Chapter 3. Use of tracer technology in biological nitrogen fixation research

This chapter discusses the use of tracer technology in the measurement and use of biological nitrogen fixation by leguminous crops. Whether grown as pulses for grain, as green manure, as pastures or as the tree components of agro-forestry systems, the value of leguminous crops lies in their ability to fix atmospheric N2, thus reducing the use of expensive fertilizer-N and enhancing soil fertility. Nitrogen-fixing legumes provide the basis for developing sustainable farming systems that incorporate integrated nutrient management. Use of nitrogen-15 lends understanding of the dynamics and interactions between various pools in agricultural systems, including nitrogen fixation by legumes and utilization of soil and fertilizer nitrogen by crops in general, both in sole and mixed cropping systems (3.1). 15N isotope dilution methodology has been found to be particularly useful to quantify and to enhance biological nitrogen fixation in leguminous crops (3.2). The final section of this chapter explores the data required to quantify a system's nitrogen balance, using crop legumes as an example, with particular emphasis on the methodologies that might be used to quantify the below ground contributions of nitrogen associated with roots and root nodules (3.3). (author)