Articles | Volume 16, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2233-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2233-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
29 May 2019
Research article |
| 29 May 2019
| 29 May 2019
Underestimation of denitrification rates from field application of the 15N gas flux method and its correction by gas diffusion modelling
Thünen Institute, Climate-Smart Agriculture, Braunschweig, Germany
Martin Maier
Department of Soil and Environment, The Forest Research Institute Baden-Württemberg, Freiburg, Germany
Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak
Thünen Institute, Climate-Smart Agriculture, Braunschweig, Germany
Jan-Reent Köster
Thünen Institute, Climate-Smart Agriculture, Braunschweig, Germany
Nicolas Ruoss
Thünen Institute, Climate-Smart Agriculture, Braunschweig, Germany
Related authors
Balázs Grosz, Reinhard Well, Rene Dechow, Jan Reent Köster, Mohammad Ibrahim Khalil, Simone Merl, Andreas Rode, Bianca Ziehmer, Amanda Matson, and Hongxing He
Biogeosciences, 18, 5681–5697, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5681-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5681-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
To assure quality predictions biogeochemical models must be current. We use data measured using novel incubation methods to test the denitrification sub-modules of three models. We aim to identify limitations in the denitrification modeling to inform next steps for development. Several areas are identified, most urgently improved denitrification control parameters and further testing with high-temporal-resolution datasets. Addressing these would significantly improve denitrification modeling.
Lena Rohe, Traute-Heidi Anderson, Heinz Flessa, Anette Goeske, Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak, Nicole Wrage-Mönnig, and Reinhard Well
Biogeosciences, 18, 4629–4650, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4629-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4629-2021, 2021
Short summary
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This is the first experimental setup combining a complex set of methods (microbial inhibitors and isotopic approaches) to differentiate between N2O produced by fungi or bacteria during denitrification in three soils. Quantifying the fungal fraction with inhibitors was not successful due to large amounts of uninhibited N2O production. All successful methods suggested a small or missing fungal contribution. Artefacts occurring with microbial inhibition to determine N2O fluxes are discussed.
Lena Rohe, Bernd Apelt, Hans-Jörg Vogel, Reinhard Well, Gi-Mick Wu, and Steffen Schlüter
Biogeosciences, 18, 1185–1201, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1185-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1185-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Total denitrification, i.e. N2O and (N2O + N2) fluxes, of repacked soil cores were analysed for different combinations of soils and water contents. Prediction accuracy of (N2O + N2) fluxes was highest with combined proxies for oxygen demand (CO2 flux) and oxygen supply (anaerobic soil volume fraction). Knowledge of denitrification completeness (product ratio) improved N2O predictions. Substitutions with cheaper proxies (soil organic matter, empirical diffusivity) reduced prediction accuracy.
Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak, Maciej Piotr Lewicki, and Reinhard Well
Biogeosciences, 17, 5513–5537, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5513-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5513-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We present the first validation of N2O isotopic approaches for estimating N2O source pathways and N2O reduction. These approaches are widely used for tracing soil nitrogen cycling, but the results of these estimations are very uncertain. Here we report the results from parallel treatments allowing for precise validation of these approaches, and we propose the best strategies for results interpretation, including the new idea of an isotope model integrating three isotopic signatures of N2O.
Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak and Reinhard Well
SOIL, 6, 145–152, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-145-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-145-2020, 2020
Short summary
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This study aimed at comparison of various experimental strategies for incubating soil samples to determine the N2 flux. Such experiments require addition of isotope tracer, i.e. nitrogen fertilizer enriched in heavy nitrogen isotopes (15N). Here we compared the impact of soil homogenization and mixing with the tracer and tracer injection to the intact soil cores. The results are well comparable: both techniques would provide similar conclusions on the magnitude of N2 flux.
Pauline Sophie Rummel, Birgit Pfeiffer, Johanna Pausch, Reinhard Well, Dominik Schneider, and Klaus Dittert
Biogeosciences, 17, 1181–1198, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1181-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1181-2020, 2020
Short summary
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Chemical composition of plant litter controls C availability for biological N transformation processes in soil. In this study, we showed that easily degradable maize shoots stimulated microbial respiration and mineralization leading to high N2O formation in litter-associated hot spots. A higher share of slowly degradable C compounds and lower concentrations of water-soluble N restricted N2O emissions from maize roots. Bacterial community structure reflected degradability of maize litter.
Laura Maritza Cardenas, Roland Bol, Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak, Andrew Stuart Gregory, Graham Peter Matthews, William Richard Whalley, Thomas Henry Misselbrook, David Scholefield, and Reinhard Well
Biogeosciences, 14, 4691–4710, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-4691-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-4691-2017, 2017
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A laboratory incubation was carried out at different soil moisture levels to measure emissions of nitrogen gases and the isotopomers (position of 15N) of nitrous oxide. Flux variability was larger in drier conditions, probably due to nutrient distribution heterogeneity created from soil cracks and consequently nutrient hot spots. Denitrification was the main source of fluxes at higher moisture, but nitrification could have occurred under drier conditions (although moisture was still high).
Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak, Jürgen Augustin, Anette Giesemann, and Reinhard Well
Biogeosciences, 14, 711–732, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-711-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-711-2017, 2017
Short summary
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The consumption of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) by its reduction to dinitrogen via microbial denitrification in soil is poorly quantified. This precludes improvements in nitrogen (N) efficiency in agricultural ecosystems and mitigation of N losses to the environment including N2O fluxes. We present a laboratory evaluation for the determination of N2O reduction based on stable isotope values of soil-emitted N2O as a new approach to determine N2O reduction in the field studies.
Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak, Jens Dyckmans, Jan Kaiser, Alina Marca, Jürgen Augustin, and Reinhard Well
Biogeosciences, 13, 1129–1144, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1129-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1129-2016, 2016
Short summary
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Oxygen isotopic signatures of N2O are formed in complex multistep enzymatic reactions and depend on isotopic fractionation during enzymatic reduction of nitrate to N2O and on the oxygen isotope exchange with soil water. We propose a new method for quantification of oxygen isotope exchange, with simultaneous determination of oxygen isotopic signatures, to decipher the mechanism of oxygen isotopic fractionation. We indicate the differences between fractionation mechanisms by various pathways.
W. Eschenbach, R. Well, and W. Walther
Biogeosciences, 12, 2327–2346, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2327-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2327-2015, 2015
Michal Bucha, Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak, and Piotr Wójtowicz
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2125, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2125, 2024
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Manuscript presents new method for determination of GHG’s (CH4, CO2 and N2O) at ambient levels using chromatographic system with barrier ion discharge detector (BID) and Carboxen 1010 column. System is omitting the need for an electron capture detector (ECD) containing radiogenic components for N2O analysis and a flame ionisation detector (FID) with a methaniser for CO2 samples. This simplification reduces analytical costs, facilitates instrument maintenance and improves measurement robustness.
Eliza Harris, Philipp Fischer, Maciej P. Lewicki, Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak, Stephen J. Harris, and Fernando Perez-Cruz
Biogeosciences, 21, 3641–3663, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3641-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3641-2024, 2024
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Greenhouse gases are produced and consumed via a number of pathways. Quantifying these pathways helps reduce the climate and environmental footprint of anthropogenic activities. The contribution of the pathways can be estimated from the isotopic composition, which acts as a fingerprint for these pathways. We have developed the Time-resolved FRactionation And Mixing Evaluation (TimeFRAME) model to simplify interpretation and estimate the contribution of different pathways and their uncertainty.
Balázs Grosz, Reinhard Well, Rene Dechow, Jan Reent Köster, Mohammad Ibrahim Khalil, Simone Merl, Andreas Rode, Bianca Ziehmer, Amanda Matson, and Hongxing He
Biogeosciences, 18, 5681–5697, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5681-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5681-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
To assure quality predictions biogeochemical models must be current. We use data measured using novel incubation methods to test the denitrification sub-modules of three models. We aim to identify limitations in the denitrification modeling to inform next steps for development. Several areas are identified, most urgently improved denitrification control parameters and further testing with high-temporal-resolution datasets. Addressing these would significantly improve denitrification modeling.
Lena Rohe, Traute-Heidi Anderson, Heinz Flessa, Anette Goeske, Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak, Nicole Wrage-Mönnig, and Reinhard Well
Biogeosciences, 18, 4629–4650, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4629-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4629-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This is the first experimental setup combining a complex set of methods (microbial inhibitors and isotopic approaches) to differentiate between N2O produced by fungi or bacteria during denitrification in three soils. Quantifying the fungal fraction with inhibitors was not successful due to large amounts of uninhibited N2O production. All successful methods suggested a small or missing fungal contribution. Artefacts occurring with microbial inhibition to determine N2O fluxes are discussed.
Lena Rohe, Bernd Apelt, Hans-Jörg Vogel, Reinhard Well, Gi-Mick Wu, and Steffen Schlüter
Biogeosciences, 18, 1185–1201, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1185-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1185-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Total denitrification, i.e. N2O and (N2O + N2) fluxes, of repacked soil cores were analysed for different combinations of soils and water contents. Prediction accuracy of (N2O + N2) fluxes was highest with combined proxies for oxygen demand (CO2 flux) and oxygen supply (anaerobic soil volume fraction). Knowledge of denitrification completeness (product ratio) improved N2O predictions. Substitutions with cheaper proxies (soil organic matter, empirical diffusivity) reduced prediction accuracy.
Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak, Maciej Piotr Lewicki, and Reinhard Well
Biogeosciences, 17, 5513–5537, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5513-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5513-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We present the first validation of N2O isotopic approaches for estimating N2O source pathways and N2O reduction. These approaches are widely used for tracing soil nitrogen cycling, but the results of these estimations are very uncertain. Here we report the results from parallel treatments allowing for precise validation of these approaches, and we propose the best strategies for results interpretation, including the new idea of an isotope model integrating three isotopic signatures of N2O.
Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak and Reinhard Well
SOIL, 6, 145–152, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-145-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-145-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study aimed at comparison of various experimental strategies for incubating soil samples to determine the N2 flux. Such experiments require addition of isotope tracer, i.e. nitrogen fertilizer enriched in heavy nitrogen isotopes (15N). Here we compared the impact of soil homogenization and mixing with the tracer and tracer injection to the intact soil cores. The results are well comparable: both techniques would provide similar conclusions on the magnitude of N2 flux.
Pauline Sophie Rummel, Birgit Pfeiffer, Johanna Pausch, Reinhard Well, Dominik Schneider, and Klaus Dittert
Biogeosciences, 17, 1181–1198, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1181-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1181-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Chemical composition of plant litter controls C availability for biological N transformation processes in soil. In this study, we showed that easily degradable maize shoots stimulated microbial respiration and mineralization leading to high N2O formation in litter-associated hot spots. A higher share of slowly degradable C compounds and lower concentrations of water-soluble N restricted N2O emissions from maize roots. Bacterial community structure reflected degradability of maize litter.
Elizabeth Verhoeven, Matti Barthel, Longfei Yu, Luisella Celi, Daniel Said-Pullicino, Steven Sleutel, Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak, Johan Six, and Charlotte Decock
Biogeosciences, 16, 383–408, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-383-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-383-2019, 2019
Short summary
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This study utilized state-of-the-art measurements of nitrogen isotopes to evaluate nitrogen cycling and to assess the biological sources of the potent greenhouse gas, N2O, in response to water-saving practices in rice systems. Water-saving practices did emit more N2O, and high N2O production had a lower 15N isotope signature. Modeling and visual interpretation indicate that these emissions mostly came from denitrification or nitrifier denitrification, controlled upstream by nitrification rates.
Laura Maritza Cardenas, Roland Bol, Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak, Andrew Stuart Gregory, Graham Peter Matthews, William Richard Whalley, Thomas Henry Misselbrook, David Scholefield, and Reinhard Well
Biogeosciences, 14, 4691–4710, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-4691-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-4691-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
A laboratory incubation was carried out at different soil moisture levels to measure emissions of nitrogen gases and the isotopomers (position of 15N) of nitrous oxide. Flux variability was larger in drier conditions, probably due to nutrient distribution heterogeneity created from soil cracks and consequently nutrient hot spots. Denitrification was the main source of fluxes at higher moisture, but nitrification could have occurred under drier conditions (although moisture was still high).
Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak, Jürgen Augustin, Anette Giesemann, and Reinhard Well
Biogeosciences, 14, 711–732, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-711-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-711-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
The consumption of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) by its reduction to dinitrogen via microbial denitrification in soil is poorly quantified. This precludes improvements in nitrogen (N) efficiency in agricultural ecosystems and mitigation of N losses to the environment including N2O fluxes. We present a laboratory evaluation for the determination of N2O reduction based on stable isotope values of soil-emitted N2O as a new approach to determine N2O reduction in the field studies.
Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak, Jens Dyckmans, Jan Kaiser, Alina Marca, Jürgen Augustin, and Reinhard Well
Biogeosciences, 13, 1129–1144, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1129-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1129-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Oxygen isotopic signatures of N2O are formed in complex multistep enzymatic reactions and depend on isotopic fractionation during enzymatic reduction of nitrate to N2O and on the oxygen isotope exchange with soil water. We propose a new method for quantification of oxygen isotope exchange, with simultaneous determination of oxygen isotopic signatures, to decipher the mechanism of oxygen isotopic fractionation. We indicate the differences between fractionation mechanisms by various pathways.
W. Eschenbach, R. Well, and W. Walther
Biogeosciences, 12, 2327–2346, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2327-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2327-2015, 2015
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EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-983, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-983, 2024
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Mineral fertilization led to increases in total P, available P, high-activity inorganic P fractions and organic P, but decreased the abundances of P cycling genes by decreasing soil pH and increasing P in bulk soil. Straw retention brought increases for organic C, total P, available P concentrations in water-extractable colloids (WECs). Abundances of phoD gene and phoD-harbouring Proteobacteria in WECs increased under straw retention, suggesting that the P mineralizing capacity increased.
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Emiko K. Stuart, Laura Castañeda-Gómez, Wolfram Buss, Jeff R. Powell, and Yolima Carrillo
Biogeosciences, 21, 1037–1059, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1037-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1037-2024, 2024
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We inoculated wheat plants with various types of fungi whose impacts on soil carbon are poorly understood. After several months of growth, we examined both their impacts on soil carbon and the underlying mechanisms using multiple methods. Overall the fungi benefitted the storage of carbon in soil, mainly by improving the stability of pre-existing carbon, but several pathways were involved. This study demonstrates their importance for soil carbon storage and, therefore, climate change mitigation.
