Influence of oxygen on production and consumption of nitric oxide in soil

Summary NO and N₂O release rates were measured in an acidic forest soil (pH 4.0) and a slightly alkaline agricultural soil (pH 7.8), which were incubated at different O₂ concentrations (<0.01 – 20% O₂) and at different NO concentrations (40 – 1000 ppbv NO). The system allowed the determination of simultaneously operating NO production rates and NO uptake rate constants, and the calculation of a NO compensation concentration. Both NO production and NO consumption decreased with increasing O₂. NO consumption decreased to a smaller extent than NO production, so that the NO compensation concentrations also decreased. However, the NO compensation concentrations were not low enough for the soils to become a net sink for atmospheric NO. The release of N₂O increased relative to NO release when the gases were allowed to accumulate instead of being flushed out. The forest soil contained only denitrifying, but not nitrifying bacteria, whereas the agricultural soil contained both. Nevertheless, NO release rates were less sensitive to O₂ in the forest soil compared to the agricultural soil.     

Influence of soil properties on the turnover of nitric oxide and nitrous oxide by nitrification and denitrification at constant temperature and moisture

 Soils are a major source of atmospheric NO and N₂O. Since the soil properties that regulate the production and consumption of NO and N₂O are still largely unknown, we studied N trace gas turnover by nitrification and denitrification in 20 soils as a function of various soil variables. Since fertilizer treatment, temperature and moisture are already known to affect N trace gas turnover, we avoided the masking effect of these soil variables by conducting the experiments in non-fertilized soils at constant temperature and moisture. In all soils nitrification was the dominant process of NO production, and in 50% of the soils nitrification was also the dominant process of N₂O production. Factor analysis extracted three factors which together explained 71% of the variance and identified three different soil groups. Group I contained acidic soils, which showed only low rates of microbial respiration and low contents of total and inorganic nitrogen. Group II mainly contained acidic forest soils, which showed relatively high respiration rates and high contents of total N and NH₄ ⁺. Group III mainly contained neutral agricultural soils with high potential rates of nitrification. The soils of group I produced the lowest amounts of NO and N₂O. The results of linear multiple regression conducted separately for each soil group explained between 44–100% of the variance. The soil variables that regulated consumption of NO, total production of NO and N₂O, and production of NO and N₂O by either nitrification or denitrification differed among the different soil groups. The soil pH, the contents of NH₄ ⁺, NO₂ ^– and NO₃ ^–, the texture, and the rates of microbial respiration and nitrification were among the important variables. Received: 28 October 1999     

N2O and NO production in various Chinese agricultural soils by nitrification

Eleven types of agricultural soils were collected from Chinese uplands and paddy fields to compare their N₂O and NO production by nitrification under identical laboratory conditions. Before starting the assays, all air-dried soils were preincubated for 4 weeks at 25 °C and 40% WFPS (water-filled pore space). The nitrification activities of soils were determined by adding (NH₄)₂SO₄ (200 mg N kg⁻¹ soil) and incubating for 3 weeks at 25 °C and 60% WFPS. The net nitrification rates obtained fitted one of two types of models, depending on the soil pH: a zero-order reaction model for acidic soils and one neutral soil (Group 0); or a first-order reaction model for one neutral soil and alkaline soils (Group 1). The results suggest that pH is the most important factor in determining the kinetics of soil nitrification from ammonium. In the Group 1 soils, initial emissions (i.e. during the first week) of N₂O and NO were 82.6 and 83.6%, respectively, of the total emissions during 3 weeks of incubation; in the Group 0 soils, initial emissions of N₂O and NO were 54.7 and 59.9%, respectively, of the total emissions. The net nitrification rate in the first week and second-third weeks were highly correlated with the initial and subsequent emissions (i.e. during the second and third weeks), respectively, of N₂O and NO. The average percentages of emitted (N₂O+NO)-N relative to net nitrification N in initial and subsequent periods were 2.76 and 0.59 for Group 0, and 1.47 and 0.44 for the Group 1, respectively. The initial and subsequent emission ratios of NO/N₂O from Group 0 (acidic) soils were 3.77 and 2.52 times, respectively, higher than those from Group 1 soils (P<0.05).     

