Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a powerful greenhouse gas and the main driver of stratospheric ozone depletion. Since soils are the largest source of N2O, predicting soil response to changes in climate or land use is central to understanding and managing N2O. Here we find that N2O flux can be predicted by models incorporating soil nitrate concentration (NO3−), water content and temperature using a global field survey of N2O emissions and potential driving factors across a wide range of organic soils. N2O emissions increase with NO3− and follow a bell-shaped distribution with water content. Combining the two functions explains 72% of N2O emission from all organic soils. Above 5 mg NO3−-N kg−1, either draining wet soils or irrigating well-drained soils increases N2O emission by orders of magnitude. As soil temperature together with NO3− explains 69% of N2O emission, tropical wetlands should be a priority for N2O management.

Wetland soils are the greatest source of nitrous oxide (N2O), a critical greenhouse gas and ozone depleter released by microbes. Yet, microbial players and processes underlying the N2O emissions from wetland soils are poorly understood. Using in situ N2O measurements and by determining the structure and potential functional of microbial communities in 645 wetland soil samples globally, we examined the potential role of archaea, bacteria, and fungi in nitrogen (N) cycling and N2O emissions. We show that N2O emissions are higher in drained and warm wetland soils, and are correlated with functional diversity of microbes. We further provide evidence that despite their much lower abundance compared to bacteria, nitrifying archaeal abundance is a key factor explaining N2O emissions from wetland soils globally. Our data suggest that ongoing global warming and intensifying environmental change may boost archaeal nitrifiers, collectively transforming wetland soils to a greater source of N2O.

The aim of this study is to estimate emissions of greenhouse gases CO 2 , CH 4 and N 2 O, and the effects of drainage and peat extraction on these processes, in Estonian transitional fens and ombrotrophic bogs. Closed-chamber-based sampling lasted from January to December 2009 in nine peatlands in Estonia, covering areas with different land-use practices: natural (four study sites), drained (six sites), abandoned peat mining (five sites) and active peat mining areas (five sites). Median values of soil CO 2 efflux were 1,509, 1,921, 2,845 and 1,741 kg CO 2 -C ha -1 year -1 from natural, drained, abandoned and active mining areas, respectively. Emission of CH 4 -C (median values) was 85.2, 23.7, 0.07 and 0.12 kg ha -1 year -1 , and N 2 O-N -0.05, -0.01, 0.18 and 0.19 kg ha -1 year -1 , respectively. There were significantly higher emissions of CO 2 and N 2 O from abandoned and active peat mining areas, whereas CH 4 emissions were significantly higher in natural and drained areas. Significant Spearman rank correlation was found between soil temperature and CO 2 flux at all sites, and CH 4 flux with high water level at natural and drained areas. Significant increase in CH 4 flux was detected for groundwater levels above 30 cm.

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Tropical peatlands, which play a crucial role in the maintenance of different ecosystem services, are increasingly drained for agriculture, forestry, peat extraction and human settlement purposes. The present study investigated the differences between natural and drained sites of a tropical peatland in the community structure of soil bacteria and archaea and their potential to perform nitrogen transformation processes. The results indicate significant dissimilarities in the structure of soil bacterial and archaeal communities as well as nirK, nirS, nosZ, nifH and archaeal amoA gene-possessing microbial communities. The reduced denitrification and N2-fixing potential was detected in the drained tropical peatland soil. In undisturbed peatland soil, the N2O emission was primarily related to nirS-type denitrifiers and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium, while the conversion of N2O to N2 was controlled by microbes possessing nosZ clade I genes. The denitrifying microbial community of the drained site differed significantly from the natural site community. The main reducers of N2O were microbes harbouring nosZ clade II genes in the drained site. Additionally, the importance of DNRA process as one of the controlling mechanisms of N2O fluxes in the natural peatlands of the tropics revealed from the results of the study.