Biochar mitigates N2O emissions by promoting complete denitrification in acidic and alkaline paddy soils

Biochar is an efficacious amendment for mitigating nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions in soils. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanisms responsible for reduced N₂O emissions by biochar in paddy soils remain inadequately elucidated. Here, using two typical paddy soils with contrasting pH values (5.40 and 7.56), the N₂ and N₂O fluxes and the associated functional genes were investigated in soil amended with varying amounts of biochar (0%, 0.5%, and 5%, weight/weight) via soil slurry incubation integrated with the N₂/Ar technique and qPCR analysis. The results showed that N₂O fluxes were significantly (p < 0.05) reduced by 0.65–3.64 times following biochar amendment, concomitant with a significant (p < 0.05) increase in N₂ fluxes (5.47–46.14%) in both acidic and alkaline paddy soils. As a result, the N₂O/(N₂O + N₂) ratios were significantly (p < 0.05) reduced by 1.53–4.65 fold in both soil types. In acidic paddy soils, the enhanced denitrification rates and the decreased N₂O/(N₂O + N₂) ratios exhibited a strong correlation with increased pH values. In alkaline paddy soil, these changes were ascribed to the enhanced nosZ Clade I gene abundance and nosZ/(nirS + nirK) ratio. Our findings reveal that biochar primarily mitigates N₂O emissions in paddy soils by promoting its reduction to N₂.     

亚硝酸盐添加对土壤硝化和反硝化基因转录活性及N2O排放的影响

设施菜田土壤氧化亚氮（N2O）脉冲式排放期间通常伴随着亚硝酸盐（NO2-）的大量积累,为揭示NO2-对设施菜田土壤N2O排放的影响机制,以两种典型蔬菜种植区土壤（碱性土壤/酸性土壤）为研究对象,通过室内培养试验,对比厌氧和好氧培养条件下添加NO2-后两种土壤无机氮转化与N2O、氮气（N2）和二氧化碳（CO2）等气体排放,以及氨氧化单加氧酶α亚基调控基因（amoA）、亚硝酸盐还原酶调控基因（nirK和 nirS,统称nir）和N2O还原酶调控基因（nosZ）的丰度和转录情况。结果显示：受pH等环境因素影响,土壤中NO2-含量并不一定与N2O排放之间存在相关性,但添加NO2-的处理显著增加了两种土壤的N2O排放量和N2O/(N2O+N2)指数（IN2O）（P<0.05）。碱性土壤中,60 mg?kg-1外源NO2-对土壤CO2排放无明显抑制作用,厌氧培养条件下nirK基因、好氧培养条件下amoA和nirS基因均出现了添加NO2-后转录拷贝数显著高于空白处理的现象,而nosZ基因无此现象。酸性土壤中,amoA转录活性整体较低,好氧空白处理时nirS基因转录拷贝数随培养时间的延长而增加（P<0.05）;60 mg?kg-1外源NO2-明显降低了酸性土壤的CO2排放量、相关基因的丰度及转录拷贝数。上述结果显示,土壤中积累的NO2-会通过诱导nir基因转录与N2O还原酶竞争电子和抑制N2O还原酶活性等途径,增加土壤的IN2O,影响有氧条件下N2O的排放途径,研究结果将为探索设施菜田土壤氮素高效利用和N2O减排提供科学依据。     

N2O fluxes from a Haplic Luvisol under intensive production of lettuce and cauliflower as affected by different N‐fertilization strategies

Vegetable‐production systems often show high soil mineral‐N contents and, thus, are potential sources for the release of the climate‐relevant trace gas N₂O from soils. Despite numerous investigations on N₂O fluxes, information on the impact of vegetable‐production systems on N₂O emissions in regions with winter frost is still rare. This present study aimed at measuring the annual N₂O emissions and the total yield of a lettuce–cauliflower rotation at different fertilization rates on a Haplic Luvisol in a region exposed to winter frost (S Germany). We measured N₂O emissions from plots fertilized with 0, 319, 401, and 528 kg N ha^–1 (where the latter three amounts represented a strongly reduced N‐fertilization strategy, a target value system [TVS] in Germany, and the N amount fertilized under good agricultural practices). The N₂O release from the treatments was 2.3, 5.7, 8.8, and 10.6 kg N₂O‐N ha^–1 y^–1, respectively. The corresponding emission factors calculated on the basis of the total N input ranged between 1.3% and 1.6%. Winter emission accounted for 45% of the annual emissions, and a major part occurred after the incorporation of cauliflower residues. The annual N₂O emission was positively correlated with the nitrate content of the top soil (0–25 cm) and with the N surpluses of the N balance. Reducing the amount of N fertilizer applied significantly reduced N₂O fluxes. Since there was no significant effect on yields if fertilization was reduced from 528 kg N ha^–1 according to “good agricultural practice” to 401 kg N ha^–1 determined by the TVS, we recommend this optimized fertilization strategy.