Denitrification and fermentation in plant-residue-amended soil

Summary Nitrous oxide production (denitrification) during anaerobic incubation of ground-alfalfa-, red-clover-, wheat-straw-, and cornstover-amended soil was positively related to the initial water-soluble C content of the residue- amended soil. The water-soluble C concentration decreased in all treatments during the first 2 days, then increased in the alfalfa-, red-clover-, and wheat-straw-amended soil until the end of the experiment at 15 days. An accumulation of acetate, propionate, and butyrate was partly responsible for the increased water-soluble C concentration. Denitrification rates were much higher in the alfalfa-and red-clover-amended soil, but NO ₃ ^– was not fully recovered as N₂O in these treatments. Supported by earlier experiments in our laboratory, we conclude that some of the NO ₃ ^– was reduced to NH ₄ ⁺ through fermentative NO ₃ ^– reduction, otherwise known as dissimilatory NO ₃ ^– reduction to NH ₄ ⁺ . Acetate, the primary product of anaerobic fermentation, accumulated in the alfalfa- and red-clover-amended soil in the presence of NO ₃ ^– , supporting previous observations that the processes of denitrification and fermentation occur simultaneously in C-amended soil. The partitioning of NO ₃ ^– between denitrification and fermentative NO ₃ ^– reduction to NH ₄ ⁺ depends on the activity of the denitrifying and fermentative bacterial populations. NO₂ concentration may be a key in the partitioning of NO ₃ ^– between these two processes.     

Controls on nitric oxide emissions from tropical pasture and rain forest soils

In field studies, forest soils in the Atlantic Lowlands of Costa Rica emitted greater amounts of nitric oxide (NO) than soils from pastures that had been actively grazed for over 20 years following their conversion from forest. We measured NO production from intact soil cores from these land uses. Laboratory tests using ammonium(NH ₄ ⁺ ), nitrate (NO ₃ ^– ), nitrite (NO ₂ ^– ), water, and acetylene (C₂H₂) additions demonstrate a response consistent with field studies.Forest soil cores produced more NO than pasture cores regardless of treatment. In forest soil the response toNH ₄ ⁺ solution was significantly greater than response to water or an ambient moisture control. Addition of 10 kPa C₂H₂ caused a marked decrease in NO production in forest soil cores. These responses suggest a nitrification-linked control over NO production. Large and rapid responses toNO ₂ ^– additions suggest that chemical decomposition of this ion may contribute to NO production. Pasture soil cores did not show a significant response to any of the treatments including NO ₂ ^– . Low porosity in the pasture soils may restrict emission of NO produced therein.     

Temporal and spatial patterns of denitrification enzyme activity and nitrous oxide fluxes in three adjacent vegetated riparian buffer zones

The aim of this study was to investigate temporal and spatial patterns of denitrification enzyme activity (DEA) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) fluxes in three adjacent riparian sites (mixed vegetation, forest and grass). The highest DEA was found in the surface (0–30 cm) soil and varied between 0.7±0.1 mg N kg^–1 day^–1 at 5°C and 5.9±0.4 mg N kg^–1 day^–1 at 15°C. There was no significant difference (P >0.05) between the DEA in the uppermost (0–30 cm and 60–90 cm) soil depths under different vegetation covers. In the two deepest (120–150 cm and 180–210 cm) soil depths the DEA varied between 0.0±0.0 mg N kg^–1 day^–1 at 5°C and 4.4±0.9 mg N kg^–1 day^–1 at 15°C and was clearly associated with the accumulation of buried organic carbon (OC). Two threshold values of OC were observed before DEA started to increase significantly, namely 5 and 25 g OC kg^–1 soil at 10–15°C and 5°C, respectively. In the three riparian sites N₂O fluxes varied between a net N₂O uptake of –0.6±0.4 mg N₂O-N m^–2 day^–1 and a net N₂O emission of 2.5±0.3 mg N₂O-N m^–2 day^–1. The observed N₂O emission did not lead to an important pollution swapping (from water pollution to greenhouse gas emission). Especially in the mixed vegetation and forest riparian site highest N₂O fluxes were observed upslope of the riparian site. The N₂O fluxes showed no clear temporal trend.     

