NITROGEN-FIXATION IN PASTURE .5. UNIMPROVED NORTH ISLAND HILL COUNTRY, BALLANTRAE

N fixation was measured at 15 sites on an area of poorly developed, hill-country pasture at the DSIR Grasslands Division hill-country research property, in the southern Ruahine Range. The average total of N fixed in one year was estimated to be 34 kg/ha, about half of which was attributed to non-symbiotic, freeliving micro-organisms. The relationships between N fixation, seasonal climatic variables, differences in growth patterns of legume species, and total legume dry matter production are discussed. © 1979 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.