Responses of soil nitrous oxide production and abundances and composition of associated microbial communities to nitrogen and water amendment

Wang, Qing; Liu, Yurong; Zhang, Cui-Jing; Zhang, Limei; Han, Li‐Li; Shen, Ju-Pei; He, Ji‐Zheng

doi:10.1007/s00374-017-1203-3

Cited by 61 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…In contrast, we found a positive relationship between soil ammonium contents and nosZ abundances but a negative relationship between nosZ abundances and N 2 O fluxes. This finding is inconsistent with the result of a previous study in which the addition of ammonium reduced the nosZ abundance (Wang et al, ). One of the reasons might be that, the high moisture of the wet season soil induced a low oxygen availability.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Seasonal Variations in N₂O Emissions in a Subtropical Forest With Exogenous Nitrogen Enrichment are Predominately Influenced by the Abundances of Soil Nitrifiers and Denitrifiers

Han

Nie

et al. 2019

JGR Biogeosciences

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Elevated nitrogen (N) deposition has induced substantial impacts on the emissions of nitrous oxide (N 2 O) from forest ecosystems, but how soil microbes regulate the production/consumption of N 2 O under elevated N deposition remains poorly understood, particularly in high N deposition subtropical forests that are characterized by distinct wet-dry seasonality. We established a field N addition experiment in a subtropical forest in southern China to explore the influences of low, medium and high (35, 70, and 105 kg N ha -1 yr -1 , respectively) N addition on N 2 O efflux and its associated microbial functional genes [amoA for nitrifiers (ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA)) and nirK and nosZ for denitrifiers]. The results showed the following: (1) The N 2 O emissions were stimulated by N addition in the dry season but were depressed in the wet season. (2) The nirK and nosZ abundances were generally stimulated by N addition, whereas the AOB-amoA and AOA-amoA abundances showed divergent responses to N addition. (3) Based on the results of principal component and Pearson correlation analyses, N 2 O effluxes were associated with microbial biomass in the wet season but with nirK and nosZ abundances in the dry season. Structural equation modeling analyses further indicated that both nitrifiers and denitrifiers under N addition contributed to the generation of N 2 O in the dry season, whereas the decreased production of N 2 O in the wet season was primarily caused by denitrifiers. Therefore, seasonally specific strategies should be developed to mitigate the emissions of N 2 O from subtropical forests with distinct seasonal precipitation patterns.Plain Language Summary Tropical and subtropical forests are considerable sources of nitrous oxide (N 2 O), one of the greenhouse gases mainly produced via microbial nitrification and denitrification in soil. In recent decades, the emissions of N 2 O have been influenced by increasing nitrogen (N) deposition due to enhanced atmospheric reactive N derived primarily from human activities. Moreover, among the types of N deposition, wet N deposition depends greatly on precipitation. This dependence makes predicting future change trends in N 2 O emissions challenging, especially in tropical and subtropical forests in southern China due to the large amount of natural N deposition and the distinct wet-dry seasonality caused by unevenly distributed annual precipitation in this region. We studied the responses of N 2 O emissions to increasing N deposition by establishing a field N addition experiment in a subtropical forest in southern China. We explored the responsive differences in N 2 O emissions between wet and dry seasons from microbial regulation aspects. The N addition depressed N 2 O emissions in the wet season but stimulated N 2 O emissions in the dry season. Moreover, microbial biomass in the wet season and denitrifier abundance in the dry season were the indicators of N 2 O emissions in response to elevated N deposition. Key Points:• N 2 O emissi...

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Seasonal Variations in N₂O Emissions in a Subtropical Forest With Exogenous Nitrogen Enrichment are Predominately Influenced by the Abundances of Soil Nitrifiers and Denitrifiers

Han

Nie

et al. 2019

JGR Biogeosciences

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“…Similarly, recent studies indicated that soil moisture and denitrifier abundance are positively linked (Wang et al, 2017;Yang et al, 2018). In line with these findings, the positive correlations of denitrification genes narG, nirK, nirS, and nosZ clade I to WFPS (Figure 7 and Supplementary Table 4) suggests that high WFPS in the tree rows ( Supplementary Table 3) favored denitrifiers.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Poplar Rows in Temperate Agroforestry Croplands Promote Bacteria, Fungi, and Denitrification Genes in Soils

et al. 2020

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Agroforestry, which is the integration of trees into monoculture cropland, can alter soil properties and nutrient cycling. Temperate agroforestry practices have been shown to affect soil microbial communities as indicated by changes in enzyme activities, substrate-induced respiration, and microbial biomass. Research exploring soil microbial communities in temperate agroforestry with the help of molecular tools which allow for the quantification of microbial taxa and selected genes is scarce. Here, we quantified 13 taxonomic groups of microorganisms and nine genes involved in N cycling (N 2 fixation, nitrification, and denitrification) in soils of three paired temperate agroforestry and conventional monoculture croplands using real-time PCR. The agroforestry croplands were poplar-based alley-cropping systems in which samples were collected in the tree rows as well as within the crop rows at three distances from the tree rows. The abundance of Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Alpha-and Gammaproteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Verrucomicrobia increased in the vicinity of poplar trees, which may be accounted for by the presence of persistent poplar roots as well as by the input of tree litter. The strongest population increase was observed for Basidiomycota, which was likely related to high soil moisture, the accumulation of tree litter, and the absence of tillage in the tree rows. Soil microorganisms carrying denitrification genes were more abundant in the tree rows than in the crop rows and monoculture systems, suggesting a greater potential for nitrate removal through denitrification, which may reduce nitrate leaching. Since microbial communities are involved in critical soil processes, we expect that the combination of real-time PCR with soil process measurements will greatly enhance insights into the microbial control of important soil functions in agroforestry systems.

