Summary
1. The kinetics of decomposition of 17 common amino acids in a garden soil have been followed by percolation techniques that permitted the measurement of O2-uptake and CO2-output consequent upon decomposition.
2. Most of the amino acids decomposed rapidly; methionine and threonine decomposed much more slowly.
3. After decomposition of amino acids in soil, the material residual in the soil had a C : N ratio of about 3 : 1; this possibly represents microbial protein.
4. The significance of the results, and the potentialities of the manometric techniques used, are discussed.
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Greenwood, D.J., Lees, H. Studies on the decomposition of amino acids in soils. Plant Soil 7, 253–268 (1956). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01666122
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01666122