New Method to Identify Soil N2O Sources
Author Information
Author(s): Gianni Micucci, Dominika Lewicka‐Szczebak, Fotis Sgouridis, Reinhard Well, Caroline Buchen‐Tschiskale, Niall P. McNamara, Stefan Krause, Iseult Lynch, Felicity Roos, Sami Ullah
Primary Institution: University of Birmingham
Hypothesis
Can combining the 15N Gas Flux Method and N2O isotopocule data improve the determination of soil microbial N2O sources?
Conclusion
The new methodology accurately identifies bacterial denitrification as the dominant source of N2O emissions in soil.
Supporting Evidence
- Bacterial denitrification accounted for 87.6% of N2O emissions.
- The new method showed good agreement with existing Bayesian models.
- Fungal denitrification contributed 9.4% to N2O emissions.
- Nitrification and nitrifier denitrification contributed only 1.5% and 1.6%, respectively.
Takeaway
Scientists found a better way to figure out where nitrous oxide in the soil comes from, showing that most of it comes from bacteria.
Methodology
Laboratory incubations of agricultural soil were conducted with 15N-labeled and unlabeled nitrate to optimize denitrification conditions and determine N2O source contributions using a new linear system and Monte Carlo simulation.
Limitations
The study was conducted under enhanced denitrification conditions, which may not represent ambient field conditions.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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