Technical Abstract: Evidence is growing that amino acids can be an important source of plant N in nutrient limited natural ecosystems, but relatively little is known about the effect of agricultural management on soil amino acid pools and turnover. In order to determine the relative effects of soil type and management on amino acid turnover, we measured the effect of fine- versus coarse-textured soil and organic versus conventional management on free amino acids and proteolytic activity in the field. Secondly, we conducted greenhouse experiments to determine the ability of domestic and wild strawberry to utilize amino acid-N. Fine-textured and organically managed soils contained significantly higher total C and N than coarse-textured and conventionally managed soils. There were no significant differences in free amino acids or protease activity by texture or management. Amino acid turnover was calculated at 0.7 to 1.5 h. Turnover time was significantly greater in fine-textured soils. Turnover time as a result of substrate additions was significantly shorter in coarse-textured soils; in fine-textured soils turnover time was shorter under conventional management. This suggests less competition for amino acids in soils with greater C, N and/or cation exchange capacity (CEC), such as fine-textured and organically managed soils. Two wild species of strawberry, Fragaria virginiana and F. chiloensis, took up significantly more 14C labeled glycine than the domesticated species, F. fragaria. More research is needed to determine whether strawberry cultivars could be selected or bred for their ability to capture amino acid N, thus improving N-use efficiency in farming systems relying on the breakdown of organic matter as N source.