United States Department of Transportation
i
The use of slow release nitrogen fertilizers on the roadside of Virginia : a literature review.
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1997-10-01
[PDF-3.56 MB]
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Abstract:Literature reviews are to a scientist what the investigative report is to a crime-beat news
reporter. The investigation of the topic in question here revealed a vast wealth of information that
eventually was digested as we dug deeper and deeper into the topic. With this preamble in mind,
this literature review of slow release fertilizers will take many twists and turns before the full
story is revealed.
The element in question, nitrogen (N), is essential for plant growth and animal nutrition
and is the nutrient taken up in largest amount by all plants. This element's role in the
environment is complex. Due to biological transformations, N exists in a variety of organic and
inorganic forms. Nitrate (NO3-) is the major inorganic form of N in most soils and is highly
water soluble. Due to the fact that it is an anion, it is not attracted or retarded by the negatively
charged surfaces found in soils, and therefore moves freely with percolating waters. Ammonium
(NH4÷), also an inorganic form of N, is a cation and is therefore retained by the negatively
charged soil surfaces. In the soil system, NO 3 and NH4 ÷ are the major ionic forms involved in N
flux through the complex N-cycle (Figure 1).
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