Articles | Volume 17, issue 22
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5513-2020
© Author(s) 2020. 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-17-5513-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
14 Nov 2020
Research article |
| 14 Nov 2020
| 14 Nov 2020
N2O isotope approaches for source partitioning of N2O production and estimation of N2O reduction – validation with the 15N gas-flux method in laboratory and field studies
Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Centre for Stable Isotope Research and Analysis, University of
Göttingen, Büsgenweg 2, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Wrocław, pl. M.
Borna 9, 50-204 Wrocław, Poland
Maciej Piotr Lewicki
Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Wrocław, pl. M.
Borna 9, 50-204 Wrocław, Poland
Reinhard Well
Climate-Smart Agriculture, Thünen-Institut,
Bundesallee 65, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany
Related authors
Michał Bucha, Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak, and Piotr Wójtowicz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 897–908, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-897-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-897-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We present a method for the determination of greenhouse gases (CH4, CO2, N2O) using a chromatographic system with a barrier ion discharge detector (BID) and a Carboxen 1010 capillary column. The system omits 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.
Sushmita Deb, Mikk Espenberg, Reinhard Well, Michał Bucha, Marta Jakubiak, Ülo Mander, and Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-754, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-754, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates nitrogen cycling in groundwater from agricultural area using organic fertilizer. Research combines isotope and microbial studies to track transformations. High-nitrate samples were incubated with a low addition of ¹⁵N tracer. Results showed a shift from archaeal nitrification to bacterial denitrification under low oxygen with glucose, confirmed by isotope and microbial analysis. Findings offer insights for improving water quality and pollution management.
Michal Bucha, Piotr Siupka, Anna Detman-Ignatowska, Sushmita Deb, Agnieszka Bylina, Daria Kaim, Aleksandra Chojnacka, Dominika Kufka, Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak, Anna Sikora, and Leszek Marynowski
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-236, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-236, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Biogeosciences (BG).
Short summary
Short summary
In this work, we show the evidences of anaerobic activity of nitrogen-processing microorganisms that naturally occurred in outcropped organic-rich sediments as Miocene lignites. The results presented in this paper indicate the important role of nitrogen supply processes in environments depleted in this element and at the same time rich in humic substances, such as peat bogs, wetlands, immature sediments containing organic carbon (e.g. gyttja, fossil wood, coal).
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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.
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.
Reinhard Well, Martin Maier, Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak, Jan-Reent Köster, and Nicolas Ruoss
Biogeosciences, 16, 2233–2246, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2233-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2233-2019, 2019
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
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.
Michał Bucha, Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak, and Piotr Wójtowicz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 897–908, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-897-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-897-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We present a method for the determination of greenhouse gases (CH4, CO2, N2O) using a chromatographic system with a barrier ion discharge detector (BID) and a Carboxen 1010 capillary column. The system omits 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.
Sushmita Deb, Mikk Espenberg, Reinhard Well, Michał Bucha, Marta Jakubiak, Ülo Mander, and Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-754, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-754, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates nitrogen cycling in groundwater from agricultural area using organic fertilizer. Research combines isotope and microbial studies to track transformations. High-nitrate samples were incubated with a low addition of ¹⁵N tracer. Results showed a shift from archaeal nitrification to bacterial denitrification under low oxygen with glucose, confirmed by isotope and microbial analysis. Findings offer insights for improving water quality and pollution management.
Michal Bucha, Piotr Siupka, Anna Detman-Ignatowska, Sushmita Deb, Agnieszka Bylina, Daria Kaim, Aleksandra Chojnacka, Dominika Kufka, Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak, Anna Sikora, and Leszek Marynowski
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-236, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-236, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Biogeosciences (BG).
Short summary
Short summary
In this work, we show the evidences of anaerobic activity of nitrogen-processing microorganisms that naturally occurred in outcropped organic-rich sediments as Miocene lignites. The results presented in this paper indicate the important role of nitrogen supply processes in environments depleted in this element and at the same time rich in humic substances, such as peat bogs, wetlands, immature sediments containing organic carbon (e.g. gyttja, fossil wood, coal).
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
Short summary
Short summary
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 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.
Reinhard Well, Martin Maier, Dominika Lewicka-Szczebak, Jan-Reent Köster, and Nicolas Ruoss
Biogeosciences, 16, 2233–2246, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2233-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2233-2019, 2019
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
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
Related subject area
Biogeochemistry: Stable Isotopes & Other Tracers
Stable iron isotope signals indicate a “pseudo-abiotic” process driving deep iron release in methanic sediments
How long does carbon stay in a near-pristine central Amazon forest? An empirical estimate with radiocarbon
No increase is detected and modeled for the seasonal cycle amplitude of δ13C of atmospheric carbon dioxide
Sea ice and mixed layer depth influence on nitrate depletion and associated isotopic effects in the Drake Passage – Weddell Sea region, Southern Ocean
Fungi present distinguishable isotopic signals when grown on glycolytic versus tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates
Bias in calculating gross nitrification rates in forested catchments using the triple oxygen isotopic composition (Δ17O) of stream nitrate
Position-specific kinetic isotope effects for nitrous oxide: a new expansion of the Rayleigh model
Technical note: A Bayesian mixing model to unravel isotopic data and quantify trace gas production and consumption pathways for time series data – Time-resolved FRactionation And Mixing Evaluation (TimeFRAME)
Separating above-canopy CO2 and O2 measurements into their atmospheric and biospheric signatures
Climatic controls on leaf wax hydrogen isotope ratios in terrestrial and marine sediments along a hyperarid-to-humid gradient
Fractionation of stable carbon isotopes during microbial propionate consumption in anoxic rice paddy soils
Sources and sinks of carbonyl sulfide inferred from tower and mobile atmospheric observations in the Netherlands
Downpour dynamics: outsized impacts of storm events on unprocessed atmospheric nitrate export in an urban watershed
The hidden role of dissolved organic carbon in the biogeochemical cycle of carbon in modern redox-stratified lakes
Biogeochemical processes captured by carbon isotopes in redox-stratified water columns: a comparative study of four modern stratified lakes along an alkalinity gradient
Partitioning of carbon export in the euphotic zone of the oligotrophic South China Sea
Determination of respiration and photosynthesis fractionation factors for atmospheric dioxygen inferred from a vegetation–soil–atmosphere analogue of the terrestrial biosphere in closed chambers
Permafrost degradation and nitrogen cycling in Arctic rivers: insights from stable nitrogen isotope studies
Neodymium budget in the Mediterranean Sea: evaluating the role of atmospheric dusts using a high-resolution dynamical-biogeochemical model
Nitrate isotope investigations reveal future impacts of climate change on nitrogen inputs and cycling in Arctic fjords: Kongsfjorden and Rijpfjorden (Svalbard)
Mineralization of autochthonous particulate organic carbon is a fast channel of organic matter turnover in Germany's largest drinking water reservoir
Carbon isotopic ratios of modern C3 and C4 vegetation on the Indian peninsula and changes along the plant–soil–river continuum – implications for vegetation reconstructions
Controls on nitrite oxidation in the upper Southern Ocean: insights from winter kinetics experiments in the Indian sector
Tracing the source of nitrate in a forested stream showing elevated concentrations during storm events
Intra-skeletal variability in phosphate oxygen isotope composition reveals regional heterothermies in marine vertebrates
Isotopic differences in soil–plant–atmosphere continuum composition and control factors of different vegetation zones on the northern slope of the Qilian Mountains
An analysis of the variability in δ13C in macroalgae from the Gulf of California: indicative of carbon concentration mechanisms and isotope discrimination during carbon assimilation
Summertime productivity and carbon export potential in the Weddell Sea, with a focus on the waters adjacent to Larsen C Ice Shelf
Particulate biogenic barium tracer of mesopelagic carbon remineralization in the Mediterranean Sea (PEACETIME project)
Hydrogen and carbon isotope fractionation factors of aerobic methane oxidation in deep-sea water
Host-influenced geochemical signature in the parasitic foraminifera Hyrrokkin sarcophaga
Comparing modified substrate-induced respiration with selective inhibition (SIRIN) and N2O isotope approaches to estimate fungal contribution to denitrification in three arable soils under anoxic conditions
How are oxygen budgets influenced by dissolved iron and growth of oxygenic phototrophs in an iron-rich spring system? Initial results from the Espan Spring in Fürth, Germany
Stable isotope ratios in seawater nitrate reflect the influence of Pacific water along the northwest Atlantic margin
High-resolution 14C bomb peak dating and climate response analyses of subseasonal stable isotope signals in wood of the African baobab – a case study from Oman
Geographic variability in freshwater methane hydrogen isotope ratios and its implications for global isotopic source signatures
Seasonality of nitrogen sources, cycling, and loading in a New England river discerned from nitrate isotope ratios
Evaluating the response of δ13C in Haloxylon ammodendron, a dominant C4 species in Asian desert ecosystems, to water and nitrogen addition as well as the availability of its δ13C as an indicator of water use efficiency
Modern silicon dynamics of a small high-latitude subarctic lake
Radium-228-derived ocean mixing and trace element inputs in the South Atlantic
Nitrogen isotopic fractionations during nitric oxide production in an agricultural soil
Silicon uptake and isotope fractionation dynamics by crop species
Barium stable isotopes as a fingerprint of biological cycling in the Amazon River basin
Bottomland hardwood forest growth and stress response to hydroclimatic variation: evidence from dendrochronology and tree ring Δ13C values
Technical note: Single-shell δ11B analysis of Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi using femtosecond laser ablation MC-ICPMS and secondary ion mass spectrometry
Biogeochemical evidence of anaerobic methane oxidation and anaerobic ammonium oxidation in a stratified lake using stable isotopes
Effects of 238U variability and physical transport on water column 234Th downward fluxes in the coastal upwelling system off Peru
Do degree and rate of silicate weathering depend on plant productivity?