Carbon limitations to nitrous oxide emissions in a humid tropical forest of the Brazilian Amazon

The availability of labile organic C for microbial metabolic processes could be an important factor regulating N₂O emissions from tropical soils. We explored the effects of labile C on the emissions of N₂O from a forest soil in the State of Rondônia in the southwestern quadrant of the Brazilian Amazon. We measured emissions of N₂O from a forest soil after amendments with solutions containing glucose, water only or NO₃^–. Addition of glucose to the forest soil resulted in very large increases in N₂O emissions whereas the water only and NO₃^– additions did not. These results suggest a strong C limitation on N₂O production in this forest soil in the southwestern Amazon.     

Recovery of nitrification and production of NO and N2O after exposure of soil to acetylene

Incubation of soil under low partial pressures of acetylene (10 Pa) is a widely used method to specifically inhibit nitrification due to the suicide inhibition of ammonium monooxygenase (AMO), the first enzyme in NH₄ ⁺ oxidation by nitrifying bacteria. Although the inhibition of AMO is irreversible, recovery of activity is possible if new enzyme is synthesized. In experiments with three different soils, NH₄ ⁺ concentrations decreased and NO₃ ^– concentrations increased soon after acetylene was removed from the atmosphere. Recovery of NO production started immediately after the removal of acetylene. The release rates of NO and N₂O were higher in soil samples which were only preincubated with 10 Pa acetylene than in those which were kept in the presence of 10 Pa acetylene. In the permanent presence of 10 Pa acetylene, NH₄ ⁺ and NO₃ ^– concentrations stayed constant, and the release rates of NO and N₂O were low. These low release rates were apparently due to processes other than nitrification. Our experiments showed that the blockage of nitrification by low (10 Pa) acetylene partial pressures is only reliable when the soil is kept in permanent contact with acetylene. Received: 17 July 1996     

Effects of soil fauna on leaching of nitrogen and phosphorus from experimental systems simulating coniferous forest floor

Summary Long-term experiments (97–98 weeks) were carried out in macrocosm systems simulating the complexity of coniferous forest soil. The macrocosms were partially sterilized by freezing, thawing and drying, then re-inoculated with microbes alone or microbes + soil fauna. Removable microcosms containing birch litter, spruce litter, or humus were inserted into the substrate humus in the macrocosms. Two experiments used organic matter only, and in the third there was mineral soil below the humus. The macrocosms were incubated in climate chambers that simulated both summer and winter conditions. At 4- to 6-week intervals the substrates were irrigated for analyses of pH, total N, NH ₄ ⁺ –N, NO ₃ ^– –N, and PO ₄ ^3– –P in the leachates. At the end of each growing season a destructive sampling was performed, including analyses of KCl-extractable N and P.Leaching of NH ₄ ⁺ and PO ₄ ^3– from both the litter and the total systems was significantly enhanced by the soil fauna. There were also differences in mineralization of N and P between the refaunated systems, apparently due to divergent development of the faunal communities. In general, fauna affected KCl-extractable nutrients from the litter positively, although this effect was less evident than in the leaching water. In the humus and mineral soil the fauna significantly increased the release of N and P, especially in the later stages of the experiments. Soil pH was higher in the presence of fauna, but there was no difference in the pH of the leachates. Not only invertebrate-microbial interactions, but also mutual relationships among fauna were important in the nutrient dynamics.     

N2O and NO fluxes between a Norway spruce forest soil and atmosphere as affected by prolonged summer drought