Huimin Sun, Michael W. I. Schmidt, Jintao Li, Jinquan Li, Xiang Liu, Nicholas O. E. Ofiti, Shurong Zhou, and Ming Nie
Biogeosciences, 21, 575–589, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-575-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-575-2024, 2024
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A soil organic carbon (SOC) molecular structure suggested that the easily decomposable and stabilized SOC is similarly affected after 9-year warming and N treatments despite large changes in SOC stocks. Given the long residence time of some SOC, the similar loss of all measurable chemical forms of SOC under global change treatments could have important climate consequences.
Haoli Zhang, Doudou Chang, Zhifeng Zhu, Chunmei Meng, and Kaiyong Wang
Biogeosciences, 21, 1–11, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1-2024, 2024
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Soil salinity mediates microorganisms and soil processes like soil organic carbon (SOC) cycling. We observed that negative priming effects at the early stages might be due to the preferential utilization of cottonseed meal. The positive priming that followed decreased with the increase in salinity.
Joséphine Hazera, David Sebag, Isabelle Kowalewski, Eric Verrecchia, Herman Ravelojaona, and Tiphaine Chevallier
Biogeosciences, 20, 5229–5242, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-5229-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-5229-2023, 2023
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This study adapts the Rock-Eval® protocol to quantify soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil inorganic carbon (SIC) on a non-pretreated soil aliquot. The standard protocol properly estimates SOC contents once the TOC parameter is corrected. However, it cannot complete the thermal breakdown of SIC amounts > 4 mg, leading to an underestimation of high SIC contents by the MinC parameter, even after correcting for this. Thus, the final oxidation isotherm is extended to 7 min to quantify any SIC amount.
Bo Zhao, Amin Dou, Zhiwei Zhang, Zhenyu Chen, Wenbo Sun, Yanli Feng, Xiaojuan Wang, and Qiang Wang
Biogeosciences, 20, 4761–4774, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4761-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4761-2023, 2023
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This study provided a comprehensive analysis of the spatial variability and determinants of Fe-bound organic carbon (Fe-OC) among terrestrial, wetland, and marine ecosystems and its governing factors globally. We illustrated that reactive Fe was not only an important sequestration mechanism for OC in terrestrial ecosystems but also an effective “rusty sink” of OC preservation in wetland and marine ecosystems, i.e., a key factor for long-term OC storage in global ecosystems.
Han Sun, Tomoyasu Nishizawa, Hiroyuki Ohta, and Kazuhiko Narisawa
Biogeosciences, 20, 4737–4749, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4737-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4737-2023, 2023
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In this research, we assessed the diversity and function of the dark septate endophytic (DSE) fungi community associated with Miscanthus condensatus root in volcanic ecosystems. Both metabarcoding and isolation were adopted in this study. We further validated effects on plant growth by inoculation of some core DSE isolates. This study helps improve our understanding of the role of Miscanthus condensatus-associated DSE fungi during the restoration of post-volcanic ecosystems.
Xianjin He, Laurent Augusto, Daniel S. Goll, Bruno Ringeval, Ying-Ping Wang, Julian Helfenstein, Yuanyuan Huang, and Enqing Hou
Biogeosciences, 20, 4147–4163, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4147-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4147-2023, 2023
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We identified total soil P concentration as the most important predictor of all soil P pool concentrations, except for primary mineral P concentration, which is primarily controlled by soil pH and only secondarily by total soil P concentration. We predicted soil P pools’ distributions in natural systems, which can inform assessments of the role of natural P availability for ecosystem productivity, climate change mitigation, and the functioning of the Earth system.
Imane Slimani, Xia Zhu-Barker, Patricia Lazicki, and William Horwath
Biogeosciences, 20, 3873–3894, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3873-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3873-2023, 2023
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There is a strong link between nitrogen availability and iron minerals in soils. These minerals have multiple outcomes for nitrogen availability depending on soil conditions and properties. For example, iron can limit microbial degradation of nitrogen in aerated soils but has opposing outcomes in non-aerated soils. This paper focuses on the multiple ways iron can affect nitrogen bioavailability in soils.
Shane W. Stoner, Marion Schrumpf, Alison Hoyt, Carlos A. Sierra, Sebastian Doetterl, Valier Galy, and Susan Trumbore
Biogeosciences, 20, 3151–3163, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3151-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3151-2023, 2023
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Soils store more carbon (C) than any other terrestrial C reservoir, but the processes that control how much C stays in soil, and for how long, are very complex. Here, we used a recent method that involves heating soil in the lab to measure the range of C ages in soil. We found that most C in soil is decades to centuries old, while some stays for much shorter times (days to months), and some is thousands of years old. Such detail helps us to estimate how soil C may react to changing climate.
