Influence of 15N enrichment on the net isotopic fractionation factor during the reduction of nitrate to nitrous oxide in soil

Nitrification Regulates the Spatiotemporal Variability of N2O Emissions in a Eutrophic Lake

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from lakes exhibit significant spatiotemporal heterogeneity, and quantitative identification of the different N₂O production processes is greatly limited, causing the role of nitrification to be undervalued or ignored in models of a lake's N₂O emissions. Here, the contributions of nitrification and denitrification to N₂O production were quantitatively assessed in the eutrophic Lake Taihu using molecular biology and isotope mapping techniques. The N₂O fluxes ranged from -41.48 to 28.84 μmol m^-2 d^-1 in the lake, with lower N₂O concentrations being observed in spring and summer and significantly higher N₂O emissions being observed in autumn and winter. The ¹⁵N site preference and relevant isotopic evidence demonstrated that denitrification contributed approximately 90% of the lake's gross N₂O production during summer and autumn, 27-83% of which was simultaneously eliminated via N₂O reduction. Surprisingly, nitrification seemed to act as a key process promoting N₂O production and contributing to the lake as a source of N₂O emissions. A combination of N₂O isotopocule-based approaches and molecular techniques can be used to determine the precise characteristics of microbial N₂O production and consumption in eutrophic lakes. The results of this study provide a basis for accurately assessing N₂O emissions from lakes at the regional and global scales.

Insufficient nitrogen supply from symbiotic fixation reduces seasonal crop growth and nitrogen mobilization to seed in highly productive soybean crops

Nitrogen (N) supply can limit the yields of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] in highly productive environments. To explore the physiological mechanisms underlying this limitation, seasonal changes in N dynamics, aboveground dry matter (ADM) accumulation, leaf area index (LAI) and fraction of absorbed radiation (fAPAR) were compared in crops relying only on biological N2 fixation and available soil N (zero-N treatment) versus crops receiving N fertilizer (full-N treatment). Experiments were conducted in seven high-yield environments without water limitation, where crops received optimal management. In the zero-N treatment, biological N2 fixation was not sufficient to meet the N demand of the growing crop from early in the season up to beginning of seed filling. As a result, crop LAI, growth, N accumulation, radiation-use efficiency and fAPAR were consistently higher in the full-N than in the zero-N treatment, leading to improved seed set and yield. Similarly, plants in the full-N treatment had heavier seeds with higher N concentration because of greater N mobilization from vegetative organs to seeds. Future yield gains in high-yield soybean production systems will require an increase in biological N2 fixation, greater supply of N from soil or fertilizer, or alleviation of the trade-off between these two sources of N in order to meet the plant demand.

High nitrogen isotope fractionation of nitrate during denitrification in four forest soils and its implications for denitrification rate estimates

Denitrification is a major process contributing to the removal of nitrogen (N) from ecosystems, but its rate is difficult to quantify. The natural abundance of isotopes can be used to identify the occurrence of denitrification and has recently been used to quantify denitrification rates at the ecosystem level. However, the technique requires an understanding of the isotopic enrichment factor associated with denitrification, which few studies have investigated in forest soils. Here, soils collected from two tropical and two temperate forests in China were incubated under anaerobic or aerobic laboratory conditions for two weeks to determine the N and oxygen (O) isotope enrichment factors during denitrification. We found that at room temperature (20°C), NO₃^- was reduced at a rate of 0.17 to 0.35μgNg^-1h^-1, accompanied by the isotope fractionation of N (¹⁵ε) and O (¹⁸ε) of 31‰ to 65‰ (48.3±2.0‰ on average) and 11‰ to 39‰ (18.9±1.7‰ on average), respectively. The N isotope effects were, unexpectedly, much higher than reported in the literature for heterotrophic denitrification (typically ranging from 5‰ to 30‰) and in other environmental settings (e.g., groundwater, marine sediments and agricultural soils). In addition, the ratios of Δδ¹⁸O:Δδ¹⁵N ranged from 0.28 to 0.60 (0.38±0.02 on average), which were lower than the canonical ratios of 0.5 to 1 for denitrification reported in other terrestrial and freshwater systems. We suggest that the isotope effects of denitrification for soils may vary greatly among regions and soil types and that gaseous N losses may have been overestimated for terrestrial ecosystems in previous studies in which lower fractionation factors were applied.

Measuring nitrification in sediments--comparison of two techniques and three 15NO(-)3 measurement methods

Nitrification is a crucial process in sediment nitrogen cycling. We compared two (15)N tracer-based nitrification measurement techniques (isotope pairing technique (IPT) combined with (15)N nitrate pool dilution and (15)N ammonium oxidation) and three different (15)N analyses from bottom water nitrate (ammonia diffusion, denitrifier and SPINMAS) in a sediment mesocosm. The (15)N nitrate pool dilution technique combined with IPT can be used to quantify the in situ nitrification, but the minimum detection limit for the total nitrification is higher than that in the (15)N ammonium oxidation technique. The (15)N ammonium oxidation technique, however, is not applicable for sediments that have high ammonium content. If nitrate concentration and the amount of (15)N label in the sample are low, the (15)N nitrate analysis should be done with the denitrifier method. In higher (15)N concentrations, the less sensitive SPINMAS method can also be applied. The ammonia diffusion method is not suitable for bottom water (15)N nitrate analyses.