Global change scenarios predict an increasing frequency and duration of summer drought periods in Central Europe especially for higher elevation areas. Our current knowledge about the effects of soil drought on nitrogen trace gas fluxes from temperate forest soils is scarce. In this study, the effects of experimentally induced drought on soil N₂O and NO emissions were investigated in a mature Norway spruce forest in the Fichtelgebirge (northeastern Bavaria, Germany) in two consecutive years. Drought was induced by roof constructions over a period of 46 days. The experiment was run in three replicates and three non-manipulated plots served as controls. Additionally to the N₂O and NO flux measurements in weekly to monthly intervals, soil gas samples from six different soil depths were analysed in time series for N₂O concentration as well as isotope abundances to investigate N₂O dynamics within the soil. N₂O fluxes from soil to the atmosphere at the experimental plots decreased gradually during the drought period from 0.2 to −0.0 μmol m⁻² h⁻¹, respectively, and mean cumulative N₂O emissions from the manipulated plots were reduced by 43% during experimental drought compared to the controls in 2007. N₂O concentration as well as isotope abundance analysis along the soil profiles revealed that a major part of the soil acted as a net sink for N₂O, even during drought. This N₂O sink, together with diminished N₂O production in the organic layers, resulted in successively decreased N₂O fluxes during drought, and may even turn this forest soil into a net sink of atmospheric N₂O as observed in the first year of the experiment. Enhanced N₂O fluxes observed after rewetting up to 0.1 μmol m⁻² h⁻¹ were not able to compensate for the preceding drought effect. During the experiment in 2006, with soil matric potentials in 20 cm depth down to −630 hPa, cumulative NO emissions from the throughfall exclusion plots were reduced by 69% compared to the controls, whereas cumulative NO emissions from the experimental plots in 2007, with minimum soil matric potentials of −210 hPa, were 180% of those of the controls. Following wetting, the soil of the throughfall exclusion plots showed significantly larger NO fluxes compared to the controls (up to 9 μmol m⁻² h⁻¹ versus 2 μmol m⁻² h⁻¹). These fluxes were responsible for 44% of the total emission of NO throughout the whole course of the experiment. NO emissions from this forest soil usually exceeded N₂O emissions by one order of magnitude or more except during wintertime.     

Effects of soil variables and season on the production and consumption of nitric oxide in oxic soils

Summary NO production rates, NO uptake rate constants, NO compensation points, and different soil variables were determined for various soil types and different soil horizons, and checked for mutual correlations. NO production was detected in all, and NO comsuption in most soils tested. Only soils in a very early state of soil genesis showed no NO consumption activity. NO consumption was positively correlated with soil water and NH ₄ ⁺ contents. NO production rates were not correlated with any soil variable. Both NO production and NO consumption tended to decrease from the upper organic to the deeper mineral horizons in different climax soils. The seasonal variation of NO production and NO consumption in a calcic cambisol and a luvisol showed highest rates in summer. The rates of NO production and NO consumption were correlated with a few of the soil variables, but showed no uniform, theoretically comprehensible pattern. However, NO production in samples of the calcic cambisol was stimulated by fertilization with NH ₄ ⁺ , but not with NO ₃ ^– and was inhibited by nitrapyrin, indicating that NO was produced by nitrification. NO production made up about 3% of the nitrification rates. In the luvisol, in contrast, NO production was not affected by the addition of NH ₄ ⁺ or NO ₃ ^– . Nitrification was also undetectable in this acidic soil, except for a few patches where NO production was also detected.     

Contribution of denitrification and autotrophic and heterotrophic nitrification to nitrous oxide production in andosols

To quantify the contribution of denitrification and autotrophic and heterotrophic nitrification to N₂O production in Andosols with a relatively high organic matter content, we first examined the effect of C₂H₂ concentrations on N₂O production and on changes in mineral N contents. The optimum C₂H₂ concentration for inhibiting autotrophic nitrification was 10 Pa. Secondly, and Andosol taken from an arable field was incubated for 32 days at 30°C at 60, 80, and 100% water-holding capacity with or without the addition of NH ₄ ⁺ or NO _inf3 ^sup- (200 mg N kg^-1), and subsamples collected every 4–8 days were further incubated for 24 h with or without C₂H₂ (10 Pa). At 60 and 80% water-holding capacity with NH ₄ ⁺ added, 87–92% of N₂O produced (200–250 g N₂O–N kg^-1) was derived from autotrophic nitrification. In contrast, at 100% water-holding capacity with or without added NO _inf3 ^sup- , enormous amounts of N₂O (29–90 mg N₂O–N kg^-1) were produced rapidly, mostly by denitrification (96–98% of total production). Thirdly, to examine N₂O production by heterotrophic nitrification, the Andosol was amended with peptone or NH ₄ ⁺ (both 1000 mg N kg^-1)+citric acid (20 g C kg^-1) and with or without dicyandiamide (200 mg N kg^-1). Treatment with citric acid alone or with citric acid+dicyandiamide suppressed N₂O production. In contrast, peptone increased N₂O production (5.66 mg N₂O–N kg^-1) mainly by denitrification (80% of total production). However, dicyandiamide reduced N₂O production to 1.1 mg N₂O–N kg^-1. These results indicate that autotrophic nitrification was the main process for N₂O production except at 100% water-holding capacity where denitrification became dominant and that heterotrophic nitrification had a lesser importance in the soils examine.Dedicated to Professor J. C. G. Ottow on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Effect of different biochar and fertilizer types on N2O and NO emissions