Alpine Holocene tree-ring dataset: age-related trends in the stable isotopes of cellulose show species-specific patterns
Ideas and perspectives: The same carbon behaves like different elements – an insight into position-specific isotope distributions
Susann Henkel, Bo Liu, Michael Staubwasser, Simone A. Kasemann, Anette Meixner, David A. Aromokeye, Michael W. Friedrich, and Sabine Kasten
Biogeosciences, 22, 1673–1696, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1673-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1673-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We intend to unravel iron (Fe) reduction pathways in high-deposition methanic sediments because pools of Fe minerals could stimulate methane oxidation and also generation. Our data from the North Sea show that Fe release takes place mechanistically differently to Fe reduction in shallow sediments, which typically fractionates Fe isotopes. We conclude that fermentation of organic matter involving interspecies electron transfer, partly through conductive Fe oxides, could play an important role.
Ingrid Chanca, Ingeborg Levin, Susan Trumbore, Kita Macario, Jost Lavric, Carlos Alberto Quesada, Alessandro Carioca de Araújo, Cléo Quaresma Dias Júnior, Hella van Asperen, Samuel Hammer, and Carlos A. Sierra
Biogeosciences, 22, 455–472, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-455-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-455-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Assessing the net carbon (C) budget of the Amazon entails considering the magnitude and timing of C absorption and losses through respiration (transit time of C). Radiocarbon-based estimates of the transit time of C in the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) suggest a change in the transit time from 6 ± 2 years and 18 ± 4 years within 2 years (October 2019 and December 2021, respectively). This variability indicates that only a fraction of newly fixed C can be stored for decades or longer.
Fortunat Joos, Sebastian Lienert, and Sönke Zaehle
Biogeosciences, 22, 19–39, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-19-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-19-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
How plants regulate their exchange of CO2 and water with the atmosphere under global warming is critical for their carbon uptake and their cooling influence. We analyze the isotope ratio of atmospheric CO2 and detect no significant decadal trends in the seasonal cycle amplitude. The data are consistent with the regulation towards leaf CO2 and intrinsic water use efficiency growing proportionally to atmospheric CO2, in contrast to recent suggestions of downregulation of CO2 and water fluxes.
Aymeric Pierre Marie Servettaz, Yuta Isaji, Chisato Yoshikawa, Yanghee Jang, Boo-Keun Khim, Yeongjun Ryu, Daniel M. Sigman, Nanako O. Ogawa, Francisco J. Jiménez-Espejo, and Naohiko Ohkouchi
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3687, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3687, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Phytoplankton blooms occur after sea ice retreats in the Southern Ocean. In this study we investigate the influence of seasonal cycle of sea ice concentration on nitrate depletion, testing the hypothesis that meltwater release stabilizes the water column and favors nutrient utilization. We find that, at a regional scale, nitrate depletion and vertical mixing are weakly correlated with sea ice cycle. Nitrate depletion is rather linked to other oceanographic processes controlling mixing depth.
Stanislav Jabinski, Vítězslav Kučera, Marek Kopáček, Jan Jansa, and Travis B. Meador
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3153, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3153, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Microbial production is a key parameter in estimations of organic matter cycling in environmental systems, and fungi play a major role as decomposers. In order to investigate fungal production and turnover times in soils, we incubated fungal pure cultures with isotopically labelled water and bicarbonate to investigate growth signals encoded into lipid biomarkers, which can be applied to improve flux estimates in environmental studies.
Weitian Ding, Urumu Tsunogai, and Fumiko Nakagawa
Biogeosciences, 21, 4717–4722, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4717-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4717-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Past studies have used the Δ17O of stream nitrate to estimate the gross nitrification rates (GNRs) in each forested catchment by approximating the Δ17O value of soil nitrate to be equal to that of stream nitrate. Based on inference and calculation of measured data, we found that this approximation resulted in an overestimated GNR. Therefore, it is essential to clarify and verify the Δ17O NO3− values in forested soils and streams before applying the Δ17O values of stream NO3− to GNR estimation.
Elise D. Rivett, Wenjuan Ma, Nathaniel E. Ostrom, and Eric L. Hegg
Biogeosciences, 21, 4549–4567, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4549-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4549-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Many different processes produce nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas. Measuring the ratio of heavy and light nitrogen isotopes (15N/14N) for the non-exchangeable central and outer N atoms of N2O helps to distinguish sources of N2O. To accurately calculate the position-specific isotopic preference, we developed an expansion of the widely used Rayleigh model. Application of our new model to simulated and experimental data demonstrates its improved accuracy for analyzing N2O synthesis.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Kim A. P. Faassen, Jordi Vilà-Guerau de Arellano, Raquel González-Armas, Bert G. Heusinkveld, Ivan Mammarella, Wouter Peters, and Ingrid T. Luijkx
Biogeosciences, 21, 3015–3039, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3015-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3015-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The ratio between atmospheric O2 and CO2 can be used to characterize the carbon balance at the surface. By combining a model and observations from the Hyytiälä forest (Finland), we show that using atmospheric O2 and CO2 measurements from a single height provides a weak constraint on the surface CO2 exchange because large-scale processes such as entrainment confound this signal. We therefore recommend always using multiple heights of O2 and CO2 measurements to study surface CO2 exchange.
Nestor Gaviria-Lugo, Charlotte Läuchli, Hella Wittmann, Anne Bernhardt, Patrick Frings, Mahyar Mohtadi, Oliver Rach, and Dirk Sachse
Biogeosciences, 20, 4433–4453, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4433-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4433-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We analyzed how leaf wax hydrogen isotopes in continental and marine sediments respond to climate along one of the strongest aridity gradients in the world, from hyperarid to humid, along Chile. We found that under extreme aridity, the relationship between hydrogen isotopes in waxes and climate is non-linear, suggesting that we should be careful when reconstructing past hydrological changes using leaf wax hydrogen isotopes so as to avoid overestimating how much the climate has changed.
Ralf Conrad and Peter Claus
Biogeosciences, 20, 3625–3635, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3625-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3625-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Knowledge of carbon isotope fractionation is important for the assessment of the pathways involved in the degradation of organic matter. Propionate is an important intermediate. In the presence of sulfate, it was degraded by Syntrophobacter species via acetate to CO2. In the absence of sulfate, it was mainly consumed by Smithella and methanogenic archaeal species via butyrate and acetate to CH4. However, stable carbon isotope fractionation during the degradation process was quite small.