Adetunji Alex Adekanmbi, Laurence Dale, Liz Shaw, and Tom Sizmur
Biogeosciences, 20, 2207–2219, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2207-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2207-2023, 2023
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The decomposition of soil organic matter and flux of carbon dioxide are expected to increase as temperatures rise. However, soil organic matter decomposition is a two-step process whereby large molecules are first broken down outside microbial cells and then respired within microbial cells. We show here that these two steps are not equally sensitive to increases in soil temperature and that global warming may cause a shift in the rate-limiting step from outside to inside the microbial cell.
Mercedes Román Dobarco, Alexandre M. J-C. Wadoux, Brendan Malone, Budiman Minasny, Alex B. McBratney, and Ross Searle
Biogeosciences, 20, 1559–1586, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1559-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1559-2023, 2023
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Soil organic carbon (SOC) is of a heterogeneous nature and varies in chemistry, stabilisation mechanisms, and persistence in soil. In this study we mapped the stocks of SOC fractions with different characteristics and turnover rates (presumably PyOC >= MAOC > POC) across Australia, combining spectroscopy and digital soil mapping. The SOC stocks (0–30 cm) were estimated as 13 Pg MAOC, 2 Pg POC, and 5 Pg PyOC.
Frederick Büks
Biogeosciences, 20, 1529–1535, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1529-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1529-2023, 2023
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Ultrasonication with density fractionation of soils is a commonly used method to separate soil organic matter pools, which is, e.g., important to calculate carbon turnover in landscapes. It is shown that the approach that merges soil and dense solution without mixing has a low recovery rate and causes co-extraction of parts of the retained labile pool along with the intermediate pool. An alternative method with high recovery rates and no cross-contamination was recommended.
Tino Peplau, Christopher Poeplau, Edward Gregorich, and Julia Schroeder
Biogeosciences, 20, 1063–1074, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1063-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1063-2023, 2023
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We buried tea bags and temperature loggers in a paired-plot design in soils under forest and agricultural land and retrieved them after 2 years to quantify the effect of land-use change on soil temperature and litter decomposition in subarctic agricultural systems. We could show that agricultural soils were on average 2 °C warmer than forests and that litter decomposition was enhanced. The results imply that deforestation amplifies effects of climate change on soil organic matter dynamics.
Joseph Okello, Marijn Bauters, Hans Verbeeck, Samuel Bodé, John Kasenene, Astrid Françoys, Till Engelhardt, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Ralf Kiese, and Pascal Boeckx
Biogeosciences, 20, 719–735, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-719-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-719-2023, 2023
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The increase in global and regional temperatures has the potential to drive accelerated soil organic carbon losses in tropical forests. We simulated climate warming by translocating intact soil cores from higher to lower elevations. The results revealed increasing temperature sensitivity and decreasing losses of soil organic carbon with increasing elevation. Our results suggest that climate warming may trigger enhanced losses of soil organic carbon from tropical montane forests.
Johanna Pihlblad, Louise C. Andresen, Catriona A. Macdonald, David S. Ellsworth, and Yolima Carrillo
Biogeosciences, 20, 505–521, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-505-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-505-2023, 2023
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Elevated CO2 in the atmosphere increases forest biomass productivity when growth is not limited by soil nutrients. This study explores how mature trees stimulate soil availability of nitrogen and phosphorus with free-air carbon dioxide enrichment after 5 years of fumigation. We found that both nutrient availability and processes feeding available pools increased in the rhizosphere, and phosphorus increased at depth. This appears to not be by decomposition but by faster recycling of nutrients.
Rodrigo Vargas and Van Huong Le
Biogeosciences, 20, 15–26, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-15-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-15-2023, 2023
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Quantifying the role of soils in nature-based solutions requires accurate estimates of soil greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes. We suggest that multiple GHG fluxes should not be simultaneously measured at a few fixed time intervals, but an optimized sampling approach can reduce bias and uncertainty. Our results have implications for assessing GHG fluxes from soils and a better understanding of the role of soils in nature-based solutions.
Kristine Karstens, Benjamin Leon Bodirsky, Jan Philipp Dietrich, Marta Dondini, Jens Heinke, Matthias Kuhnert, Christoph Müller, Susanne Rolinski, Pete Smith, Isabelle Weindl, Hermann Lotze-Campen, and Alexander Popp
Biogeosciences, 19, 5125–5149, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5125-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5125-2022, 2022
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Soil organic carbon (SOC) has been depleted by anthropogenic land cover change and agricultural management. While SOC models often simulate detailed biochemical processes, the management decisions are still little investigated at the global scale. We estimate that soils have lost around 26 GtC relative to a counterfactual natural state in 1975. Yet, since 1975, SOC has been increasing again by 4 GtC due to a higher productivity, recycling of crop residues and manure, and no-tillage practices.
