9 0.0f 0.0f 0.0f 0.0f 0.0f 0.0f
17 0.0f 0.0f 0.0f 0.0f 0.3f 5.2d
27 1.1f 21.4c 104.7b 4.9de 20.3c 115.0a
Notes. Figures in a block sharing the same letter(s) do not differ significantly at P < 0.05; LSD
values are 4.17 and 3.15 for incubation periods of 7 and 14 days, respectively.

Table 2
NO2 -N buildup (mg N kg–1 soil) in soil as a result of salinity

N fertilizer treatment (mg N kg–1 soil)

Ammonium sulfate Urea

Salinity (dS m–1 ) 50 100 200 50 100 200

After 7 days of incubation
1 (cont.) 0.3n 0.2n 21.7h 0.2n 3.8lm 21.3h
9 0.3n 0.7mn 54.9d 0.3n 4.6kl 90.9b
17 7.3k 33.0f 67.6c 11.1j 49.8e 94.9a
27 17.1i 27.6g 25.1g 20.5h 35.8f 28.1g
After 14 days of incubation
1 (cont.) 0.0d 0.0d 0.0d 0.0d 0.0d 0.0d
9 0.1cd 0.0d 0.2cd 0.0d 0.0d 0.0d
17 0.3cd 0.0d 0.0d 0.0d 0.0d 0.0d
27 0.0d 0.0d 1.4b 0.0d 0.7bc 25.0a
Notes. Figures in a block sharing the same letter(s) do not differ significantly at P < 0.05; LSD
values are 3.21 and 0.71 for incubation periods of 7 and 14 days, respectively.

greatest salinity level (Tables 1 and 2). The overall results of 7 days of incubation revealed
that increased salinity levels affected the nitrification process adversely, which resulted in
NO2 accumulation in the soil (Table 2). The NO2 accumulation was low at low levels of
N application and salinity but was high with increase in salinity and N application level.
 1678 M. Akhtar et al.

Irshad et al. (2005) also reported that nitrification of NH4 to NO3 was reduced by salinity
treatments.
After 7 days of incubation, even in nonsalinized soil, considerable amounts of nitrite
accumulated at the greatest level of N application from both N fertilizers. The increase
in salinity level (up to 17 dS m–1 ) caused significant to large accumulations of NO2 at
all levels of N application as ammonium sulfate or urea. More accumulation of NO2 with
the increase in salinity indicated that the second step of nitrification was adversely affected.
At the greatest salinity level (27 dS m–1 ), NO2 contents of soil were less than those of lower
salinity levels, irrespective of N levels and sources (Table 2). The oxidizing bacteria are
involved in the nitrification process, but the nitrite oxidizers were more sensitive to salinity
than those of NH4 oxidizers. Therefore, the second step of nitrification is more vulnerable
to salinity, which resulted in the inhibition of NO2 conversion to NO3 at the medium to
high salinity levels and caused more accumulation of nitrite. Lesser accumulations of NO2
at the greatest salinity level showed inhibition of even the first step of nitrification, which
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resulted in less formation of NO2 (Omar and Ismail 1999). Suraj, Singh, and Singh (1990)
also related greater NO2 accumulation in saline soil with the inhibition of the second step
of nitrification. The studies of Oke (1966) and Hoque, Husein, and Richard (2008) have
shown toxic effect of NO2 on plant growth.
The results of seven days of incubation showed that irrespective of N source or rate
of application, increasing salinity levels increased nitrification inhibition (Table 3). At the
greatest salinity level (EC, 27 dS m–1 ), the nitrification process was almost completely
inhibited irrespective of the type or rate of the N fertilizers. At EC levels of 9 and 17 dS m–1 ,
more inhibition in nitrification was observed in the case of urea than in the case of ammo-
nium sulfate. At these salinity levels, nitrification inhibition increased with the increasing
rates of N application as either of the N fertilizers used. After 14 days of incubation, no or

