Soil ion concentration, water regime, and microbial competition for N were examined for their importance in regulating the adsorption of ammonium and nitrate by ion‐exchange resin bags. Resin nitrate values were largely dependent on soil nitrate contents, whereas resin ammonium values were strongly affected by soil water regime. Increasing microbial competition for N by additions of cellulose markedly decreased N accumulation in the resin bags. Recovery of 15 NH 4 added to resin bags prior to incubation in the soil showed no indication of removal or transformation of N once adsorbed in the resin bags. Resin bags should be appropriate for field estimation of N availability when both mineralization and transport are of interest.
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Dan Binkley (1984) studied this question.