Alessandro Zanchetta, Linda M. J. Kooijmans, Steven van Heuven, Andrea Scifo, Hubertus A. Scheeren, Ivan Mammarella, Ute Karstens, Jin Ma, Maarten Krol, and Huilin Chen
Biogeosciences, 20, 3539–3553, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3539-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3539-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Carbonyl sulfide (COS) has been suggested as a tool to estimate carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake by plants during photosynthesis. However, understanding its sources and sinks is critical to preventing biases in this estimate. Combining observations and models, this study proves that regional sources occasionally influence the measurements at the 60 m tall Lutjewad tower (1 m a.s.l.; 53°24′ N, 6°21′ E) in the Netherlands. Moreover, it estimates nighttime COS fluxes to be −3.0 ± 2.6 pmol m−2 s−1.
Joel T. Bostic, David M. Nelson, and Keith N. Eshleman
Biogeosciences, 20, 2485–2498, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2485-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2485-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Land-use changes can affect water quality. We used tracers of pollution sources and water flow paths to show that an urban watershed exports variable sources during storm events relative to a less developed watershed. Our results imply that changing precipitation patterns combined with increasing urbanization may alter sources of pollution in the future.
Robin Havas, Christophe Thomazo, Miguel Iniesto, Didier Jézéquel, David Moreira, Rosaluz Tavera, Jeanne Caumartin, Elodie Muller, Purificación López-García, and Karim Benzerara
Biogeosciences, 20, 2405–2424, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2405-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2405-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is a reservoir of prime importance in the C cycle of both continental and marine systems. It has also been suggested to influence the past Earth climate but is still poorly characterized in ancient-Earth-like environments. In this paper we show how DOC analyses from modern redox-stratified lakes can evidence specific metabolic reactions and environmental factors and how these can help us to interpret the C cycle of specific periods in the Earth's past.
Robin Havas, Christophe Thomazo, Miguel Iniesto, Didier Jézéquel, David Moreira, Rosaluz Tavera, Jeanne Caumartin, Elodie Muller, Purificación López-García, and Karim Benzerara
Biogeosciences, 20, 2347–2367, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2347-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2347-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We describe the C cycle of four modern stratified water bodies from Mexico, a necessary step to better understand the C cycle of primitive-Earth-like environments, which were dominated by these kinds of conditions. We highlight the importance of local external factors on the C cycle of these systems. Notably, they influence the sensitivity of the carbonate record to environmental changes. We also show the strong C-cycle variability among these lakes and their organic C sediment record.
Yifan Ma, Kuanbo Zhou, Weifang Chen, Junhui Chen, Jin-Yu Terence Yang, and Minhan Dai
Biogeosciences, 20, 2013–2030, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2013-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2013-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We distinguished particulate organic carbon (POC) export fluxes out of the nutrient-depleted layer (NDL) and the euphotic zone. The amount of POC export flux at the NDL base suggests that the NDL could be a hotspot of particle export. The substantial POC export flux at the NDL base challenges traditional concepts that the NDL was limited in terms of POC export. The dominant nutrient source for POC export fluxes should be subsurface nutrients, which was determined by 15N isotopic mass balance.
Clémence Paul, Clément Piel, Joana Sauze, Nicolas Pasquier, Frédéric Prié, Sébastien Devidal, Roxanne Jacob, Arnaud Dapoigny, Olivier Jossoud, Alexandru Milcu, and Amaëlle Landais
Biogeosciences, 20, 1047–1062, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1047-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1047-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
To improve the interpretation of the δ18Oatm and Δ17O of O2 in air bubbles in ice cores, we need to better quantify the oxygen fractionation coefficients associated with biological processes. We performed a simplified analogue of the terrestrial biosphere in a closed chamber. We found a respiration fractionation in agreement with the previous estimates at the microorganism scale, and a terrestrial photosynthetic fractionation was found. This has an impact on the estimation of the Dole effect.
Adam Francis, Raja S. Ganeshram, Robyn E. Tuerena, Robert G. M. Spencer, Robert M. Holmes, Jennifer A. Rogers, and Claire Mahaffey
Biogeosciences, 20, 365–382, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-365-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-365-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Climate change is causing extensive permafrost degradation and nutrient releases into rivers with great ecological impacts on the Arctic Ocean. We focused on nitrogen (N) release from this degradation and associated cycling using N isotopes, an understudied area. Many N species are released at degradation sites with exchanges between species. N inputs from permafrost degradation and seasonal river N trends were identified using isotopes, helping to predict climate change impacts.
Mohamed Ayache, Jean-Claude Dutay, Kazuyo Tachikawa, Thomas Arsouze, and Catherine Jeandel
Biogeosciences, 20, 205–227, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-205-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-205-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The neodymium (Nd) is one of the most useful tracers to fingerprint water mass provenance. However, the use of Nd is hampered by the lack of adequate quantification of the external sources. Here, we present the first simulation of dissolved Nd concentration and Nd isotopic composition in the Mediterranean Sea using a high-resolution model. We aim to better understand how the various external sources affect the Nd cycle and particularly assess how it is impacted by atmospheric inputs.
Marta Santos-Garcia, Raja S. Ganeshram, Robyn E. Tuerena, Margot C. F. Debyser, Katrine Husum, Philipp Assmy, and Haakon Hop
Biogeosciences, 19, 5973–6002, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5973-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5973-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Terrestrial sources of nitrate are important contributors to the nutrient pool in the fjords of Kongsfjorden and Rijpfjorden in Svalbard during the summer, and they sustain most of the fjord primary productivity. Ongoing tidewater glacier retreat is postulated to favour light limitation and less dynamic circulation in fjords. This is suggested to encourage the export of nutrients to the middle and outer part of the fjord system, which may enhance primary production within and in offshore areas.
Marlene Dordoni, Michael Seewald, Karsten Rinke, Kurt Friese, Robert van Geldern, Jakob Schmidmeier, and Johannes A. C. Barth
Biogeosciences, 19, 5343–5355, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5343-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5343-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Organic matter (OM) turnover into dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) was investigated by means of carbon isotope mass balances in Germany's largest water reservoir. This includes a metalimnetic oxygen minimum (MOM). Autochthonous particulate organic carbon (POC) was the main contributor to DIC, with rates that were highest for the MOM. Generally low turnover rates outline the environmental fragility of this water body in the case that OM loads increase due to storm events or land use changes.
Frédérique M. S. A. Kirkels, Hugo J. de Boer, Paulina Concha Hernández, Chris R. T. Martes, Marcel T. J. van der Meer, Sayak Basu, Muhammed O. Usman, and Francien Peterse
Biogeosciences, 19, 4107–4127, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4107-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4107-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The distinct carbon isotopic values of C3 and C4 plants are widely used to reconstruct past hydroclimate, where more C3 plants reflect wetter and C4 plants drier conditions. Here we examine the impact of regional hydroclimatic conditions on plant isotopic values in the Godavari River basin, India. We find that it is crucial to identify regional plant isotopic values and consider drought stress, which introduces a bias in C3 / C4 plant estimates and associated hydroclimate reconstructions.
Mhlangabezi Mdutyana, Tanya Marshall, Xin Sun, Jessica M. Burger, Sandy J. Thomalla, Bess B. Ward, and Sarah E. Fawcett
Biogeosciences, 19, 3425–3444, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3425-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3425-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Nitrite-oxidizing bacteria in the winter Southern Ocean show a high affinity for nitrite but require a minimum (i.e., "threshold") concentration before they increase their rates of nitrite oxidation significantly. The classic Michaelis–Menten model thus cannot be used to derive the kinetic parameters, so a modified equation was employed that also yields the threshold nitrite concentration. Dissolved iron availability may play an important role in limiting nitrite oxidation.
Weitian Ding, Urumu Tsunogai, Fumiko Nakagawa, Takashi Sambuichi, Hiroyuki Sase, Masayuki Morohashi, and Hiroki Yotsuyanagi
Biogeosciences, 19, 3247–3261, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3247-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3247-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Excessive leaching of nitrate from forested catchments during storm events degrades water quality and causes eutrophication in downstream areas. Thus, tracing the source of nitrate increase during storm events in forested streams is important for sustainable forest management. Based on the isotopic compositions of stream nitrate, including Δ17O, this study clarifies that the source of stream nitrate increase during storm events was soil nitrate in the riparian zone.