Table 3
Salinity effect on NO3 -N recovery (mg N kg–1 soil) from soil treated with ammonium
sulfate or urea

N fertilizer treatment (mg N kg–1 soil)

Ammonium sulfate Urea

Salinity (dS m–1 ) 50 100 200 50 100 200

After 7 days of incubation
1 (cont.) 41.1e 85.9c 157.9a 41.6e 87.7c 162.5a
9 34.4gh 73.0d 111.2b 35.2fg 76.8d 85.4c
17 30.2hi 39.6ef 33.4gh 27.4ij 24.4jk 21.5k
27 0.0l 2.5l 0.3l 0.0l 0.0l 0.0l
After 14 days of incubation
1 (cont.) 45.0i 83.7efg 175.7ab 44.2i 93.1d 184.9a
9 38.1i 80.2fg 171.5bc 39.4i 82.1efg 178.4ab
17 43.0i 88.4def 166.1c 43.0i 89.8de 179.4ab
27 42.5i 68.1h 77.4g 43.9i 63.9h 39.9i
Notes. Figures in a block sharing the same letter(s) do not differ significantly at P < 0.05; LSD
values are 4.92 and 9.26 for incubation periods of 7 and 14 days, respectively.
 Nitrogen Transformations in Saline Soil 1679

Table 4
Inhibition of nitrification (%) in soil caused by salinity

N fertilizer treatment (mg N kg–1 soil)

Ammonium sulfate Urea

Salinity (dS m–1 ) 50 100 200 50 100 200

After 7 days of incubation
9 17.5i 15.0i 29.7gh 15.4i 12.4i 47.4f
17 27.6h 53.9e 78.8c 34.1g 72.2d 86.8b
27 100a 97.1a 99.1a 100a 100a 100a
After 14 days of incubation
9 15.0de 6.8efgh 3.3fgh 10.7defg 11.6def 3.3fgh
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17 5.0fgh 1.1h 5.9fgh 2.7gh 3.5fgh 3.5fgh

27 6.2fgh 18.1d 55.7b 1.0h 31.3c 78.4a
Notes. Figures in a block sharing the same letter(s) do not differ significantly at P < 0.05; LSD
values are 6.14 and 8.59 for incubation periods of 7 and 14 days, respectively.

negligible amount of NO2 was found except when the greatest level of N was applied as
urea to soil with the greatest salinity level (27 dS m–1 ).
The percentage of nitrification inhibition increased with the increase in the level of
salinity as well as N fertilizer (Table 4). The nitrification inhibition (%) was significantly
decreased at 14 days as compared to 7 days of incubation except at the greatest salinity
level together with high levels of N application as ammonium sulfate or urea. Darrah, Nye,
and White (1987), Omar and Ismail (1999), and Oren (1999) also found an increase in
nitrification inhibition with increasing soil salinity.

Ammonia Losses
Salinity. The gaseous loss of ammonia increased with increasing salinity at all the three
levels of ammonium sulfate and urea (Figure 1). After 14 days of incubation, ammonia

40
Ammonia-N loss (mg kg–1 soil)

Ammonium sulphate
35 urea
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1 9 17 27
EC (dS m–1)

Figure 1. Effect of soil salinity on cumulative ammonia loss from soil treated with ammonium sulfate
and urea at 200 mg kg–1 and incubated for 14 days at 30 o C.
 1680 M. Akhtar et al.

10

Ammonia loss (mg kg–1 soil)

8 EC 1 (Control)
EC 9
6 EC 17
EC 27
4

0
4 7 10 14 21 28 35 42
Incubation time (days)

Figure 2. Pattern of ammonia loss from soil at various levels of salinity following application of urea
at 200 mg N kg–1 soil and incubated at 30 o C for 42 days.
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14
Ammonia loss (mg kg–1 soil)

12

10

8 EC 1 (Control)
EC 9
6
EC 17
4 EC 27

0
4 7 10 14 21 28 35 42
Incubation time (days)

