The ammonium stored in the soil has three possible fates: 1. It can be taken up by plant roots and used for growth. Many plants can directly use ammonium as a nitrogen source. 2. It can be converted to nitrate (NO3-) by soil bacteria in a process called nitrification. Nitrifying bacteria oxidize ammonium to nitrite (NO2-) and then to nitrate. 3. It can be immobilized by soil microbes. When soil microbes decompose organic matter, they incorporate ammonium into their biomass. This temporarily removes the ammonium from the soil solution. So in summary, the ammonium stored in soil can be taken up by plants,

2. Subject objective: Each student
should be able to:
• Learn about the important of ammonification
process in the nature.
• Obtain an evolution of the ammonification potentials
in different soil samples.
• Determine protease activity through detecting
ammonium using broth culture with garden soil and
through using soil extract.

4. Sulphur

5. By traveling through one of the four
processes in the Nitrogen Cycle!
(1) Nitrogen Fixation
Nitrogen
Cycle
(2) Ammonification

7. What is
ammonification?

8. Ammonification: Bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes
decomposers break down amino acids from dead
animals and wastes into nitrogen ammonium.
Bacteria decomposers break down amino acids into ammonium

9. Principle
• The nitrogen in most plants and animals exists in the form of protein.
When these organisms die, the protein is broken down to amino acids,
which in turn are deaminated to liberate ammonia. This process of the
production of ammonia from organic compounds is called
ammonification. Soil bacteria (e.g. Bacillus, Proteus, and
Pseudomonas) produce the proteases that accomplish
ammonification. Once ammonia is released into the soil it dissolves in
water to form the ammonium ion (NH4 +). Some of these ions are used
by plants and microorganisms to synthesize amino acids.
• In this exercise, peptone is used as an organic nitrogen substrate. The
ability of different bacteria and the organisms in a soil sample to break
down the organic nitrogen and release ammonia will be examined.
Ammonia can be detected by adding Nessler’s reagent to samples –
if ammonia is present, the samples will turn yellow – brown.

10. A. Mineralization (Ammonification) – the conversion of organic nitrogen (proteins,
amino sugars, nucleic acids, chitin) to ammonium (NH4+), a mineral form
who? heterotrophic bacteria and fungi – ‘decomposers’
generic equation:
B. Immobilization – microbial uptake of inorganic nitrogen and incorporation into
organic forms who? heterotrophic bacteria and fungi – ‘decomposers’
1) Ammonium assimilation

11. N transformations: summary

13. Why is
ammonification
necessary?

14. Because plants cannot use the organic forms of
nitrogen which are in the soil as a result of:
(1) wastes (manure and sewage)
(2) compost and decomposing roots and leaves

15. Very few plants can use
ammonia (NH3)…
(1) Nitrogen Fixation
(2) Ammonification
…but, fortunately the
second process
Ammonification can help!

16. What happened to
Ammonium
in soil?

17. The ammonium is either:
1. taken up by the plants (only in a few types of plants)
2. ammonium can be adsorbed and fixated (stuck) on to the negatively
charged soil particles or be taken up by plants.
3.Ammonium (NH4) Stored in the soil up to later be changed into
inorganic nitrogen, the kind of nitrogen that most plants can use.
Bacteria converts organic nitrogen to
ammonium (NH4)
Ammonium (NH4) is used by
some plants
Ammonium (NH4) is
stored in soil.

18. First Procedure for Estimation of Ammonia in soil:
FIRST PERIOD: (Inoculation)
• Materials:
1. 2 tubes of peptone broth
2. Rich garden soil
3. Broth cultures of Bacillus, Proteus and Pseudomonas
Procedure:
1. Inoculate one tube of peptone broth with 1gm of soil sample, save the other tube for a control.
2. Incubate the tube at room temperature for 3–4 days and 7 days.
SECOND AND THIRD PERIODS: (Ammonia Detection)
After 3 or 4 days, test the medium for ammonia with the following procedure. Repeat these tests
again after a total of 7 days of incubation.
• Materials:
1. Nessler’s reagent, Spot plate
2. pH-meter or pH paper.
Procedure:
1. Deposit a drop of Nessler’s reagent into two separate depressions of a spot plate.
2. Add a loopful of the inoculated peptone broth to one depression and a loopful from the sterile
uninoculated tube in the other, then add 1-2 dopes of nessler's reagent. Interpretation of
ammonia presence is as follows:
• Faint yellow color—small amount of ammonia
• Deep yellow—more ammonia
• Brown precipitate—large amount of ammonia
3. Check the pH of the two tubes by pH-meter or pH paper.

19. Second procedure for estimation of ammonia and ammonium in soil samples:
Inorganic nitrogen (NH+4) and nitrogen process rate measurements:
Accumulation of inorganic nitrogen is measured by extracting each soil sample with 80 ml of 2M
KCl. After adding KCl and shaking each container by hand to suspend the soil, sample
containers were placed on a rotary shaker at speed (100rpm/min.) for 1 h, and then shaken
again by hand to re-suspend the soil. Samples were filtered (Whatman No. 42 filter paper) All
soil extracts were frozen at (-20°C) to prevent secondary formation of nitrite ions by microbial or
chemical redox reactions from ammonium ions or nitrate ions. Gross N mineralization was
measured on whole soil samples.
• Titration method used for ammonium (NH+4) measurement:
Extracted NH+4 from soil samples were determined by titration method (19) by treating (20 ml) of
extracted soil with five drops of methyl red reagent and titration was done with (0.05 N) of
H2SO4 until the end point of reaction yellow to red, then sample boiled off to room temperature and
same step of titration was repeated to the same color, and distilled water corresponding of the
blank test serves as the control sample.
• Following equations were used for determination of NH+4 in soil water extract:
– N1 × V1 = N2 × V2
N1: unknown N of (NH+4)?
V1: 20ml water extract of soil sample.
N2: 0.05N of (H2SO4)
V2: (ml) of (0.05N) H2SO4 correspond to (ml) of NH+4 at the endpoint of reaction.
a: consumption of 0.05N H2SO4 in ml for the water extract of soil sample.
b: consumption of 0.05N H2SO4 in ml for the distillated water (blank).
Then this equation is used for converting known (NH+4) N from first equation to ppm.
– ppm = Known (NH+4)N × 18 × 1000
Molecular weight of (NH+4) = 18

20. What happens to
ammonium (NH4) stored
in the soil?