Petri Kiuru, Marjo Palviainen, Arianna Marchionne, Tiia Grönholm, Maarit Raivonen, Lukas Kohl, and Annamari Laurén
Biogeosciences, 19, 5041–5058, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5041-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5041-2022, 2022
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Peatlands are large carbon stocks. Emissions of carbon dioxide and methane from peatlands may increase due to changes in management and climate. We studied the variation in the gas diffusivity of peat with depth using pore network simulations and laboratory experiments. Gas diffusivity was found to be lower in deeper peat with smaller pores and lower pore connectivity. However, gas diffusivity was not extremely low in wet conditions, which may reflect the distinctive structure of peat.
Rachael Akinyede, Martin Taubert, Marion Schrumpf, Susan Trumbore, and Kirsten Küsel
Biogeosciences, 19, 4011–4028, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4011-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4011-2022, 2022
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Soils will likely become warmer in the future, and this can increase the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. As microbes can take up soil CO2 and prevent further escape into the atmosphere, this study compares the rate of uptake and release of CO2 at two different temperatures. With warming, the rate of CO2 uptake increases less than the rate of release, indicating that the capacity to modulate soil CO2 release into the atmosphere will decrease under future warming.
Giuseppe Cipolla, Salvatore Calabrese, Amilcare Porporato, and Leonardo V. Noto
Biogeosciences, 19, 3877–3896, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3877-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3877-2022, 2022
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Enhanced weathering (EW) is a promising strategy for carbon sequestration. Since models may help to characterize field EW, the present work applies a hydro-biogeochemical model to four case studies characterized by different rainfall seasonality, vegetation and soil type. Rainfall seasonality strongly affects EW dynamics, but low carbon sequestration suggests that an in-depth analysis at the global scale is required to see if EW may be effective to mitigate climate change.
Vao Fenotiana Razanamahandry, Marjolein Dewaele, Gerard Govers, Liesa Brosens, Benjamin Campforts, Liesbet Jacobs, Tantely Razafimbelo, Tovonarivo Rafolisy, and Steven Bouillon
Biogeosciences, 19, 3825–3841, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3825-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3825-2022, 2022
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In order to shed light on possible past vegetation shifts in the Central Highlands of Madagascar, we measured stable isotope ratios of organic carbon in soil profiles along both forested and grassland hillslope transects in the Lake Alaotra region. Our results show that the landscape of this region was more forested in the past: soils in the C4-dominated grasslands contained a substantial fraction of C3-derived carbon, increasing with depth.
Katherine E. O. Todd-Brown, Rose Z. Abramoff, Jeffrey Beem-Miller, Hava K. Blair, Stevan Earl, Kristen J. Frederick, Daniel R. Fuka, Mario Guevara Santamaria, Jennifer W. Harden, Katherine Heckman, Lillian J. Heran, James R. Holmquist, Alison M. Hoyt, David H. Klinges, David S. LeBauer, Avni Malhotra, Shelby C. McClelland, Lucas E. Nave, Katherine S. Rocci, Sean M. Schaeffer, Shane Stoner, Natasja van Gestel, Sophie F. von Fromm, and Marisa L. Younger
Biogeosciences, 19, 3505–3522, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3505-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3505-2022, 2022
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Research data are becoming increasingly available online with tantalizing possibilities for reanalysis. However harmonizing data from different sources remains challenging. Using the soils community as an example, we walked through the various strategies that researchers currently use to integrate datasets for reanalysis. We find that manual data transcription is still extremely common and that there is a critical need for community-supported informatics tools like vocabularies and ontologies.
Alessandro Montemagno, Christophe Hissler, Victor Bense, Adriaan J. Teuling, Johanna Ziebel, and Laurent Pfister
Biogeosciences, 19, 3111–3129, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3111-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3111-2022, 2022
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We investigated the biogeochemical processes that dominate the release and retention of elements (nutrients and potentially toxic elements) during litter degradation. Our results show that toxic elements are retained in the litter, while nutrients are released in solution during the first stages of degradation. This seems linked to the capability of trees to distribute the elements between degradation-resistant and non-degradation-resistant compounds of leaves according to their chemical nature.
Laura Sereni, Bertrand Guenet, Charlotte Blasi, Olivier Crouzet, Jean-Christophe Lata, and Isabelle Lamy
Biogeosciences, 19, 2953–2968, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2953-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2953-2022, 2022
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This study focused on the modellisation of two important drivers of soil greenhouse gas emissions: soil contamination and soil moisture change. The aim was to include a Cu function in the soil biogeochemical model DNDC for different soil moisture conditions and then to estimate variation in N2O, NO2 or NOx emissions. Our results show a larger effect of Cu on N2 and N2O emissions than on the other nitrogen species and a higher effect for the soils incubated under constant constant moisture.
Marie Spohn and Johan Stendahl
Biogeosciences, 19, 2171–2186, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2171-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2171-2022, 2022
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We explored the ratios of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) of organic matter in Swedish forest soils. The N : P ratio of the organic layer was most strongly related to the mean annual temperature, while the C : N ratios of the organic layer and mineral soil were strongly related to tree species even in the subsoil. The organic P concentration in the mineral soil was strongly affected by soil texture, which diminished the effect of tree species on the C to organic P (C : OP) ratio.