The use of biochar as soil improver and climate change mitigation strategy has gained much attention, although at present the effects of biochar on soil properties and greenhouse gas emissions are not completely understood. The objective of our incubation study was to investigate biochar's effect on N₂O and NO emissions from an agricultural Luvisol upon fertilizer (urea, NH₄Cl or KNO₃) application. Seven biochar types were used, which were produced from four different feedstocks pyrolyzed at various temperatures. At the end of the experiment, after 14 days of incubation, soil nitrate concentrations were decreased upon biochar addition in all fertilizer treatments by 6–16%. Biochar application decreased both cumulative N₂O (52–84%) and NO (47–67%) emissions compared to a corresponding treatment without biochar after urea and nitrate fertilizer application, and only NO emissions after ammonium application. N₂O emissions were more decreased at high compared to low pyrolysis temperature.Several hypotheses for our observations exist, which were assessed against current literature and discussed thoroughly. In our study, the decreased N₂O and NO emissions are expected to be mediated by multiple interacting phenomena such as stimulated NH₃ volatilization, microbial N immobilization, non-electrostatic sorption of NH₄⁺ and NO₃⁻, and biochar pH effects.     

Isotopologue fractionation during microbial reduction of N2O within soil mesocosms as a function of water-filled pore space

Isotopologue analyses of N₂O within soil mesocosm experiments were used to evaluate the influence of N₂O reduction on isotope fractionation. We investigated fractionation during N₂O reduction at 60%, 80% and 100% water-filled pore space (WFPS) and found net isotope effects (NIE) for δ¹⁵N of 4.2–7.8‰, δ¹⁸O of 12.5–19.1‰, δ¹⁵N^α of 6.4–9.7‰ and δ¹⁵N^β of 2.0–5.9‰. Consequently, N₂O reduction has a marked affect on isotopologue values and the importance of this process in flux chamber studies should not be ignored. With the exception of SP (the difference between the δ¹⁵N of the central, α, and terminal, β, atoms) inverse relationships between the NIE, reaction rate and reaction rate constant and WFPS were observed. Isotopic discrimination in SP during N₂O reduction was small and the average NIE for the treatments varied between 2.9‰ and 4.5‰. A strong correlation was evident between δ¹⁸O vs. δ¹⁵N and δ¹⁸O vs. δ¹⁵N^α during reduction with slopes of 2.6 and 1.9, respectively, which contrasts from a slope of <1 commonly observed for mixing between soil-derived and atmospheric N₂O in flux chambers.     

Nitrification and Methane Oxidation in Forest Soil: Acid Deposition, Nitrogen Input and Plant Effects

In a laboratory incubation experiment, nitrification potential, methane oxidation, N₂O and CO₂ release were studied in the organic soil layer (0–10 cm) of field lysimeters containing re-established soil profiles from a 100-year-old Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) forest of Norway. The experiment was designed as a full factorial (3 factors; N fertilisation rates, soil acidification, and plants), with three replicates. The more acidic irrigation (pH 3) significantly reduced nitrification potential and N₂O fluxes, methane oxidation and CO₂ release. We concluded that the reduction in soil N₂O release by severe acid deposition is partly due to reduction in nitrification potential. The highest N₂O fluxes were observed in the combination of fertilised planted and less acidic pH treatment. N fertilisation (90 kg N ha^?1 y^?1 with NH₄NO₃) increased soil N₂O release by a factor of 8 and decreased CH₄ oxidation by 60–80%. Plant effects on soil nitrification potential and methane oxidation rates are discussed.     

Dinitrogen emissions and the N2:N2O emission ratio of a Rendzic Leptosol as influenced by pH and forest thinning

