The C and N mineralization potential of 20 soils from Pernambuco, Brazil (10 from the humid area and 10 from the semi-arid) was determined in a greenhouse experiment, conducted from January to October 1987. Samples of 50 g from 0-20 and 20-40 cm depth layers were incubated. The released C-CO2 and the accumulated mineral N (NO3- and NH4+) were periodically measured during 20 and 4 weeks, respectively. The mineralized amounts varied much among soils. In spite of this they were higher in the humid than in the semi-arid area, being also higher in the 0-20 cm layer than in the 20-40 cm one. The soils presented different mineralization patterns along the incubation period: in the first weeks, there was either a lag or high mineralization and, in the last weeks, there was stabilization or progressive decline. The C curves tended to stabilization in the final phase than N curves. Mineralized amounts of C and N were significantly related to one another and to total soil C and N and mineralized N was related to N uptake by plants growing in pots with similar soils. Soil organic matter in the humid area was more labile than that in the semi-arid area, especially regarding N, and in the superficial layer rather than in the subsuperficial one.
C-CO2; organic matter; tropical humid area; tropical semi-arid area; nitrate; ammonium