Nicolas Séon, Romain Amiot, Guillaume Suan, Christophe Lécuyer, François Fourel, Fabien Demaret, Arnauld Vinçon-Laugier, Sylvain Charbonnier, and Peggy Vincent
Biogeosciences, 19, 2671–2681, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2671-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2671-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We analysed the oxygen isotope composition of bones and teeth of four marine species possessing regional heterothermies. We observed a consistent link between oxygen isotope composition and temperature heterogeneities recorded by classical methods. This opens up new perspectives on the determination of the thermoregulatory strategies of extant marine vertebrates where conventional methods are difficult to apply, but also allows us to investigate thermophysiologies of extinct vertebrates.
Yuwei Liu, Guofeng Zhu, Zhuanxia Zhang, Zhigang Sun, Leilei Yong, Liyuan Sang, Lei Wang, and Kailiang Zhao
Biogeosciences, 19, 877–889, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-877-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-877-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We took the water cycle process of soil–plant–atmospheric precipitation as the research objective. In the water cycle of soil–plant–atmospheric precipitation, precipitation plays the main controlling role. The main source of replenishment for alpine meadow plants is precipitation and alpine meltwater; the main source of replenishment for forest plants is soil water; and the plants in the arid foothills mainly use groundwater.
Roberto Velázquez-Ochoa, María Julia Ochoa-Izaguirre, and Martín Federico Soto-Jiménez
Biogeosciences, 19, 1–27, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Our research is the first approximation to understand the δ13C macroalgal variability in one of the most diverse marine ecosystems in the world, the Gulf of California. The life-form is the principal cause of δ13C macroalgal variability, mainly taxonomy. However, changes in habitat characteristics and environmental conditions also influence the δ13C macroalgal variability. The δ13C macroalgae is indicative of carbon concentration mechanisms and isotope discrimination during carbon assimilation.
Raquel F. Flynn, Thomas G. Bornman, Jessica M. Burger, Shantelle Smith, Kurt A. M. Spence, and Sarah E. Fawcett
Biogeosciences, 18, 6031–6059, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-6031-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-6031-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Biological activity in the shallow Weddell Sea affects the biogeochemistry of recently formed deep waters. To investigate the drivers of carbon and nutrient export, we measured rates of primary production and nitrogen uptake, characterized the phytoplankton community, and estimated nutrient depletion ratios across the under-sampled western Weddell Sea in mid-summer. Carbon export was highest at the ice shelves and was determined by a combination of physical, chemical, and biological factors.
Stéphanie H. M. Jacquet, Christian Tamburini, Marc Garel, Aurélie Dufour, France Van Vambeke, Frédéric A. C. Le Moigne, Nagib Bhairy, and Sophie Guasco
Biogeosciences, 18, 5891–5902, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5891-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5891-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We compared carbon remineralization rates (MRs) in the western and central Mediterranean Sea in late spring during the PEACETIME cruise, as assessed using the barium tracer. We reported higher and deeper (up to 1000 m depth) MRs in the western basin, potentially sustained by an additional particle export event driven by deep convection. The central basin is the site of a mosaic of blooming and non-blooming water masses and showed lower MRs that were restricted to the upper mesopelagic layer.
Shinsuke Kawagucci, Yohei Matsui, Akiko Makabe, Tatsuhiro Fukuba, Yuji Onishi, Takuro Nunoura, and Taichi Yokokawa
Biogeosciences, 18, 5351–5362, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5351-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5351-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Hydrogen and carbon isotope ratios of methane as well as the relevant biogeochemical parameters and microbial community compositions in hydrothermal plumes in the Okinawa Trough were observed. We succeeded in simultaneously determining hydrogen and carbon isotope fractionation factors associated with aerobic oxidation of methane in seawater (εH = 49.4 ± 5.0 ‰, εC = 5.2 ± 0.4 ‰) – the former being the first of its kind ever reported.
Nicolai Schleinkofer, David Evans, Max Wisshak, Janina Vanessa Büscher, Jens Fiebig, André Freiwald, Sven Härter, Horst R. Marschall, Silke Voigt, and Jacek Raddatz
Biogeosciences, 18, 4733–4753, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4733-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4733-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We have measured the chemical composition of the carbonate shells of the parasitic foraminifera Hyrrokkin sarcophaga in order to test if it is influenced by the host organism (bivalve or coral). We find that both the chemical and isotopic composition is influenced by the host organism. For example strontium is enriched in foraminifera that grew on corals, whose skeleton is built from aragonite, which is naturally enriched in strontium compared to the bivalves' calcite shell.
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.
Inga Köhler, Raul E. Martinez, David Piatka, Achim J. Herrmann, Arianna Gallo, Michelle M. Gehringer, and Johannes A. C. Barth
Biogeosciences, 18, 4535–4548, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4535-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4535-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We investigated how high Fe(II) levels influence the O2 budget of a circum-neutral Fe(II)-rich spring and if a combined study of dissolved O (DO) and its isotopic composition can help assess this effect. We showed that dissolved Fe(II) can exert strong effects on the δ18ODO even though a constant supply of atmospheric O2 occurs. In the presence of photosynthesis, direct effects of Fe oxidation become masked. Critical Fe(II) concentrations indirectly control the DO by enhancing photosynthesis.
Owen A. Sherwood, Samuel H. Davin, Nadine Lehmann, Carolyn Buchwald, Evan N. Edinger, Moritz F. Lehmann, and Markus Kienast
Biogeosciences, 18, 4491–4510, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4491-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4491-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Pacific water flowing eastward through the Canadian Arctic plays an important role in redistributing nutrients to the northwest Atlantic Ocean. Using samples collected from northern Baffin Bay to the southern Labrador Shelf, we show that stable isotopic ratios in seawater nitrate reflect the fraction of Pacific to Atlantic water. These results provide a new framework for interpreting patterns of nitrogen isotopic variability recorded in modern and archival organic materials in the region.
Franziska Slotta, Lukas Wacker, Frank Riedel, Karl-Uwe Heußner, Kai Hartmann, and Gerhard Helle
Biogeosciences, 18, 3539–3564, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3539-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3539-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The African baobab is a challenging climate and environmental archive for its semi-arid habitat due to dating uncertainties and parenchyma-rich wood anatomy. Annually resolved F14C data of tree-ring cellulose (1941–2005) from a tree in Oman show the annual character of the baobab’s growth rings but were up to 8.8 % lower than expected for 1964–1967. Subseasonal δ13C and δ18O patterns reveal years with low average monsoon rain as well as heavy rainfall events from pre-monsoonal cyclones.
Peter M. J. Douglas, Emerald Stratigopoulos, Sanga Park, and Dawson Phan
Biogeosciences, 18, 3505–3527, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3505-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3505-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Hydrogen isotopes could be a useful tool to help resolve the geographic distribution of methane emissions from freshwater environments. We analyzed an expanded global dataset of freshwater methane hydrogen isotope ratios and found significant geographic variation linked to water isotopic composition. This geographic variability could be used to resolve changing methane fluxes from freshwater environments and provide more accurate estimates of the relative balance of global methane sources.
Veronica R. Rollinson, Julie Granger, Sydney C. Clark, Mackenzie L. Blanusa, Claudia P. Koerting, Jamie M. P. Vaudrey, Lija A. Treibergs, Holly C. Westbrook, Catherine M. Matassa, Meredith G. Hastings, and Craig R. Tobias
Biogeosciences, 18, 3421–3444, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3421-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3421-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We measured nutrients and the naturally occurring nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O) stable isotope ratios of nitrate discharged from a New England river over an annual cycle, to monitor N loading and identify dominant sources from the watershed. We uncovered a seasonality to loading and sources of N from the watershed. Seasonality in the nitrate isotope ratios also informed on N cycling, conforming to theoretical expectations of riverine nutrient cycling.
Zixun Chen, Xuejun Liu, Xiaoqing Cui, Yaowen Han, Guoan Wang, and Jiazhu Li
Biogeosciences, 18, 2859–2870, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2859-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2859-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
δ13C in plants is a sensitive long-term indicator of physiological acclimatization. The present study suggests that precipitation change and increasing atmospheric N deposition have little impact on δ13C of H. ammodendron, a dominant plant in central Asian deserts, but affect its gas exchange. In addition, this study shows that δ13C of H. ammodendron could not indicate its water use efficiency (WUE), suggesting that whether δ13C of C4 plants indicates WUE is species-specific.