Figure 3. Pattern of ammonia loss from soil at various levels of salinity following application of
ammonium sulfate at 200 mg N kg–1 soil and incubated at 30 o C for 42 days.

losses at 9, 17, and 27 dS m–1 salinity were 1.4-, 2-, and 5-fold more, respectively, than
that from the control soil. After 42 days of incubation, these losses were even more than
6-fold at the greatest salinity level than that of the control. The pattern of the ammonia loss
over 42 days is shown in Figures 2 and 3. Salinity has been reported as a major factor in
enhancing ammonia losses (McClung and Frankenberger 1985; Hussain and Naqvi 1998;
Iqbal, Hussain, and Naqvi 1998). Keeping in view the greater ammonia losses in saline
soil, greater N-fertilizer doses are recommended in saline soil to maintain N content in soil
for better crop growth (Yadav 1988).
Increase in ammonia losses with increasing salinity and N levels could be attributed
to the inhibition of nitrification with increasing salinity. Thus, more N remained in soil in
the form of NH4 , which was subjected to ammonia losses because of the alkaline pH of the
soil. Kissel and Cabrera (1988) reported that an increase in the content of NH4 in saline
soil caused losses of N as NH3 volatilization.

Type of N Fertilizer. Irrespective of salinity, ammonia losses were more from urea than
from ammonium sulfate (Figure 1). At EC levels of 9 and 17, the difference in cumulative
losses from the fertilizers remained significant even after 42 days of incubation. At the
 Nitrogen Transformations in Saline Soil 1681

greatest salinity level, ammonia losses occurred more rapidly from urea up to 14 days, but
thereafter difference in losses from these fertilizers decreased. After 42 days of incubation,
the cumulative losses in both the fertilizers were almost equal. Urea on hydrolysis leads
to concomitant rise in soil pH due to the formation of easily decomposable ammonium
carbonate that readily liberates ammonia (Mulvaney and Bremner 1978). This leads to
greater ammonia losses from urea than that from ammonium sulfate at a particular salinity
level. Kumar and Aggarwal (1988) reported lower ammonia volatilization from ammonium
sulfate compared to urea. Hussain and Naqvi (1998) also showed more ammonia losses
from urea than from ammonium sulfate.

Incubation Period. Ammonia losses were greatest during the first week of fertilizer appli-
cation, which decreased gradually. Up to the medium salinity level (17 dS m–1 ), most of
ammonia losses occurred during 10 days of incubation, but thereafter either negligible or
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no loss occurred. However, at the greatest salinity level, significant ammonia losses contin-
ued to occur up to 35 days of incubation. In the first week, ammonia losses of the total were
83% to 96% and 82% to 96% from ammonium sulfate and urea, respectively, up to salinity
level of 17 dS m–1 . At the greatest salinity level, ammonia losses in the first week were 38%
and 48% from ammonium sulfate and urea, respectively. Suraj, Singh, and Singh (1990)
reported major N losses from urea and ammonium sulfate during early stages of appli-
cation and attributed these losses to ammonia volatilization. Hussain and Naqvi (1998)
also found major ammonia losses up to 7 days from normal soil and up to 10 days from
salt-affected soil, and thereafter the losses decreased gradually up to the fourth week of
incubation.

Conclusions
An increase in soil salinity increased the inhibition of nitrification process, particu-
larly the second step, causing an accumulation of nitrite. The greatest salinity level
adversely affected even the first step of nitrification, thus leaving behind greater NH4 -N
in N-fertilized soil. Therefore, the greater NH4 -N accumulation at increased salinity level
promoted the losses of N as ammonia, which were more from urea than from ammonium
sulfate. Keeping in view the adverse effect of salinity on transformations of N fertilizer in
soil, better fertilizer management practices need to be devised for improving N fertilizer
efficiency in the salt-affected soils.

Acknowledgments
All the funds for this study were provided by the institute under the approved budget of the
Soil Science Division, NIAB, Faisalabad, Pakistan. No foreign or private funding agency
was involved in the research activities reported.

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