Early Indicators of the Bremner Factor - Glimpses of Bremner's Pioneering Contributions.

For over half a century, Jack Bremner was one of the most distinguished contributors to soil nitrogen research. His work had advanced our knowledge on many aspects of soil nitrogen chemistry and his pioneering efforts had opened up new research areas that stimulated further discoveries. A review of Jack Bremner’s early publications provides ample evidence that the foundation of his pioneering contributions was already evident from the beginning of his career. A more important revelation for us is how he was able to systematically develop research ideas into focused experiments. A trademark of Bremner’s research is its rigorous foundation in chemistry. Bremner received his B. S. degree in pure science from the University of Glascow with First Class Honours in Chemistry and recognition as the Most Distinguished Graduate in Faculty of Science. This strong background and interest in chemistry led him to examine critically the efficacy of such long-standing analytical methods in soils research as the Kjeldahl method for total nitrogen analysis and the NaOH extraction of soil organic matter, and to develop new approaches that made improvements in extraction and analytical methodology and created a better understanding of the bonding mechanisms in soil organic matter. His pioneering effort in developing soil nitrogen fractionation methodology led to the tremendous growth in soil biochemistry research and his application of the N-15 tracer methods opened up new research on all components of soil nitrogen, all aspects of the nitrogen cycle, soil nitrogen availability, and management of the nitrogen transformation processes to improve nitrogen use efficiency as well as to protect the environmental quality of the land.