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“…Similar to our results, Volpi et al () also found highest N 2 O emissions near 85% WFPS following urea addition. Consistent with the importance of nitrification‐based N 2 O production from fertilized soils, Wang et al () found higher N 2 O emissions from NH 4 + than NO 3 − fertilizers at greater WFPS values and observed a correlation between N 2 O production and the abundance of ammonium oxidizing bacteria, but not with denitrification functional genes. A similar predominance of N 2 O emissions from nitrification corresponding with greater abundance of ammonia oxidizer functional genes was demonstrated in several Australian agricultural soils (Liu et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Wet Spots as Hotspots: Moisture Responses of Nitric and Nitrous Oxide Emissions From Poorly Drained Agricultural Soils

et al. 2018

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A classic framework for soil nitrogen (N) cycling, the hole in the pipe (HIP) model, posits a trade-off in emissions of nitric oxide (NO) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) as a function of soil moisture. This has been incorporated into ecosystem models but not tested experimentally and remains an important uncertainty for understanding potential hotspots of reactive N emissions: poorly drained agricultural soils that experience episodically high moisture following intensive fertilization. We incubated soils at moisture ranging from 44% to 100% water-filled pore space (WFPS). Counter to HIP, we did not observe a consistent trade-off in NO and N 2 O emissions at intermediate moisture levels following fertilization, and prefertilization emissions were low. Emissions of N as N 2 O exceeded NO by 2-200-fold at all moisture levels and peaked at 73-82% WFPS. Emissions of NO declined with moisture but remained significant even under saturated conditions. Increases in nitrite and reduced iron at high moisture indicated possible NO production from chemodenitrification. Potential nitrification rates were 100-1,000-fold greater than potential denitrification. Emission factors for fertilizer N ranged from 0.05% to 0.58% (mean = 0.2%) for NO and from 0.4% to 16.9% (mean = 5.3%) for N 2 O. Our results caution the use of WFPS to predict NO:N 2 O emission ratios as often employed in ecosystem models. Subsurface N cycling may suppress emissions of NO relative to N 2 O, and N 2 O emissions can persist under saturated conditions. Elevated N 2 O emissions from in-field wet spots comprising a small landscape extent could potentially address disparities between top-down and bottom-up N 2 O budgets.Plain Language Summary Nitric oxide and nitrous oxide are environmentally harmful gases: they contribute to climate change, the loss of good ozone high in the atmosphere that protects us from damaging sunlight, and the production of bad ozone that pollutes our air. The activities of microorganisms in soils are important sources of these gases to the atmosphere, and fertilized agricultural soils have particularly high emissions. Conceptual and mathematical models are often used to predict how nitrous and nitric oxide emissions respond to environmental changes and to guide policy and management. Here we tested a key assumption of a classic conceptual model that is widely used to estimate soil nitrous and nitric oxide emissions, using a laboratory experiment with two poorly drained agricultural soils. We found that there was not a clear trade-off in the emissions of nitric versus nitrous oxide as soil moisture varied from low to high levels, in contrast to predictions. Rather, emissions of nitrous oxide were greater than expected, and production of nitrous oxide and nitric oxide persisted under very wet conditions. Poorly drained patches of intensively fertilized agricultural soils could represent important sources of nitrous oxide to the atmosphere. HALL ET AL.3589

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Responses of soil nitrous oxide production and abundances and composition of associated microbial communities to nitrogen and water amendment

Cited by 61 publications

References 58 publications

Seasonal Variations in N₂O Emissions in a Subtropical Forest With Exogenous Nitrogen Enrichment are Predominately Influenced by the Abundances of Soil Nitrifiers and Denitrifiers

Seasonal Variations in N₂O Emissions in a Subtropical Forest With Exogenous Nitrogen Enrichment are Predominately Influenced by the Abundances of Soil Nitrifiers and Denitrifiers

Poplar Rows in Temperate Agroforestry Croplands Promote Bacteria, Fungi, and Denitrification Genes in Soils

Wet Spots as Hotspots: Moisture Responses of Nitric and Nitrous Oxide Emissions From Poorly Drained Agricultural Soils

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Responses of soil nitrous oxide production and abundances and composition of associated microbial communities to nitrogen and water amendment

Cited by 61 publications

References 58 publications

Seasonal Variations in N2O Emissions in a Subtropical Forest With Exogenous Nitrogen Enrichment are Predominately Influenced by the Abundances of Soil Nitrifiers and Denitrifiers

Seasonal Variations in N2O Emissions in a Subtropical Forest With Exogenous Nitrogen Enrichment are Predominately Influenced by the Abundances of Soil Nitrifiers and Denitrifiers

Poplar Rows in Temperate Agroforestry Croplands Promote Bacteria, Fungi, and Denitrification Genes in Soils

Wet Spots as Hotspots: Moisture Responses of Nitric and Nitrous Oxide Emissions From Poorly Drained Agricultural Soils

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Seasonal Variations in N₂O Emissions in a Subtropical Forest With Exogenous Nitrogen Enrichment are Predominately Influenced by the Abundances of Soil Nitrifiers and Denitrifiers

Seasonal Variations in N₂O Emissions in a Subtropical Forest With Exogenous Nitrogen Enrichment are Predominately Influenced by the Abundances of Soil Nitrifiers and Denitrifiers