Reduction of nitrous oxide (N₂O) to dinitrogen (N₂) by denitrification in soils is of outstanding ecological significance since it is the prevailing natural process converting reactive nitrogen back into inert molecular dinitrogen. Furthermore, the extent to which N₂O is reduced to N₂ via denitrification is a major regulating factor affecting the magnitude of N₂O emission from soils. However, due to methodological problems in the past, extremely little information is available on N₂ emission and the N₂:N₂O emission ratio for soils of terrestrial ecosystems. In this study, we simultaneously determined N₂ and N₂O emissions from intact soil cores taken from a mountainous beech forest ecosystem. The soil cores were taken from plots with distinct differences in microclimate (warm-dry versus cool-moist) and silvicultural treatment (untreated control versus heavy thinning). Due to different microclimates, the plots showed pronounced differences in pH values (range: 6.3–7.3). N₂O emission from the soil cores was generally very low (2.0 ± 0.5–6.3 ± 3.8 μg N m⁻² h⁻¹ at the warm-dry site and 7.1 ± 3.1–57.4 ± 28.5 μg N m⁻² h⁻¹ at the cool-moist site), thus confirming results from field measurements. However, N₂ emission exceeded N₂O emission by a factor of 21 ± 6–220 ± 122 at the investigated plots. This illustrates that the dominant end product of denitrification at our plots and under the given environmental conditions is N₂ rather than N₂O. N₂ emission showed a huge variability (range: 161 ± 64–1070 ± 499 μg N m⁻² h⁻¹), so that potential effects of microclimate or silvicultural treatment on N₂ emission could not be identified with certainty. However, there was a significant effect of microclimate on the magnitude of N₂O emission as well as on the mean N₂:N₂O emission ratio. N₂:N₂O emission ratios were higher and N₂O emissions were lower for soil cores taken from the plots with warm-dry microclimate as compared to soil cores taken from the cool-moist microclimate plots. We hypothesize that the increase in the N₂:N₂O emission ratio at the warm-dry site was due to higher N₂O reductase activity provoked by the higher soil pH value of this site. Overall, the results of this study show that the N₂:N₂O emission ratio is crucial for understanding the regulation of N₂O fluxes of the investigated soil and that reliable estimates of N₂ emissions are an indispensable prerequisite for accurately calculating total N gas budgets for the investigated ecosystem and very likely for many other terrestrial upland ecosystems as well.     

The N2O product ratio of nitrification and its dependence on long-term changes in soil pH

The contribution of nitrification to the emission of nitrous oxide (N₂O) from soils may be large, but its regulation is not well understood. The soil pH appears to play a central role for controlling N₂O emissions from soil, partly by affecting the N₂O product ratios of both denitrification (N₂O/(N₂+N₂O)) and nitrification (N₂O/(NO₂⁻+NO₃⁻). Mechanisms responsible for apparently high N₂O product ratios of nitrification in acid soils are uncertain. We have investigated the pH regulation of the N₂O product ratio of nitrification in a series of experiments with slurries of soils from long-term liming experiments, spanning a pH range from 4.1 to 7.8. ¹⁵N labelled nitrate (NO₃⁻) was added to assess nitrification rates by pool dilution and to distinguish between N₂O from NO₃⁻ reduction and NH₃ oxidation. Sterilized soil slurries were used to determine the rates of chemodenitrification (i.e. the production of nitric oxide (NO) and N₂O from the chemical decomposition of nitrite (NO₂⁻)) as a function of NO₂⁻ concentrations. Additions of NO₂⁻ to aerobic soil slurries (with ¹⁵N labelled NO₃⁻ added) were used to assess its potential for inducing denitrification at aerobic conditions. For soils with pH?5, we found that the N₂O product ratios for nitrification were low (0.2-0.9‰) and comparable to values found in pure cultures of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. In mineral soils we found only a minor increase in the N₂O product ratio with increasing soil pH, but the effect was so weak that it justifies a constant N₂O product ratio of nitrification for N₂O emission models. For the soils with pH 4.1 and 4.2, the apparent N₂O product ratio of nitrification was 2 orders of magnitude higher than above pH 5 (76‰ and 14‰). This could partly be accounted for by the rates of chemodenitrification of NO₂⁻. We further found convincing evidence for NO₂⁻-induction of aerobic denitrification in acid soils. The study underlines the role of NO₂⁻, both for regulating denitrification and for the apparent nitrifier-derived N₂O emission.     

