Ionic exchange membranes (IEMs) : a good indicator of soil inorganic N production

Ionic exchange membranes (IEMs) are a potential alternative to traditional soil extraction and incubation methods for estimating soil inorganic N availability. However, there have been few comparisons of IEMs with more widely used N availability measurements. Here we found a strong relationship between soil inorganic N availability obtained using IEMs, and traditional soil inorganic N extractions and mineralization rates over a wide range of soil types. We also found lower variability in soil inorganic N availability obtained with IEMs than with traditional measurements. We conclude that IEMs are a reliable method to estimate inorganic N production in soils, and may become a useful alternative or complement to more destructive and time consuming traditional soil extraction and incubation methods for estimating soil inorganic N availability.