Petra Zahajská, Carolina Olid, Johanna Stadmark, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Sophie Opfergelt, and Daniel J. Conley
Biogeosciences, 18, 2325–2345, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2325-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2325-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The drivers of high accumulation of single-cell siliceous algae (diatoms) in a high-latitude lake have not been fully characterized before. We studied silicon cycling of the lake through water, radon, silicon, and stable silicon isotope balances. Results showed that groundwater brings 3 times more water and dissolved silica than the stream inlet. We demonstrate that groundwater discharge and low sediment deposition have driven the high diatom accumulation in the studied lake in the past century.
Yu-Te Hsieh, Walter Geibert, E. Malcolm S. Woodward, Neil J. Wyatt, Maeve C. Lohan, Eric P. Achterberg, and Gideon M. Henderson
Biogeosciences, 18, 1645–1671, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1645-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1645-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The South Atlantic near 40° S is one of the high-productivity and most dynamic nutrient regions in the oceans, but the sources and fluxes of trace elements (TEs) to this region remain unclear. This study investigates seawater Ra-228 and provides important constraints on ocean mixing and dissolved TE fluxes to this region. Vertical mixing is a more important source than aeolian or shelf inputs in this region, but particulate or winter deep-mixing inputs may be required to balance the TE budgets.
Zhongjie Yu and Emily M. Elliott
Biogeosciences, 18, 805–829, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-805-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-805-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we demonstrated distinct nitrogen isotope effects for nitric oxide (NO) production from major microbial and chemical NO sources in an agricultural soil. These results highlight characteristic bond-forming and breaking mechanisms associated with microbial and chemical NO production and implicate that simultaneous isotopic analyses of NO and nitrous oxide (N2O) can lead to unprecedented insights into the sources and processes controlling NO and N2O emissions from agricultural soils.
Daniel A. Frick, Rainer Remus, Michael Sommer, Jürgen Augustin, Danuta Kaczorek, and Friedhelm von Blanckenburg
Biogeosciences, 17, 6475–6490, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6475-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6475-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Silicon is taken up by some plants to increase structural stability and to develop stress resistance and is rejected by others. To explore the underlying mechanisms, we used the stable isotopes of silicon that shift in their relative abundance depending on the biochemical transformation involved. On species with a rejective (tomato, mustard) and active (wheat) uptake mechanism, grown in hydroculture, we found that the transport of silicic acid is controlled by the precipitation of biogenic opal.
Quentin Charbonnier, Julien Bouchez, Jérôme Gaillardet, and Éric Gayer
Biogeosciences, 17, 5989–6015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5989-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5989-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The abundance and isotope composition of the trace metal barium (Ba) allows us to track and quantify nutrient cycling throughout the Amazon Basin. In particular, we show that the Ba biological fingerprint evolves from that of a strong net nutrient uptake in the mountainous area of the Andes towards efficient nutrient recycling on the plains of the Lower Amazon. Our study highlights the fact that the geochemical signature of rock-derived nutrients transported by the Amazon is scarred by life.
Ajinkya G. Deshpande, Thomas W. Boutton, Ayumi Hyodo, Charles W. Lafon, and Georgianne W. Moore
Biogeosciences, 17, 5639–5653, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5639-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5639-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Wetland forests in the southern USA are threatened by changing climate and human-induced pressures. We used tree ring widths and C isotopes as indicators of forest growth and physiological stress, respectively, and compared these to past climate data. We observed that vegetation growing in the drier patches is susceptible to stress, while vegetation growth and physiology in wetter patches is less sensitive to unfavorable environmental conditions, highlighting the importance of optimal wetness.
Markus Raitzsch, Claire Rollion-Bard, Ingo Horn, Grit Steinhoefel, Albert Benthien, Klaus-Uwe Richter, Matthieu Buisson, Pascale Louvat, and Jelle Bijma
Biogeosciences, 17, 5365–5375, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5365-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5365-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The isotopic composition of boron in carbonate shells of marine unicellular organisms is a popular tool to estimate seawater pH. Usually, many shells need to be dissolved and measured for boron isotopes, but the information on their spatial distribution is lost. Here, we investigate two techniques that allow for measuring boron isotopes within single shells and show that they yield robust mean values but provide additional information on the heterogeneity within and between single shells.
Florian Einsiedl, Anja Wunderlich, Mathieu Sebilo, Ömer K. Coskun, William D. Orsi, and Bernhard Mayer
Biogeosciences, 17, 5149–5161, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5149-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5149-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Nitrate pollution of freshwaters and methane emissions into the atmosphere are crucial factors in deteriorating the quality of drinking water and in contributing to global climate change. Here, we report vertical concentration and stable isotope profiles of CH4, NO3-, NO2-, and NH4+ in the water column of Fohnsee (southern Bavaria, Germany) that may indicate linkages between nitrate-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation and the anaerobic oxidation of ammonium.
Ruifang C. Xie, Frédéric A. C. Le Moigne, Insa Rapp, Jan Lüdke, Beat Gasser, Marcus Dengler, Volker Liebetrau, and Eric P. Achterberg
Biogeosciences, 17, 4919–4936, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4919-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4919-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Thorium-234 (234Th) is widely used to study carbon fluxes from the surface ocean to depth. But few studies stress the relevance of oceanic advection and diffusion on the downward 234Th fluxes in nearshore environments. Our study in offshore Peru showed strong temporal variations in both the importance of physical processes on 234Th flux estimates and the oceanic residence time of 234Th, whereas salinity-derived seawater 238U activities accounted for up to 40 % errors in 234Th flux estimates.
Ralf A. Oeser and Friedhelm von Blanckenburg
Biogeosciences, 17, 4883–4917, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4883-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4883-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We present a novel strategy to decipher the relative impact of biogenic and abiotic drivers of weathering. We parameterized the nutrient fluxes in four ecosystems along a climate and vegetation gradient situated on the Chilean Coastal Cordillera. We investigated how nutrient demand by plants drives weathering. We found that the increase in biomass nutrient demand is accommodated by faster nutrient recycling rather than an increase in the weathering–release rates.
Tito Arosio, Malin M. Ziehmer, Kurt Nicolussi, Christian Schlüchter, and Markus Leuenberger
Biogeosciences, 17, 4871–4882, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4871-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4871-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Stable isotopes in tree-ring cellulose are tools for climatic reconstructions, but interpretation is challenging due to nonclimate trends. We analyzed the tree-age trends in tree-ring isotopes of deciduous larch and evergreen cembran pine. Samples covering the whole Holocene were collected at the tree line in the Alps. For cambial ages over 100 years, we prove the absence of age trends in δD, δ18O, and δ13C for both species. For lower cambial ages, trends differ for each isotope and species.
Yuyang He, Xiaobin Cao, and Huiming Bao
Biogeosciences, 17, 4785–4795, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4785-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4785-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Different carbon sites in a large organic molecule have different isotope compositions. Different carbon sites may not have the chance to exchange isotopes at all. The lack of appreciation of this notion might be blamed for an unsettled debate on the thermodynamic state of an organism. Here we demonstrate using minerals, N2O, and acetic acid that the dearth of exchange among different carbon sites renders them as independent as if they were different elements in organic molecules.
Cited articles
Aulakh, M. S., Doran, J. W., and Mosier, A. R.: Field-Evaluation of 4
Methods for Measuring Denitrification, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 55, 1332–1338,
1991.
Baily, A., Watson, C. J., Laughlin, R., Matthews, D., McGeough, K., and
Jordan, P.: Use of the 15N gas flux method to measure the source and
level of N2O and N2 emissions from grazed grassland, Nutr. Cycl.
Agroecosys., 94, 287–298, 2012.
Barford, C. C., Montoya, J. P., Altabet, M. A., and Mitchell, R.:
Steady-state nitrogen isotope effects of N2 and N2O production in
Paracoccus denitrificans, Appl. Environ. Microb., 65, 989–994, 1999.