Moritz Mainka, Laura Summerauer, Daniel Wasner, Gina Garland, Marco Griepentrog, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, and Sebastian Doetterl
Biogeosciences, 19, 1675–1689, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1675-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1675-2022, 2022
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The largest share of terrestrial carbon is stored in soils, making them highly relevant as regards global change. Yet, the mechanisms governing soil carbon stabilization are not well understood. The present study contributes to a better understanding of these processes. We show that qualitative changes in soil organic matter (SOM) co-vary with alterations of the soil matrix following soil weathering. Hence, the type of SOM that is stabilized in soils might change as soils develop.
Jasmin Fetzer, Emmanuel Frossard, Klaus Kaiser, and Frank Hagedorn
Biogeosciences, 19, 1527–1546, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1527-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1527-2022, 2022
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As leaching is a major pathway of nitrogen and phosphorus loss in forest soils, we investigated several potential drivers in two contrasting beech forests. The composition of leachates, obtained by zero-tension lysimeters, varied by season, and climatic extremes influenced the magnitude of leaching. Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization varied with soil nutrient status and sorption properties, and leaching from the low-nutrient soil was more sensitive to environmental factors.
Karis J. McFarlane, Heather M. Throckmorton, Jeffrey M. Heikoop, Brent D. Newman, Alexandra L. Hedgpeth, Marisa N. Repasch, Thomas P. Guilderson, and Cathy J. Wilson
Biogeosciences, 19, 1211–1223, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1211-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1211-2022, 2022
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Planetary warming is increasing seasonal thaw of permafrost, making this extensive old carbon stock vulnerable. In northern Alaska, we found more and older dissolved organic carbon in small drainages later in summer as more permafrost was exposed by deepening thaw. Younger and older carbon did not differ in chemical indicators related to biological lability suggesting this carbon can cycle through aquatic systems and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions as warming increases permafrost thaw.
Pengzhi Zhao, Daniel Joseph Fallu, Sara Cucchiaro, Paolo Tarolli, Clive Waddington, David Cockcroft, Lisa Snape, Andreas Lang, Sebastian Doetterl, Antony G. Brown, and Kristof Van Oost
Biogeosciences, 18, 6301–6312, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-6301-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-6301-2021, 2021
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We investigate the factors controlling the soil organic carbon (SOC) stability and temperature sensitivity of abandoned prehistoric agricultural terrace soils. Results suggest that the burial of former topsoil due to terracing provided an SOC stabilization mechanism. Both the soil C : N ratio and SOC mineral protection regulate soil SOC temperature sensitivity. However, which mechanism predominantly controls SOC temperature sensitivity depends on the age of the buried terrace soils.
Heleen Deroo, Masuda Akter, Samuel Bodé, Orly Mendoza, Haichao Li, Pascal Boeckx, and Steven Sleutel
Biogeosciences, 18, 5035–5051, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5035-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5035-2021, 2021
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We assessed if and how incorporation of exogenous organic carbon (OC) such as straw could affect decomposition of native soil organic carbon (SOC) under different irrigation regimes. Addition of exogenous OC promoted dissolution of native SOC, partly because of increased Fe reduction, leading to more net release of Fe-bound SOC. Yet, there was no proportionate priming of SOC-derived DOC mineralisation. Water-saving irrigation can retard both priming of SOC dissolution and mineralisation.
Frances A. Podrebarac, Sharon A. Billings, Kate A. Edwards, Jérôme Laganière, Matthew J. Norwood, and Susan E. Ziegler
Biogeosciences, 18, 4755–4772, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4755-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4755-2021, 2021
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Soil respiration is a large and temperature-responsive flux in the global carbon cycle. We found increases in microbial use of easy to degrade substrates enhanced the temperature response of respiration in soils layered as they are in situ. This enhanced response is consistent with soil composition differences in warm relative to cold climate forests. These results highlight the importance of the intact nature of soils rarely studied in regulating responses of CO2 fluxes to changing temperature.
Elisa Bruni, Bertrand Guenet, Yuanyuan Huang, Hugues Clivot, Iñigo Virto, Roberta Farina, Thomas Kätterer, Philippe Ciais, Manuel Martin, and Claire Chenu
Biogeosciences, 18, 3981–4004, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3981-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3981-2021, 2021
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Increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks is beneficial for climate change mitigation and food security. One way to enhance SOC stocks is to increase carbon input to the soil. We estimate the amount of carbon input required to reach a 4 % annual increase in SOC stocks in 14 long-term agricultural experiments around Europe. We found that annual carbon input should increase by 43 % under current temperature conditions, by 54 % for a 1 °C warming scenario and by 120 % for a 5 °C warming scenario.