Hydrogen oxidation activities in soil as influenced by pH,temperature, moisture,and season

Summary Hydrogen oxidation in soil was measured at low (1 ppmv) and high (300 ppmv) H₂ concentrations to distinguish between the activities of abiontic soil hydrogenases and Knallgas bacteria, respectively. The two activities also showed distinctly different pH optima, temperature optima, and apparent activation energies. The pH optima for the soil hydrogenase activities were similar to the soil pH in situ, i.e., pH 8 in an slightly alkaline garden soil (pH 7.3) and pH 5 in an acidic cambisol (pH 4.6–5.4). Most probable number determinations in the alkaline acidic soils showed that Knallgas bacterial populations grew preferentially in neutral or acidic media, respectively. However, H₂ oxidation activity by Knallgas bacteria in the acidic soil showed two distinct pH optima, one at pH 4 and a second at pH 6.4–7.0. The soil hydrogenase activities exhibited temperature optima at 35–40°C, whereas the Knallgas bacteria had optima at 50–60°C. The apparent activation energies of the soil hydrogenases were lower (11–23kJ mol^-1) than those of the Knallgas bacteria (51–145 kJ mol^-1). Most of the soil hydrogenase activity was located in the upper 10 cm of the acidic cambisol and changed with season. The seasonal activity changes were correlated with changes in soil moisture and soil pH.     

Nitrous Oxide Production and Consumption Potential in an Agricultural and a Forest Soil

Both a laboratory incubation experiment using soils from an agricultural field and a forest and field measurements at the same locations were conducted to determine nitrous oxide (N₂O) production and consumption (reduction) potentials using the acetylene (C₂H₂) inhibition technique. Results from the laboratory experiment show that the agricultural soil had a stronger N₂O reduction potential than the forest soil, as indicated by the N₂O/N₂ ratio in denitrification products. Without C₂H₂ inhibition, N₂O could reach a maximum concentration of 51 and 296 ppmv in headspace of the agricultural and forest soil slurries, respectively. Addition of glucose decreased the maximum N₂O concentration to 22 ppmv in headspace of the agricultural soil slurries, but increased to 520 ppmv in the forest soil slurries. Addition of exogenous N₂O did not change such N₂O accumulation maxima during the incubations. The field measurements show that average N₂O emission rates were 0.56 and 0.59 kg N ha^?1 in the agricultural field and forest, respectively. When C₂H₂ was provided in the field measurements, N₂O emission rates from the agricultural field and forest increased by 38 and 51%, respectively. Nitrous oxide consumption under elevated N₂O condition (about 300 ppmv) was found in all five agricultural field measurements, but only in three of the six forest measurements under the same conditions. Field measurements agreed with the laboratory experiment that N₂O reduction activity, which plays a critical role in abating N₂O emissions from soils, largely depended on soil characteristics associated with land use.     

Production of NO and N2O in the presence and absence of C2H2 by soil slurries and batch cultures of denitrifying bacteria

We evaluated the potential of the C₂H₂-catalyzed NO oxidation reaction to influence N₂O production during denitrification. We measured the total amount of free NO and N₂O produced by slurries of sandy loam soil and by batch cultures of denitrifying bacteria under both anaerobic and low O₂ conditions. The maximum amount of free NO released by anaerobic Nos⁺ (able to reduce N₂O to N₂) and Nos⁻ (unable to reduce N₂O to N₂) batch cultures of Cytophaga johnsonae strains catalyzing denitrification of nitrate was 17-79 nmol NO per bottle. In all cases the maximum headspace concentrations of NO-N measured in anaerobic cultures in the absence of C₂H₂ was less than 0.21% of those of N₂O-N measured in the presence of 10 kPa C₂H₂. Peak NO production was delayed when between 2.0 and 4.5% O₂ was present. Less NO accumulated in cultures in the presence of both O₂ and C₂H₂, and the maximum amount of NO-N measured in the absence of C₂H₂ was less than 0.13% of the total amount of N₂O-N measured in the presence of C₂H₂. For an agricultural sandy loam soil, the maximum concentrations of free NO released from slurries were 598-897 ng NO-N g⁻¹ of dry soil in the absence of C₂H₂ and 118-260 ng NO-N g⁻¹ of dry soil in the presence of 10 kPa C₂H₂. The maximum concentration of NO-N released in the absence of C₂H₂ was between 0.32 and 8.1% of the maximum concentration of N₂O-N accumulated in the presence of 10 kPa C₂H₂. We conclude that scavenging of NO by the C₂H₂-catalyzed NO oxidation reaction in the presence of trace amounts of O₂ does not cause a serious underestimate of long-term measurements of active denitrification in anaerobic soils containing adequate carbon and nitrate sources.