Baumgärtel, B. and Benke, M.: Düngeempfehlungen Stickstoff:
Getreide, Raps, Hackfrüchte, Landwirtschaftskammer Niedersachsen –
Geschäftsbereich Landwirtschaft, Hannover, 2009.
Bergsma, T. T., Ostrom, N. E., Emmons, M., and Robertson, G. P.: Measuring
simultaneous fluxes from soil of N2O and N2 in the field using the 15N-Gas “nonequilihrium” technique, Environ. Sci. Technol., 35, 4307–4312,
2001.
Bergstermann, A., Cardenas, L., Bol, R., Gilliam, L., Goulding, K., Meijide, A., Scholefield, D., Vallejo, A., and Well, R.: Effect of antecedent soil
moisture conditions on emissions and isotopologue distribution of N2O during
denitrification, Soil Biol. Biochem., 43, 240–250, 2011.
Böhlke, J. K., Smith, R. L., and Hannon, J. E.: Isotopic analysis of N
and O in nitrite and nitrate by sequential selective bacterial reduction to N2O, Anal. Chem., 79, 5888–5895, 2007.
Bouwman, A. F., Beusen, A. H. W., Griffioen, J., Van Groenigen, J. W.,
Hefting, M. M., Oenema, O., Van Puijenbroek, P. J. T. M., Seitzinger, S.,
Slomp, C. P., and Stehfest, E.: Global trends and uncertainties in
terrestrial denitrification and N2O emissions, Philos. T. R. Soc. B, 368, https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2013.0112,
2013.
Brenninkmeijer, C. A. M. and Röckmann, T.: Mass spectrometry of the
intramolecular nitrogen isotope distribution of environmental nitrous oxide
using fragment-ion analysis, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 13, 2028–2033, 1999.
Buchen, C., Lewicka-Szczebak, D., Fuß, R., Helfrich, M., Flessa, H., and
Well, R.: Fluxes of N2 and N2O and contributing processes in
summer after grassland renewal and grassland conversion to maize cropping on
a Plaggic Anthrosol and a Histic Gleysol, Soil Biol. Biochem., 101, 6–19,
2016.
Buchen, C., Lewicka-Szczebak, D., Flessa, H., and Well, R.: Estimating N2O processes during grassland renewal and grassland conversion to
maize cropping using N2O isotopocules, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 32 (13),
1053–1067, 2018.
Butterbach-Bahl, K., Baggs, E. M., Dannenmann, M., Kiese, R., and
Zechmeister-Boltenstern, S.: Nitrous oxide emissions from soils: how well do
we understand the processes and their controls?, Philos. T. R. Soc. B, 368, https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2013.0122,
2013.
Cardenas, L. M., Bol, R., Lewicka-Szczebak, D., Gregory, A. S., Matthews, G. P., Whalley, W. R., Misselbrook, T. H., Scholefield, D., and Well, R.: Effect of soil saturation on denitrification in a grassland soil, Biogeosciences, 14, 4691–4710, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-4691-2017, 2017.
Casciotti, K. L., Sigman, D. M., Hastings, M. G., Bohlke, J. K., and
Hilkert, A.: Measurement of the oxygen isotopic composition of nitrate in
seawater and freshwater using the denitrifier method, Anal. Chem., 74,
4905–4912, 2002.
Castellano-Hinojosa, A., Loick, N., Dixon, E., Matthews, G. P.,
Lewicka-Szczebak, D., Well, R., Bol, R., Charteris, A., and Cardenas, L.:
Improved isotopic model based on 15N tracing and Rayleigh-type isotope
fractionation for simulating differential sources of N2O emissions in a
clay grassland soil, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 33, 449–460,
2019.
Decock, C. and Six, J.: An assessment of N-cycling and sources of N2O
during a simulated rain event using natural abundance 15N, Agr. Ecosyst.
Environ., 165, 141–150, 2013.
Eschenbach, W., Lewicka-Szczebak, D., Stange, C. F., Dyckmans, J., and Well, R.: Measuring 15N Abundance and Concentration of Aqueous Nitrate,
Nitrite, and Ammonium by Membrane Inlet Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry, Anal.
Chem., 89, 6076–6081, 2017.
Felix, J. D., Elliott, E. M., Gish, T. J., McConnell, L. L., and Shaw, S. L.: Characterizing the isotopic composition of atmospheric ammonia emission
sources using passive samplers and a combined oxidation-bacterial
denitrifier approach, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 27,
2239–2246, 2013.
Firestone, M. K. and Davidson, E. A.: Microbial basis of NO and N2O
production and consumption in soil, in: Exchange of trace gases between
terrestial ecosystems and the atmosphere, edited by: Andreae, M. O. and Schimel, D. S., John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1989.
Frame, C. H. and Casciotti, K. L.: Biogeochemical controls and isotopic signatures of nitrous oxide production by a marine ammonia-oxidizing bacterium, Biogeosciences, 7, 2695–2709, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-7-2695-2010, 2010.
Fuß, R.: R-Package: Gasfluxes, available at: https://bitbucket.org/ecoRoland/gasfluxes (last access: 10 January 2020), 2015.
Groffman, P. M.: Terrestial denitrification: challenges and opportunities,
Ecol. Process., 1, 1–11, 2012.
Groffman, P. M., Altabet, M. A., Bohlke, J. K., Butterbach-Bahl, K., David, M. B., Firestone, M. K., Giblin, A. E., Kana, T. M., Nielsen, L. P., and
Voytek, M. A.: Methods for measuring denitrification: Diverse approaches to
a difficult problem, Ecol. Appl., 16, 2091–2122, 2006.
Hink, L., Lycus, P., Gubry-Rangin, C., Frostegård, A., Nicol, G. W.,
Prosser, J. I., and Bakken, L. R.: Kinetics of NH
Hutchinson, G. L. and Mosier, A. R.: Improved Soil Cover Method for Field Measurement of Nitrous Oxide Fluxes, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 45, 311–316, 1981.
Ibraim, E., Wolf, B., Harris, E., Gasche, R., Wei, J., Yu, L., Kiese, R., Eggleston, S., Butterbach-Bahl, K., Zeeman, M., Tuzson, B., Emmenegger, L., Six, J., Henne, S., and Mohn, J.: Attribution of N2O sources in a grassland soil with laser spectroscopy based isotopocule analysis, Biogeosciences, 16, 3247–3266, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-3247-2019, 2019.
IPCC: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of
Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, Geneva, 2007.
Jinuntuya-Nortman, M., Sutka, R. L., Ostrom, P. H., Gandhi, H., and Ostrom, N. E.: Isotopologue fractionation during microbial reduction of N2O
within soil mesocosms as a function of water-filled pore space, Soil Biol.
Biochem., 40, 2273–2280, 2008.
Kato, T., Toyoda, S., Yoshida, N., Tang, Y. H., and Wada, E.: Isotopomer and
isotopologue signatures of N2O produced in alpine ecosystems on the
Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 27, 1517–1526, 2013.
Knowles, R.: Denitrification, Microbiol. Rev., 46, 43–70, 1982.
Koba, K., Osaka, K., Tobari, Y., Toyoda, S., Ohte, N., Katsuyama, M.,
Suzuki, N., Itoh, M., Yamagishi, H., Kawasaki, M., Kim, S. J., Yoshida, N.,
and Nakajimag, T.: Biogeochemistry of nitrous oxide in groundwater in a
forested ecosystem elucidated by nitrous oxide isotopomer measurements,
Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 73, 3115–3133, 2009.
Kool, D. M., Wrage, N., Oenema, O., Dolfing, J., and Van Groenigen, J. W.:
Oxygen exchange between (de) nitrification intermediates and H2O and
its implications for source determination of
Kool, D. M., Wrage, N., Oenema, O., Harris, D., and Van Groenigen, J. W.:
The 18O signature of biogenic nitrous oxide is determined by O exchange
with water, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 23, 104–108, 2009.
Kramps-Alpmann, D., Ruoss, N., Korte K., Ernst, U., and Schäfer, B. C.:
Klimaoptimierte Anpassungsstrategien in der Landwirtschaft (optimierter
Klimabetrieb) II., unpublished project report, 2017.
