Soil C:N Ratio & Nitrogen Mineralization Lab (2D)

Every organic amendment a farmer adds to soil — straw, compost, manure, cover-crop residue — carries its own carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, and that single number decides whether decomposing microbes release nitrogen for the next crop or lock it away instead. This 2D cross-section simulator applies a chosen residue to a soil profile and runs a real first-order decomposition model coupled to microbial nitrogen demand: pick a preset amendment or drag the C:N slider, adjust temperature and application rate, and watch the residue carbon band (brown) thin out at the surface while plant-available nitrogen (blue) either accumulates or drains through the soil profile, with live mineralization/immobilization flux and available-N readouts tracking the classic critical C:N ≈ 20:1 threshold in real time. Drag to pan and scroll to zoom into the cross-section.