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The direct measurement of sulphur deposition on bare soil

Abstract

THREE one-thousandth acre gauges, respectively 20, 40 and 60 inches deep were made at Rothamsted Experimental Station in 1870 by Lawes and Gilbert1. Since 1870 the soil in the drainage gauges has not received any fertiliser and has not been cropped. Amounts of nitrogen mineralised annually2 have fallen to about 7 kg ha−1 and from this we have calculated that sulphur mineralised is about 1 kg ha−1 annually. Chemical analysis showed that the drainage water contains twice as much sulphur as is deposited in rain. A direct measurement of the dry deposition of sulphur was made to see if this satisfactorily accounted for the discrepancy.

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References

  1. Lawes, J. B., Gilbert, J. H., and Warington, R., Jl R. agric. Soc., 17, 241; 311 (1881).

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BROMFIELD, A., WILLIAMS, R. The direct measurement of sulphur deposition on bare soil. Nature 252, 470–471 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/252470a0

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