The effects of hypoxia on sediment nitrogen cycling in the Baltic Sea

Primary production in the eutrophic Baltic Sea is limited by nitrogen availability; hence denitrification (natural transformation of nitrate to gaseous N(2)) in the sediments is crucial in mitigating the effects of eutrophication. This study shows that dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) process, where nitrogen is not removed but instead recycled in the system, dominates nitrate reduction in low oxygen conditions (O(2) <110 μM), which have been persistent in the central Gulf of Finland during the past decade. The nitrogen removal rates measured in this study show that nitrogen removal has decreased in the Gulf of Finland compared to rates measured in mid-1990s and the decrease is most likely caused by the increased bottom water hypoxia.

The effect of (15)N to (14)N ratio on nitrification, denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction

RATIONALE

Earlier experiments demonstrated that isotopic effects during nitrification, denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction can be affected by high (15) N contents. These findings call into question whether the reaction parameters (rate constants and Michaelis-Menten concentrations) are function of δ(15) N values, and if these can also lead to significant effects on the bulk reaction rate.

METHODS

Five experiments at initial δ(15) N-NO(3) (-) values ranging from 0‰ to 1700‰ were carried out in a recent study using elemental analyser, gas chromatography, and mass spectrometry techniques coupled at various levels. These data were combined here with kinetic equations of isotopologue speciation and fractionation. Our approach specifically addressed the combinatorial nature of reactions involving labeled atoms and explicitly described substrate competition and time-dependent isotopic effects.

RESULTS

With the method presented here, we determined with relatively high accuracy that the reaction rate constants increased linearly up to 270% and the Michaelis-Menten concentrations decreased linearly by about 30% over the tested δ(15) N-NO(3) (-) values. Because the parameters were found to depend on the (15) N enrichment level, we could determine that increasing δ(15) N-NO(3) (-) values caused a decrease in bulk nitrification, denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction rates by 50% to 60%.

CONCLUSIONS

We addressed a method that allowed us to quantify the effect of substrate isotopic enrichment on the reaction kinetics. Our results enable us to reject the assumption of constant reaction parameters. The implications of δ-dependent (variable) reaction parameters extend beyond the study-case analysed here to all instances in which high and variable isotopic enrichments occur.

Stable isotope natural abundance of nitrous oxide emitted from Antarctic tundra soils: effects of sea animal excrement depositions

Nitrous oxide (N2O), a greenhouse gas, is mainly emitted from soils during the nitrification and denitrification processes. N2O stable isotope investigations can help to characterize the N2O sources and N2O production mechanisms. N2O isotope measurements have been conducted for different types of global terrestrial ecosystems. However, no isotopic data of N2O emitted from Antarctic tundra ecosystems have been reported although the coastal ice-free tundra around Antarctic continent is the largest sea animal colony on the global scale. Here, we report for the first time stable isotope composition of N2O emitted from Antarctic sea animal colonies (including penguin, seal and skua colonies) and normal tundra soils using in situ field observations and laboratory incubations, and we have analyzed the effects of sea animal excrement depositions on stable isotope natural abundance of N2O. For all the field sites, the soil-emitted N2O was 15N- and 18O-depleted compared with N2O in local ambient air. The mean delta values of the soil-emitted N2O were delta15N = -13.5 +/- 3.2 per thousand and delta18O = 26.2 +/- 1.4 per thousand for the penguin colony, delta15N = -11.5 +/- 5.1 per thousand and delta18O = 26.4 +/- 3.5 per thousand for the skua colony and delta15N = -18.9 +/- 0.7 per thousand and delta18O = 28.8 +/- 1.3 per thousand for the seal colony. In the soil incubations, the isotopic composition of N2O was measured under N2 and under ambient air conditions. The soils incubated under the ambient air emitted very little N2O (2.93 microg N2O--N kg(-1)). Under N2 conditions, much more N2O was formed (9.74 microg N2O--N kg(-1)), and the mean delta15N and delta18O values of N2O were -19.1 +/- 8.0 per thousand and 21.3 +/- 4.3 per thousand, respectively, from penguin colony soils, and -17.0 +/- 4.2 per thousand and 20.6 +/- 3.5 per thousand, respectively, from seal colony soils. The data from in situ field observations and laboratory experiments point to denitrification as the predominant N2O source from Antarctic sea animal colonies.

A review of stable isotope techniques for N2O source partitioning in soils: recent progress, remaining challenges and future considerations

Nitrous oxide is produced in soil during several processes, which may occur simultaneously within different micro-sites of the same soil. Stable isotope techniques have a crucial role to play in the attribution of N(2)O emissions to different microbial processes, through estimation (natural abundance, site preference) or quantification (enrichment) of processes based on the (15)N and (18)O signatures of N(2)O determined by isotope ratio mass spectrometry. These approaches have the potential to become even more powerful when linked with recent developments in secondary isotope mass spectrometry, with microbial ecology, and with modelling approaches, enabling sources of N(2)O to be considered at a wide range of scales and related to the underlying microbiology. Such source partitioning of N(2)O is inherently challenging, but is vital to close the N(2)O budget and to better understand controls on the different processes, with a view to developing appropriate management practices for mitigation of N(2)O. In this respect, it is essential that as many of the contributing processes as possible are considered in any study aimed at source attribution, as mitigation strategies for one process may not be appropriate for another. To aid such an approach, here the current state of the art is critically examined, remaining challenges are highlighted, and recommendations are made for future direction.