Anaerobically mineralized nitrogen (AN) in bulk soil (AN_BS) has been described as a soil health indicator. Considering that large macroaggregates (2000–8000 μm, MA) are more sensitive to management practices than the bulk soil (i.e. whole soil), AN within MA (AN_MA) would be a better soil health indicator than AN_BS. The aim of this study was to evaluate if AN_MA is a better indicator of: i) soil organic carbon (SOC) and particulate organic carbon (POC) in bulk soil (SOC_BS and POC_BS, respectively) and ii) aggregate stability (AS) than AN_BS. Soil samples were taken at 0–5 and 5–20 cm from 46 continuously cultivated plots (CC) and a reference plot for each CC (pseudo-pristine, PRIS). These soils, located in the Argentinean Pampas, were classified as Mollisols with contrasting surface textural classes. The AS, SOC_BS, POC_BS, AN_BS, SOC (SOC_MA), and POC (POC_MA) within MA and AN_MA were determined separately at 0–5 and 5–20 cm soil depths and estimated at the 0–20 cm layer. The AN_MA was a good indicator of SOC_BS (R² 0.75, 0.48, and 0.61 at 0–5, 5–20 and 0–20 cm depths, respectively), POC_BS (R² 0.66, 0.31, and 0.49, respectively), and AS (R² 0.80, 0.68, and 0.76, respectively). The AN_MA performed similarly to predict SOC_BS, POC_BS, and AS as compared to AN_BS, because AN_MA was closely correlated to AN_BS (r 0.90 at 0–20 cm). Since AN_MA determination is more time-consuming than AN_BS determination, its use as a soil health indicator would not be convenient. Therefore, the use of AN_BS would be recommended over AN_MA as a variable to monitor soil health.

散装土壤中厌氧矿化的氮（AN _BS）已被描述为土壤健康指标。考虑到大型宏观聚集体（2000–8000μm，MA）比整块土壤（即整块土壤）对管理措施更敏感，因此，MA内的AN（AN _MA）比AN _BS是更好的土壤健康指标。这项研究的目的是评估AN _MA是否可以更好地指示以下各项：i）散装土壤中的土壤有机碳（SOC）和颗粒有机碳（POC）（分别为SOC _BS和POC _BS），以及ii）集料稳定性（ AS）比AN _BS。从46个连续耕作的地块（CC）和每个CC的参考地块（假-原始，PRIS）分别在0-5和5-20 cm处获取土壤样品。这些位于阿根廷南美大草原上的土壤被归类为Mollisols，具有不同的表面质地类别。在MA和AN _MA内分别在0-5和5-20 cm土深处确定AS，SOC _BS，POC _BS，AN _BS，SOC（SOC _MA）和POC（POC _MA），并在0-20估算厘米层。的AN _MA是SOC的良好指示器_BS（R ² 0.75，0.48，和0.61在0-5，5-20和0-20厘米的深度，分别地），POC _BS（R ²分别为0.66、0.31和0.49）和AS（R ²分别为0.80、0.68和0.76）。与AN _BS相比，AN _MA的性能与预测SOC _BS，POC _BS和AS相似，这是因为AN _MA与AN _BS紧密相关（在0-20 cm处r = 0.90）。由于AN _MA测定比AN _BS测定更耗时，因此将其用作土壤健康指标将不方便。因此，建议使用AN _BS而不是AN _MA作为变量来监测土壤健康。