Kulkarni, M. V., Burgin, A. J., Groffman, P. M., and Yavitt, J. B.: Direct
flux and 15N tracer methods for measuring denitrification in forest
soils, Biogeochemistry, 117, 359–373, 2013.
Lewicka-Szczebak, D. and Well, R.: The 15N gas-flux method to determine
N2 flux : a comparison of different tracer addition approaches, Soil,
6, 145–152, 2020.
Lewicka-Szczebak, D., Well, R., Giesemann, A., Rohe, L., and Wolf, U.: An
enhanced technique for automated determination of 15N signatures of
N2, (N2+N2O) and N2O in gas samples, Rapid Commun. Mass
Sp., 27, 1548–1558, 2013.
Lewicka-Szczebak, D., Well, R., Koster, J. R., Fuss, R., Senbayram, M.,
Dittert, K., and Flessa, H.: Experimental determinations of isotopic
fractionation factors associated with N2O production and reduction
during denitrification in soils, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 134, 55–73, 2014.
Lewicka-Szczebak, D., Well, R., Bol, R., Gregory, A., Matthews, P.,
Misselbrook, T., Whalley, R., and Cardenas, L.: Isotope fractionation
factors controlling isotopocule signatures of soil-emitted N2O produced
by denitrification processes of various rates, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 29,
269–282, 2015.
Lewicka-Szczebak, D., Dyckmans, J., Kaiser, J., Marca, A., Augustin, J., and Well, R.: Oxygen isotope fractionation during N2O production by soil denitrification, Biogeosciences, 13, 1129–1144, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1129-2016, 2016.
Lewicka-Szczebak, D., Augustin, J., Giesemann, A., and Well, R.: Quantifying N2O reduction to N2 based on N2O isotopocules validation with independent methods (helium incubation and 15N gas flux method), Biogeosciences, 14, 711–732, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-711-2017, 2017.
Maeda, K., Spor, A., Edel-Hermann, V., Heraud, C., Breuil, M. C., Bizouard, F., Toyoda, S., Yoshida, N., Steinberg, C., and Philippot, L.: N2O
production, a widespread trait in fungi, Sci. Rep.-UK, 5, 9697, 9691–9697,
2015.
Mandernack, K. W., Mills, C. T., Johnson, C. A., Rahn, T., and Kinney, C.:
The δ15N and δ18O values of N2O produced during the
co-oxidation of ammonia by methanotrophic bacteria, Chem. Geol., 267, 96–107,
2009.
Mathieu, O., Leveque, J., Henault, C., Milloux, M. J., Bizouard, F., and
Andreux, F.: Emissions and spatial variability of N2O, N2 and
nitrous oxide mole fraction at the field scale, revealed with 15N
isotopic techniques, Soil Biol. Biochem., 38, 941–951, 2006.
Menyailo, O. V. and Hungate, B. A.: Stable isotope discrimination during
soil denitrification: Production and consumption of nitrous oxide, Global
Biogeochem. Cy., 20, GB3025, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GB002527, 2006.
Mohn, J., Wolf, B., Toyoda, S., Lin, C. T., Liang, M. C., Bruggemann, N., Wissel, H., Steiker, A. E., Dyckmans, J., Szwec, L., Ostrom, N. E., Casciotti, K. L., Forbes, M., Giesemann, A., Well, R., Doucett, R. R., Yarnes, C. T., Ridley, A. R., Kaiser, J., and Yoshida, N.: Interlaboratory assessment of nitrous oxide isotopomer analysis by isotope ratio mass spectrometry and laser spectroscopy: current status and perspectives, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 28, 1995–2007, 2014.
Moore, J. W. and Semmens, B. X.: Incorporating uncertainty and prior
information into stable isotope mixing models, Ecology Letters, 11, 470–480,
2008.
Morse, J. L. and Bernhardt, E. S.: Using 15N tracers to estimate N2O and N2 emissions from nitrification and denitrification in
coastal plain wetlands under contrasting land-uses, Soil Biol. Biochem., 57,
635–643, 2013.
Mosier, A. R., Guenzi, W. D., and Schweizer, E. E.: Field Denitrification
Estimation by N-15 and Acetylene Inhibition Techniques, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J,.
50, 831–833, 1986.
Müller, C., Laughlin, R. J., Spott, O., and Rütting, T.:
Quantification of N2O emission pathways via a 15N tracing model,
Soil Biol. Biochem., 72, 44–54, 2014.
Nash, J. E. and Sutcliffe, J. V.: River flow forecasting through conceptual
models part I – a discussion of principles, J. Hydrol., 10, 282–290, 1970.
Opdyke, M. R., Ostrom, N. E., and Ostrom, P. H.: Evidence for the
predominance of denitrification as a source of N2O in temperate
agricultural soils based on isotopologue measurements, Global Biogeochem. Cy.,
23, GB4018, 4011–4010, 2009.
Ostrom, N. E., Pitt, A., Sutka, R., Ostrom, P. H., Grandy, A. S., Huizinga, K. M., and Robertson, G. P.: Isotopologue effects during N2O reduction
in soils and in pure cultures of denitrifiers, J. Geophys. Res.-Biogeo., 112,
G02005, 02001–02012, 2007.
Ostrom, N. E., Sutka, R., Ostrom, P. H., Grandy, A. S., Huizinga, K. M.,
Gandhi, H., von Fischer, J. C., and Robertson, G. P.: Isotopologue data
reveal bacterial denitrification as the primary source of N2O during a high
flux event following cultivation of a native temperate grassland, Soil Biol.
Biochem., 42, 499–506, 2010.
Park, S., Perez, T., Boering, K. A., Trumbore, S. E., Gil, J., Marquina, S.,
and Tyler, S. C.: Can N2O stable isotopes and isotopomers be useful
tools to characterize sources and microbial pathways of N2O production
and consumption in tropical soils?, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 25, GB1001, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GB003615, 2011.
Parnell, A. C., Phillips, D. L., Bearhop, S., Semmens, B. X., Ward, E. J.,
Moore, J. W., Jackson, A. L., Grey, J., Kelly, D. J., and Inger, R.:
Bayesian stable isotope mixing models, Environmetrics, 24, 387–399, 2013.
Phillips, D. L., Inger, R., Bearhop, S., Jackson, A. L., Moore, J. W.,
Parnell, A. C., Semmens, B. X., and Ward, E. J.: Best practices for use of
stable isotope mixing models in food-web studies, Can. J.
Zool., 92, 823–835, 2014.
Ravishankara, A. R., Daniel, J. S., and Portmann, R. W.: Nitrous Oxide
(N2O): The Dominant Ozone-Depleting Substance Emitted in the 21st
Century, Science, 326, 123–125, 2009.
Röckmann, T., Kaiser, J., Brenninkmeijer, C. A. M., and Brand, W. A.:
Gas chromatography/isotope-ratio mass spectrometry method for high-precision
position-dependent 15N and 18O measurements of atmospheric nitrous
oxide, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 17, 1897–1908, 2003.
Rohe, L., Anderson, T.-H., Braker, G., Flessa, H., Giesemann, A.,
Lewicka-Szczebak, D., Wrage-Mönnig, N., and Well, R.: Dual isotope and
isotopomer signatures of nitrous oxide from fungal denitrification – a pure
culture study, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 28, 1893–1903, 2014a.
Rohe, L., Anderson, T. H., Braker, G., Flessa, H., Giesemann, A.,
Wrage-Monnig, N., and Well, R.: Fungal oxygen exchange between
denitrification intermediates and water, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 28, 377–384,
2014b.
Rohe, L., Well, R., and Lewicka-Szczebak, D.: Use of oxygen isotopes to
differentiate between nitrous oxide produced by fungi or bacteria during
denitrification, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 31, 1297–1312,
2017.
Saggar, S., Jha, N., Deslippe, J., Bolan, S., Luo, J., Giltrap, D. L., Kim, D.-G., Zaman, M., and Tillman, R. W.: Denitrification and N2O:N2
production in temperate grasslands: Processes, measurements, modelling and
mitigating negative impacts, Sci. Total Environ., 465, 173–195,
2013.
