TY - JOUR
T1 - Soil nitrate reducing processes
T2 - drivers, mechanisms for spatial variation, and significance for nitrous oxide production
AU - Giles, Madeline
AU - Morley, Nicholas
AU - Baggs, Elizabeth M
AU - Daniell, Tim J
N1 - This work was supported with a NERC CASE studentship grant. The James Hutton Institute is financially supported by the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division. We thank both Lionel Dupuy and Roy Neilson, internally to the James Hutton Institute, external reviewers
for helpful comments during review, and Cavan Convery for help with the diagrams.
PY - 2012/12/18
Y1 - 2012/12/18
N2 - The microbial processes of denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) are two important nitrate reducing mechanisms in soil, which are responsible for the loss of nitrate ([Formula: see text]) and production of the potent greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide (N(2)O). A number of factors are known to control these processes, including O(2) concentrations and moisture content, N, C, pH, and the size and community structure of nitrate reducing organisms responsible for the processes. There is an increasing understanding associated with many of these controls on flux through the nitrogen cycle in soil systems. However, there remains uncertainty about how the nitrate reducing communities are linked to environmental variables and the flux of products from these processes. The high spatial variability of environmental controls and microbial communities across small sub centimeter areas of soil may prove to be critical in determining why an understanding of the links between biotic and abiotic controls has proved elusive. This spatial effect is often overlooked as a driver of nitrate reducing processes. An increased knowledge of the effects of spatial heterogeneity in soil on nitrate reduction processes will be fundamental in understanding the drivers, location, and potential for N(2)O production from soils.
AB - The microbial processes of denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) are two important nitrate reducing mechanisms in soil, which are responsible for the loss of nitrate ([Formula: see text]) and production of the potent greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide (N(2)O). A number of factors are known to control these processes, including O(2) concentrations and moisture content, N, C, pH, and the size and community structure of nitrate reducing organisms responsible for the processes. There is an increasing understanding associated with many of these controls on flux through the nitrogen cycle in soil systems. However, there remains uncertainty about how the nitrate reducing communities are linked to environmental variables and the flux of products from these processes. The high spatial variability of environmental controls and microbial communities across small sub centimeter areas of soil may prove to be critical in determining why an understanding of the links between biotic and abiotic controls has proved elusive. This spatial effect is often overlooked as a driver of nitrate reducing processes. An increased knowledge of the effects of spatial heterogeneity in soil on nitrate reduction processes will be fundamental in understanding the drivers, location, and potential for N(2)O production from soils.
KW - denitrication
KW - dissmilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium
KW - nitrous oxide
KW - functional diversity
KW - spatial heterogeneity
KW - linkage between community structure and activity
U2 - 10.3389/fmicb.2012.00407
DO - 10.3389/fmicb.2012.00407
M3 - Article
C2 - 23264770
VL - 3
JO - Frontiers in Microbiology
JF - Frontiers in Microbiology
SN - 1664-302X
M1 - 407
ER -