Rainer Brumme, Bernd Ahrends, Joachim Block, Christoph Schulz, Henning Meesenburg, Uwe Klinck, Markus Wagner, and Partap K. Khanna
Biogeosciences, 18, 3763–3779, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3763-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3763-2021, 2021
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In order to study the fate of litter nitrogen in forest soils, we combined a leaf litterfall exchange experiment using 15N-labeled leaf litter with long-term element budgets at seven European beech sites in Germany. It appears that fructification intensity, which has increased in recent decades, has a distinct impact on N retention in forest soils. Despite reduced nitrogen deposition, about 6 and 10 kg ha−1 of nitrogen were retained annually in the soils and in the forest stands, respectively.
Lorenz Gfeller, Andrea Weber, Isabelle Worms, Vera I. Slaveykova, and Adrien Mestrot
Biogeosciences, 18, 3445–3465, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3445-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3445-2021, 2021
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Our incubation experiment shows that flooding of polluted floodplain soils may induce pulses of both mercury (Hg) and methylmercury to the soil solution and threaten downstream ecosystems. We demonstrate that mobilization of Hg bound to manganese oxides is a relevant process in organic-matter-poor soils. Addition of organic amendments accelerates this mobilization but also facilitates the formation of nanoparticulate Hg and the subsequent fixation of Hg from soil solution to the soil.
Yao Zhang, Jocelyn M. Lavallee, Andy D. Robertson, Rebecca Even, Stephen M. Ogle, Keith Paustian, and M. Francesca Cotrufo
Biogeosciences, 18, 3147–3171, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3147-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3147-2021, 2021
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Soil organic matter (SOM) is essential for the health of soils, and the accumulation of SOM helps removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. Here we present the result of the continued development of a mathematical model that simulates SOM and its measurable fractions. In this study, we simulated several grassland sites in the US, and the model generally captured the carbon and nitrogen amounts in SOM and their distribution between the measurable fractions throughout the entire soil profile.
Zhongkui Luo, Raphael A. Viscarra-Rossel, and Tian Qian
Biogeosciences, 18, 2063–2073, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2063-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2063-2021, 2021
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Using the data from 141 584 whole-soil profiles across the globe, we disentangled the relative importance of biotic, climatic and edaphic variables in controlling global SOC stocks. The results suggested that soil properties and climate contributed similarly to the explained global variance of SOC in four sequential soil layers down to 2 m. However, the most important individual controls are consistently soil-related, challenging current climate-driven framework of SOC dynamics.
Debjani Sihi, Xiaofeng Xu, Mónica Salazar Ortiz, Christine S. O'Connell, Whendee L. Silver, Carla López-Lloreda, Julia M. Brenner, Ryan K. Quinn, Jana R. Phillips, Brent D. Newman, and Melanie A. Mayes
Biogeosciences, 18, 1769–1786, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1769-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1769-2021, 2021
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Humid tropical soils are important sources and sinks of methane. We used model simulation to understand how different kinds of microbes and observed soil moisture and oxygen dynamics contribute to production and consumption of methane along a wet tropical hillslope during normal and drought conditions. Drought alters the diffusion of oxygen and microbial substrates into and out of soil microsites, resulting in enhanced methane release from the entire hillslope during drought recovery.
Mathieu Chassé, Suzanne Lutfalla, Lauric Cécillon, François Baudin, Samuel Abiven, Claire Chenu, and Pierre Barré
Biogeosciences, 18, 1703–1718, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1703-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1703-2021, 2021
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Evolution of organic carbon content in soils could be a major driver of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations over the next century. Understanding factors controlling carbon persistence in soil is a challenge. Our study of unique long-term bare-fallow samples, depleted in labile organic carbon, helps improve the separation, evaluation and characterization of carbon pools with distinct residence time in soils and gives insight into the mechanisms explaining soil organic carbon persistence.
Melisa A. Diaz, Christopher B. Gardner, Susan A. Welch, W. Andrew Jackson, Byron J. Adams, Diana H. Wall, Ian D. Hogg, Noah Fierer, and W. Berry Lyons
Biogeosciences, 18, 1629–1644, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1629-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1629-2021, 2021
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Water-soluble salt and nutrient concentrations of soils collected along the Shackleton Glacier, Antarctica, show distinct geochemical gradients related to latitude, longitude, elevation, soil moisture, and distance from coast and glacier. Machine learning algorithms were used to estimate geochemical gradients for the region given the relationship with geography. Geography and surface exposure age drive salt and nutrient abundances, influencing invertebrate habitat suitability and biogeography.
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Short summary
Denitrification is a key process in the soil nitrogen cycle but poorly investigated due to methodical limitations. The 15N gas flux method is currently the only approach allowing field measurement of denitrification but was subject to bias due to unaccounted fluxes of 15N-labelled gaseous denitrification products to the subsoil. We used field flux experiments and diffusion–reaction modelling to estimate this source of error and developed an approach to correct denitrification rates.
Denitrification is a key process in the soil nitrogen cycle but poorly investigated due to...
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