The soil nitrogen mineralization potential (N0) and mineralization rate (k) are indexes that can be used to predict N availability in a period of time, which associated with soil attributes, can explain N absorption in flooded rice plants. The objective of this study was to evaluate the N mineralization in 15 flooded soils of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) state and its relationship with N absorption by flooded rice plants. Samples collected from 0-0.2m layer of 15 soils from rice paddy fields in the RS state were used for the mineralization experiment. Flooded rice plants were grown for 60 days in pots containing four kg of each soil. The N mineralization was evaluated in a laboratory experiment, in anaerobic conditions for 24 weeks. The content of soil organic C was highly associated to the N absorbed by the plants (r=0.90; P<0.01), as well as to the mineralized N (r=0.91; P<0.01) and to the content of N absorbed by the plants (r=0.92; P<0.01). The N0 values for the fifteen soils varied from 107.70 to 207.64mg kg-1 and they were higher for observed mineralized N (98.3 to 191.3mg kg-1 of soil). The mineralization rate constant varied from 0.1492 to 0.2438 week-1, and the mineralization speed was higher at initial period, until the fourth week of incubation. It was verified a close relationship between the N absorbed by rice plants and the nitrogen mineralization potential and with the content of soil organic C. The mineralization rate was significantly related to the clay content of the soil (r=0.77; P<0.01). The potential of N mineralization can be used as an index of N availability to rice flooded plants.
flooded rice; absorbed N; mineralized N; nitrogen mineralization potential; and mineralization rate