Schmidt, G., Segschneider H.-J., and R., R.: Bestimmung der 15N
Häufigkeit bei nichtstatistischer 15N-verteilung in N2 sowie bei N2O in
Bodenluftproben mittels GC-R-IRMS-Kopplung in einem Probenlauf, Isot. Environ.
Healt S., 34, 235–243, 1998.
Scholefield, D., Hawkins, J. M. B., and Jackson, S. M.: Development of a
helium atmosphere soil incubation technique for direct measurement of
nitrous oxide and dinitrogen fluxes during denitrification, Soil Biol.
Biochem., 29, 1345–1352, 1997.
Seitzinger, S.: Nitrogen cycle – Out of reach, Nature, 452, 162–163, 2008.
Senbayram, M., Chen, R., Budai, A., Bakken, L., and Dittert, K.: N2O
emission and the N2O/(N2O+N2) product ratio of
denitrification as controlled by available carbon substrates and nitrate
concentrations, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ., 147, 4–12, 2012.
Sigman, D. M., Casciotti, K. L., Andreani, M., Barford, C., Galanter, M.,
and Bohlke, J. K.: A bacterial method for the nitrogen isotopic analysis of
nitrate in seawater and freshwater, Anal. Chem., 73, 4145–4153, 2001.
Spott, O., Russow, R., Apelt, B., and Stange, C. F.: A N-15-aided artificial
atmosphere gas flow technique for online determination of soil N2
release using the zeolite Kostrolith SX6 (R), Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 20,
3267–3274, 2006.
Stange, C. F., Spott, O., Apelt, B., and Russow, R. W. B.: Automated and
rapid online determination of 15N abundance and concentration of
ammonium, nitrite, or nitrate in aqueous samples by the SPINMAS technique,
Isot. Environ. Healt S., 43, 227–236, 2007.
Stevens, R. J. and Laughlin, R. J.: Nitrite Transformations during Soil
Extraction with Potassium-Chloride, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 59, 933–938, 1995.
Sutka, R. L., Ostrom, N. E., Ostrom, P. H., Breznak, J. A., Gandhi, H.,
Pitt, A. J., and Li, F.: Distinguishing nitrous oxide production from
nitrification and denitrification on the basis of isotopomer abundances,
Appl. Environ. Microb., 72, 638–644, 2006.
Sutka, R. L., Adams, G. C., Ostrom, N. E., and Ostrom, P. H.: Isotopologue
fractionation during N2O production by fungal denitrification, Rapid
Commun. Mass Sp., 22, 3989–3996, 2008.
Toyoda, S. and Yoshida, N.: Determination of nitrogen isotopomers of nitrous
oxide on a modified isotope ratio mass spectrometer, Anal. Chem., 71,
4711–4718, 1999.
Toyoda, S., Mutobe, H., Yamagishi, H., Yoshida, N., and Tanji, Y.:
Fractionation of N2O isotopomers during production by denitrifier, Soil
Biol. Biochem., 37, 1535–1545, 2005.
Toyoda, S., Yano, M., Nishimura, S., Akiyama, H., Hayakawa, A., Koba, K.,
Sudo, S., Yagi, K., Makabe, A., Tobari, Y., Ogawa, N. O., Ohkouchi, N.,
Yamada, K., and Yoshida, N.: Characterization and production and consumption
processes of N2O emitted from temperate agricultural soils determined
via isotopomer ratio analysis, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 25, GB2008, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GB003769, 2011.
Toyoda, S., Yoshida, N., and Koba, K.: Isotopocule analysis of biologically
produced nitrous oxide in various environments, Mass Spectrom. Rev., 36, 135–160,
https://doi.org/10.1002/mas.21459, 2017.
Verhoeven, E., Barthel, M., Yu, L., Celi, L., Said-Pullicino, D., Sleutel, S., Lewicka-Szczebak, D., Six, J., and Decock, C.: Early season N2O emissions under variable water management in rice systems: source-partitioning emissions using isotope ratios along a depth profile, Biogeosciences, 16, 383–408, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-383-2019, 2019.
Wei, J., Ibraim, E., Brüggemann, N., Vereecken, H., and Mohn, J.: First
real-time isotopic characterisation of N2O from chemodenitrification,
Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 267, 17–32, 2019.
Well, R. and Flessa, H.: Isotope fractionation factors of N2O
diffusion, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 22, 2621–2628, 2008.
Well, R. and Flessa, H.: Isotopologue enrichment factors of N2O
reduction in soils, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 23, 2996–3002, 2009.
Well, R., Eschenbach, W., Flessa, H., von der Heide, C., and Weymann, D.:
Are dual isotope and isotopomer ratios of N2O useful indicators for N2O turnover during denitrification in nitrate-contaminated aquifers?,
Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 90, 265–282, 2012.
Well, R., Burkart, S., Giesemann, A., Grosz, B., Köster, J. R., and
Lewicka-Szczebak, D.: Improvement of the 15N gas flux method for in
situ measurement of soil denitrification and its product stoichiometry,
Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 33, 437–448, 2019a.
Well, R., Maier, M., Lewicka-Szczebak, D., Köster, J.-R., and Ruoss, N.: Underestimation of denitrification rates from field application of the 15N gas flux method and its correction by gas diffusion modelling, Biogeosciences, 16, 2233–2246, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2233-2019, 2019b.
Westley, M. B., Popp, B. N., and Rust, T. M.: The calibration of the
intramolecular nitrogen isotope distribution in nitrous oxide measured by
isotope ratio mass spectrometry, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 21, 391–405, 2007.
Wolf, B., Merbold, L., Decock, C., Tuzson, B., Harris, E., Six, J., Emmenegger, L., and Mohn, J.: First on-line isotopic characterization of N2O above intensively managed grassland, Biogeosciences, 12, 2517–2531, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2517-2015, 2015.
Wrage-Mönnig, N., Horn, M. A., Well, R., Müller, C., Velthof, G.,
and Oenema, O.: The role of nitrifier denitrification in the production of
nitrous oxide revisited, Soil Biol. Biochem., 123, A3–A16, 2018.
Wu, D., Well, R., Cárdenas, L. M., Fuß, R., Lewicka-Szczebak, D.,
Köster, J. R., Brüggemann, N., and Bol, R.: Quantifying N2O
reduction to N2 during denitrification in soils via isotopic mapping
approach: Model evaluation and uncertainty analysis, Environ. Res.,
2019, 108806, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2019.108806, 2019.
Wu, H. H., Dannenmann, M., Fanselow, N., Wolf, B., Yao, Z. S., Wu, X.,
Bruggemann, N., Zheng, X. H., Han, X. G., Dittert, K., and Butterbach-Bahl, K.: Feedback of grazing on gross rates of N mineralization and inorganic N
partitioning in steppe soils of Inner Mongolia, Plant Soil, 340, 127–139,
2011.
Yamagishi, H., Westley, M. B., Popp, B. N., Toyoda, S., Yoshida, N.,
Watanabe, S., Koba, K., and Yamanaka, Y.: Role of nitrification and
denitrification on the nitrous oxide cycle in the eastern tropical North
Pacific and Gulf of California, J. Geophys. Res.-Biogeo., 112, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JG000227,
2007.
Yu, L., Harris, E., Lewicka-Szczebak, D., Barthel, M., Blomberg, M. R. A.,
Harris, S., Johnson, M. S., Lehmann, M. F., Liisberg, J., Müller, C.,
Ostrom, N., Six, J., Toyoda, S., Yoshida, N., and Mohn, J.: What can we
learn from N2O isotope data? – Analytics, processes and modelling,
Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 34, e8858, https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.8858, 2020.
Zhang, J. B., Muller, C., and Cai, Z. C.: Heterotrophic nitrification of
organic N and its contribution to nitrous oxide emissions in soils, Soil
Biol. Biochem., 84, 199–209, 2015.
Zhang, L., Altabet, M. A., Wu, T. X., and Hadas, O.: Sensitive measurement
of
Zou, Y., Hirono, Y., Yanai, Y., Hattori, S., Toyoda, S., and Yoshida, N.:
Isotopomer analysis of nitrous oxide accumulated in soil cultivated with tea
(Camellia sinensis) in Shizuoka, central Japan, Soil Biol. Biochem., 77,
276–291, 2014.
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.
We present the first validation of N2O isotopic approaches for estimating N2O source pathways...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint